Brown picks UCLA

UCLA came on late in trying to recruit Parker Brown.

The Bruins might have been last in pursuing Brown, but they finished first in landing the standout outside hitter from Corona del Mar High.

Brown has committed to play for the UCLA men’s volleyball program, the Balboa Bay Volleyball Club announced on its Facebook page on Thursday.

Last week, Brown said UCLA moved up to the top of his list because of its new coach, John Speraw. Brown said Speraw recruited him while Speraw was at UC Irvine, which won the NCAA title this past season, the program’s third crown in the last six seasons under Speraw.

With Speraw leaving the Anteaters for UCLA, his alma mater, Brown followed him to Westwood.

The Bruins get a talented 6-foot-3 player. Brown earned the Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa Dream Team Player of the Year award in boys’ volleyball after leading the Sea Kings to their second straight CIF Southern Section Division 2 title appearance.

“Coach Speraw is a great coach and he’s a big part of my interest in UCLA,” Brown said last week, when he was also considering UCLA’s rival, USC, and Pepperdine.

Before Brown decided on his collegiate future, he spent a couple of days last week on Catalina Island with friends and his mother.

Getting away, Brown said, would help him make the best choice.

His club season had ended a week before with a disappointing finish at the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships in Dallas, where the Balboa Bay 18 Hurley team placed fifth in the open division. Three of his club teammates, Kyle Bailey, Kyle Palmer and John Zappia, were bound for UCLA.

Last week, Brown, an All-CIF selection, said the three didn’t pressure him in choosing the Bruins. A week later, Brown decided to join them at UCLA.

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Twitter: @DCPenaloza