Decorated High School Players Jack Ebertin, Jakobi Lange and Wes Smith Sign with USC Men’s Volleyball
LOS ANGELES--Three high school volleyball standouts—6-5 Jack Ebertin of St. Francis HS in Mountain View, Calif. and 6-4 Jakobi Lange of Hinsdale Central HS in Hinsdale, Ill., both outside hitters, and 6-10 middle blocker Wes Smith of La Costa Canyon HS in Carlsbad, Calif.—have signed with the USC men's volleyball program and will join the team in the fall of 2023, Trojan head coach Jeff Nygaard announced today (Nov. 11).
Ebertin helped St. Francis win both the CIF Central Section and CIF NorCal regional titles in 2022. He was named to the 2022 First Team All Central California Section as well as the 2022 First Team All West Coast Athletic League. He played for Bay to Bay where his 17s team finished fifth at the 17 Open SoCal Cup and he was named to the All-Tournament team. His 16s team finished second at the 16 Open SoCal Cup and third at the Boys Junior National Championship, and he made both All-Tournament teams. He participated in the USA National Development Team Training Group for three years (2020-22) and competed with the USA A1 Beach Training Group. His sister, Mollie, was a member of the 2021 and 2022 USC national championship beach volleyball teams. She played for the Trojans from 2018-22 before transferring as a graduate to compete at Tulane for the 2022-23 year. His father, Chuck, played football at USC from 1987-88 and competed in two Rose Bowls. He received the Howard Jones/Football Alumni Club Award and the John Wayne Memorial Scholarship Award in 1988.
Lange, a 2022 VolleyballMag.com High School First Team All-American, has a decorated list of honors. Named to the 2022 VolleyballMag.com Top 25 Underclassmen To Watch, he was selected as the 2022 team captain and 2022 team MVP of the Hinsdale Central Varsity team. Lange also earned placement on the 2022 Illinois Volleyball Ranks All-State First Team, the 2022 West Suburban Conference All-Conference Team and was named the 2022 Dupage All-County Team Captain. In 2021, he was selected to the Illinois Prep Volleyball All-State First Team, West Suburban Conference All-Conference Team and was his high school's MVP. Lange played for 630 Volleyball Club where he helped his team place second at the 2021 Boys Junior National Championships. He was named to the 2021 BJNC All-Tournament team and selected as the 2021 All-Club Offensive Player of the Year. Lange has also been a member of multiple USA Volleyball Indoor and Beach Training Rosters.
Smith was selected to the 2021 and 2022 VolleyballMag.com 25 Underclassmen to Watch List, as well as the 2021 and 2022 AVCA Boys High Risers List. He played for Wave Volleyball Club where he earned placement on the Junior Volleyball Association Boys All-National Team and the 2020 SoCal Cup All-Tournament Team. Smith was a member of the 2022 USA Volleyball Men's U21 National Team that won the gold medal at the Pan American Cup in Havana, Cuba. He was named the tournament's second-best blocker. In 2021 Smith was a member of the USA Volleyball National Development Program.
In its history, the USC men's volleyball program has captured 4 NCAA championships while appearing in 15 NCAA tourneys and has produced 21 Olympians, 34 First Team All-Americans and 7 College Players of the Year.