2 weeks Ago By Thomas Friesen
Cooper Bevan doesn’t miss his first love. Read this article for free: Already have an account? As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support.
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Cooper Bevan doesn’t miss his first love. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Cooper Bevan doesn’t miss his first love. He didn’t expect volleyball to replace Australian rules football as his greatest passion but it has.
The Adelaide, South Australia native made the switch and then made the under-18 national team. Now, he’s the latest player to commit to the Brandon University Bobcats for the 2025-26 Canada West season. “I’m definitely pumped,” Bevan said.
“It’s been a longtime dream of mine to go to the next level of volleyball, then of course the last couple of years it’s been a good chance or reality I could make it to Canada. “To get the opportunity has been awesome, nonetheless with the Bobcats.” Bevan said he didn’t even know volleyball existed until high school.
His school had a special interest volleyball program, which his mom pushed him to enter. The five-foot-10 libero quickly fell in love with the game and by Grade 10 he dropped his other sports. “I come from a pretty heavy footy family,” he said.
“Everyone said, ‘Oh, you’ll be back in a couple of years. “Going into the volleyball gym and seeing everybody in the mud and rain training every week ..
. I never looked back.” Bevan didn’t take long to catch Volleyball South Australia’s radar and earn a spot on the national team.
He played for South Australia, one of six states and territories in the country, at the 15U level in 2022, being named to the All-Australian Boys Team at nationals and then earning the MVP award for his U17 team the following year. Bevan spent last summer training for and competing in the Asian Men’s U18 Volleyball Championships in Bahrain. “It was something I had dreamt of ever since I started playing.
It’s the pinnacle for playing volleyball, in Australia at least,” Bevan said. He’s a fantastic fit for the BU for a few reasons, and it’s just as good a landing spot for him. Bevan joins Brandonites Kingston Thomas and Ethan Baraniuk, along with Saskatchewan’s Matt Lefebvre and New Zealand national team product Jobe McAuley in the recruit class.
While Brandon still has Aussie outside hitter/libero Sam Chen, meaning there aren’t any import spots available, Bevan can still fit in since his mom is from Halifax. She moved to Australia shortly after high school but Bevan’s dual citizenship enables him to count as a Canadian. It’s a similar situation to that of graduating libero Michael Flor — listed from Carlyle, Sask.
, but a product of the Philippines — and former Bobcat James Weir, who played for Team Australia after helping BU win Canada West and reach the national final in 2019. The Bobcats have rotated a laundry list of players through the libero spot since that 2019 season when captain Brady Nault held the job all year. Since U Sports has allowed two liberos, BU has seldom had one player own the role.
Now, head coach Grant Wilson is hoping Thomas and Bevan push each other for the full-time job or split it without anyone else in the equation. “We like adding two high-calibre liberos that are both considered to be full-time liberos, so there’s no concerns or worries about them wishing or wanting to be an outside or a different position,” Wilson said. “This is their thing, so that will give some stability to the position for us.
” Bevan considered a few U Sports programs but had a few boxes he needed to check and felt Brandon did so. For one, the financial situation had to work out with scholarships and cost of living, since financial athletic awards can only cover tuition and fees. BU has an international tuition waiver, meaning international students who play for the Bobcats are treated as Canadians when it comes to tuition and coaches don’t need to break their scholarship bank to reach a manageable deal.
Brandon was also affordable enough. On the volleyball side, Bevan liked what he heard about the program. “My personal play style is really hard-working .
.. and Grant made it really clear talking about the team that it’s built off of hard work,” Bevan said.
“That really resonated with me.” » [email protected] » Instagram: @thomasfriesen5 Advertisement Advertisement.
