LANGLEY, B.C. – More than a quarter of Canada's men's Volleyball Nations League long list hail from Trinity Western University, as eight Spartans, including five alums and three current players, were named to Canada's 30-player roster. 

TWU's contingent includes alums Jesse Elser ('23), Brodie Hofer ('23), Jordan Schnitzer ('22), Ryan Sclater ('17) and Jackson Howe ('22), along with current Spartans Cory Schoenherr, Jackson Corneil and Kaden Schmidt. 

Elser, Hofer, Schnitzer and Sclater are part of Volleyball Canada's official Senior Team, while Howe and Schoenherr are Senior Team Alternates and Corneil and Schmidt are part of the NextGen program. 

The senior team will compete in Volleyball Nations League kicking off in Quebec City on June 11 and then travel to the United States and Slovenia in hopes of qualifying for the finals, to be held in China. In 2024, the senior men finished ranked sixth after making the VNL Finals and then going on to compete in Paris at the Olympic tournament.
 
After VNL, the team will prepare for the 2025 Men's World Championship in September, with a Team Canada roster to be announced at a later date.  
 
The Next Gen squad will be focused on training and competing at the NORCECA Pan Am Cup, August 24 to September 1, in Mexico.

TWU Athletes with Canada's Senior Men's Volleyball Team
Senior Team Athletes
Jesse Elser – Outside Hitter – Calgary, AB
Brodie Hofer – Outside Hitter – Langley, BC
Jordan Schnitzer – Middle Blocker – Surrey, BC
Ryan Sclater – Opposite – Port Coquitlam, BC

Senior Team Alternates
Jackson Howe – Middle Blocker – Calgary, AB
Cory Schoenherr – Middle Blocker – Waterloo, ON

NextGen Athletes
Jackson Corneil – Middle Blocker – Surrey, BC
Kaden Schmidt – Outside Hitter – Mississauga, ON

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.

About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS sports. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.  

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