Headed West: Kennedy's O'Gorman Signs With Cal State Northridge Volleyball

There are few high school athletes nationwide that have necessary skills to play NCAA Division I volleyball, but there are even fewer that have the incredible frame of 6-foot-10 Kennedy senior Brian O'Gorman, who recently signed to play for California State University at Northridge.

O'Gorman, who helped lead the Kennedy Cougars to three straight Nassau County championships, will be the first Kennedy athlete to attend a D-I school for volleyball.

“It’s amazing to have an East Coast player being recruited by West Coast programs, it’s always traditionally been the opposite," Kennedy boys volleyball head coach Dennis Ringel said. "It shows how special a talent he is.”

The All-County middle blocker was first approached by the Northridge coaching staff while playing for the Long Island Volleyball Club in a tournament out in California.

"After the tournament ended, we went to the campus," O'Gorman said. "[The coaches] explained everything, they showed me around, I got to meet all the guys and they were very friendly – I felt like I was at home the first time meeting them.”

“The coach was saying how he saw in me what he saw in the middle blocker that just graduated and the level that that middle was at," he added. "I’m just looking forward to becoming like him.”

While his size made him a huge threat at the high school level, O'Gorman said his skills took a little while to blossom. After spending a year on the junior varsity squad, he got his chance to perform on varsity

“Freshman year we started out and it was a bit rough. I wasn’t that good," O'Gorman said. "Sophomore year, Ringel brought me up to varsity and he was the one who really got me started with volleyball.

Ringel agreed that the star blocker had come a long way, but still may not have even reached his full potential.

“He’s the player that I’ve had from ninth through 12th grade that has developed the most over that time and I think his ceiling is still so much higher than where he’s reached right now," Ringel said. "I’m excited for him and just think he’s going to be incredibly successful. I’m proud of not just [Brian] the volleyball player, but [Brian] the young man and I look forward to seeing where he’s going to go from here.”

O'Gorman is also playing in his second year for the Long Island Volleyball Club. His 18-National team took gold at the Nittany Ninvitational at Penn State in February, earning the team a bid to the Junior Nationals in Minneapolis this July.

Athletics aside, O'Gorman will be majoring in engineering while at Northridge, which should make his workload big enough to measure up to, well, him.

“The workload is a concern, having to balance engineering with volleyball knowing that I have three-hour practices everyday," O'Gorman said. "But I think after the first couple of months I will get used to it. The team said it takes a couple of weeks but you get into a routine, and the guys there are so friendly. They’ll help me out.”

While O'Gorman prepares for an important trip to the West Coast and gets mentally focused to become a college student, his parents are still savoring his accomplishment.

“It’s such a huge accomplishment, but it’s really just the beginning with the next four or five years on the West Coast. He’s really got a tremendous opportunity," said Don O'Gorman, Brian's father. "…I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to miss going to all the games, but we’ll have to satisfy ourselves with video streaming and the occasional TV [broadcast]. We couldn’t be happier.”

“It’s been a long trip, but he’s worked hard and I think he deserves it," added Ildi O'Gorman, Brian's mother. "We’re just very proud of him. We know there will be good things down the road.”

The Cal State Northridge Matadors are coming off a tough season, which saw the team go 7-22, but the Matadors don't have many breaks in their schedule and a majority of their losses came against top-15 opponents.

Northridge played No. 1 USC twice, No. 2 UC Irvine three times and No. 3 UC Santa Barbara three times. However, the Matadors also defeated No. 5 Long Beach State and No. 11 Pepperdine once, and knocked off No. 13 UC San Diego three separate times over the course of the season.

The team should be a major threat in D-I in the upcoming season, especially after adding O'Gorman to an already talented lineup.

“The coaches were saying that they were looking to make a run at the national championship, so that would be the greatest thing ever for me,” Brian said.

Northridge may be 2,836 miles away from Kennedy – give or take a few feet – but Brian was more than confident with the skills he acquired as a Cougar.

"Everything Ringel has taught me with volleyball – all the skills and all of the life lessons – it’s just been an awesome experience," Brian said. "I’m going to miss it.”