University of California, Santa Barbara

2025: Big West All-Freshman Team selection and All-Big West Honorable Mention … Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table (SBART) Men’s Volleyball Athlete of the Year … played in 18 matches and 60 sets during his redshirt freshman season, limited somewhat by injury … still third on the team in kills (178), accounting for 2.97 kills per set while hitting .299, the highest of all qualifying Gauchos … ranked sixth in the Big West in kills per set during conference play (3.27) … also added 66 digs, 29 total blocks and eight aces … recorded double-digit kills in nine matches, including seven of the team’s 10 Big West matches … best match came against No. 5 UC Irvine (April 10), tallying a career-high 26 kills while hitting .417, also adding three blocks and three aces for a total of 31 points … followed that up with 19 kills against No. 3 Hawai’i (April 18) … had 14 kills with a .476 hitting percentage at No. 6 BYU (Feb. 7) … tallied 13 kills, seven digs, five blocks, and an ace in four-set win over No. 8 CSUN (March 29).

2024: Appeared in seven matches before getting sidelined due to injury … secured his season-high in kills against Grand Canyon (Jan. 6) with 12 … had his most efficient night at the pin against NJIT (Jan. 4) as he notched eight kills and only one error on 15 swings to hit at a .467 clip … contributed heavily to the team’s defensive efforts against BYU (Jan. 19) with six digs and eight blocks.

HIGH SCHOOL: Attended Corona Del Mar High School ... earned All-CIF First Team honors ... led his team to the CIF Finals in 2023 ... helped his team get to the CIF Semifinals in 2021 ... played for the U.S. U21 National Training team during the summer of 2023 ... was a national champion in 2021 and 2022 with his club team Balboa Bay while earning a spot on the All-Tournament team on both occasions ... named as a Top 25 Underclassmen by VolleyballMag.com ... also played basketball.

PERSONAL: Son of Julia and Christoph Bruening ... has two sisters, Tati and Natalia ... majoring in economics.