Cole Brandsma has signed on the dotted line with the UBC Thunderbirds men’s volleyball program.
The school made the announcement earlier this month, and the Grade 12 Abbotsford Christian Secondary student will suit up in the blue and yellow for the 2019-20 season.
The 6-foot-6 outside hitter was one of the most hotly recruited talents in Canada, and has already had a stellar career as a high school and club player in the sport.
He is a gold medal winner at both the U16 provincial club level and at the 2016 BC Summer Games with the Fraser Valley team. Brandsma also has a U18 club provincial silver medal and a national bronze.
He is also a three-time provincial high school all-star, a three-time ACS male athlete of the year, and was named to the Abbotsford Sports Wall of Fame earlier this year. He helped lead the Knights to a silver medal at last year’s AA volleyball provincials.
Brandsma has also excelled in track and field, earning provincial medals as a junior in jumping events.
UBC men’s volleyball head coach Mike Hawkins said he’s thrilled to add Brandsma to the mix.
“He’s extremely physically talented,” he told the Thunderbirds website. “He’s a big leaper, he has a pretty live arm. He’s a multi-sport athlete so I think that definitely benefits him. Physically he’s so impressive and once he can add some refined technical skill to that he’s going to be really special.”
Brandsma and the Knights currently sit in second place in the Fraser Valley’s AA senior boys division and sport a record of 6-2.