The Winnipeg Wesmen men's volleyball team is going the international route for its final recruit in the Class of 2026.
The Wesmen have earned the commitment of 6-foot-6 middle blocker Filip Oskwarek from Marklowice, Poland as the newest member of head coach Chris Voth's 2026 recruiting class.
The 18-year-old will join the Wesmen in the fall from his club in Jastrzebie Zdrój, which is situated about 100 km west of Kraków.
Oskwarek's JSW Academy team travelled to Ontario in October and faced U Sports teams (Toronto, Waterloo, Western) and the Canadian National Excellence Program. Statistically speaking, Oskwarek was far from out of place against the university competition, recording seven kills with no errors on nine swings in a win over Waterloo, and knocking down six kills with four blocks and six digs in a five-setter with Toronto.
"The vibe is really important to me in volleyball. It's most important for me to have fun playing the sport," he said. The competition (in Canada) sometimes when we were playing against (the NEP), you could see the gap. But when we played against Western University or Toronto, they were on a really good level and it was great to try to fight against them and even win a set or two."
Oskwarek, who played hockey until he was 10, said he comes from an athletic family with basketball-playing parents and an aunt, Natalia Tomaszewska, who was a two-time conference all-star at NCAA Division I Pacific in the early 2000s.
Tomaszewska's journey showed Oskwarek the blueprint for what he hopes is an extended career in the game.
"I was looking up to my auntie's career because she also started here in Poland and then she moved to the USA and got a full scholarship, made her degree there and then she came back to Europe to play professional," he said. "So from the beginning my idea was to go somewhere abroad to play, to also study, to get a degree for a job after volleyball, and then move to some professional club."
Oskwarek used his time in Canada to make contacts with other players and coaches in search of that chance to play here. He quickly found a connection with Voth, who made a good first impression on Oskwarek.
"He is really helpful and really caring," Oskwarek said. "I think he's a really experienced coach and I thought it might work really well and I could make a good progress here."
Voth believes Oskwarek, his first international recruit, has a chance to have a big impact on the future of the program.
"Our team is incredibly excited to welcome Filip as the final piece of our 2026 recruiting class," Voth said. "He is a very talented athlete who already shows a strong understanding of the game and has gained valuable experience competing at a high level. Coaches in Poland consistently speak about his work ethic, maturity, and his steep trajectory as a player. We believe those qualities will allow him to step in and make an impact early in his time with our program. Off the court he carries himself with a calm and friendly presence, but when the match begins, he flips a switch and becomes a fierce competitor with a strong presence at the net and impressive blocking ability."
