Bobcats quick to sign London’s Lange

Mason Lange is moving faster than ever.

That’s saying something for a former dirt biker turned volleyball star.

The six-foot-four London, Ont., native was just added to the Volleyball Canada under-19 national team as a 17-year-old. Now he’s the first recruit for the Brandon University Bobcats class of 2026.

Lange has verbally committed to the Bobcats, with plans to sign his letter of intent once players in his age group are eligible starting Sept. 1.

“I am stoked, beyond stoked. I honestly can’t wait,” Lange said. “It’s a big dream to play on a west team, especially with Grant (Wilson) and Bryce (Wilson) coaching … Possibly to play beside Ethan Baraniuk … that would be unreal.”

Lange was added to the U19 roster, which already includes Brandon’s top high school player and 2025 BU commit, Baraniuk, when one of the players went down with an injury recently.

Lange will spend the bulk of his summer focused on that, then stay in Gatineau, Que., to train with the National Excellence Program in the fall.

Before high school, he couldn’t have predicted any of this. Lange focused on hockey and baseball growing up, then dropped both to race dirt bikes for a few years but realized it wasn’t worth the injuries.

He started growing and realized the sport he was meant for was right in front of him.

His mother, Michelle, played for London’s Western University in her day and is a longtime coach, most recently with the Westminster Secondary School Wildcats and Forest City Volleyball Club.

Lange would sit on the bench as she coached her teams growing up. He realized he was in a good spot to thrive in the sport.

Lange played 15U club ball a year early as a setter, then stayed in the age group but moved to the left side the following year.

He cracked the provincial team the following summer, then earned third place at beach volleyball nationals with a friend later that year.

Lange guided Medway High School to third place at the Western Ontario Secondary Schools Athletic Association championship last fall, then helped his FCVC team reach the club provincial quarterfinals.

Between high school and club, he attended a showcase in Toronto — one both Wilsons who coach the Bobcats also travelled to in December.

Grant coached the court Lange happened to train on while Bryce tracked him down on Day 2 and let him know BU wanted to stay in touch.

“Prior to that, I’d never heard of the Brandon Bobcats. I was like ‘OK, this is pretty cool, maybe a small town … I’m a big small-town guy,” Lange said, adding Bryce suggested he visit the school a few months later.

“I almost knew right away. I felt so comfortable with how easy it was to navigate around the area. I loved the area, I love the HLC, I love the locker room, everything felt it fit.

“Hard decision coming down but I know I made the right one. Coming to a small school with big things, I really feel I’m going to thrive in that environment.”

Wilson agrees.

As did the coaching staffs at a handful of universities. Lange said his decision included Alberta, Windsor, Brock, Winnipeg and Brandon, with the last three being his finalists.

While Grant doesn’t typically have players lined up this far in advance, he felt compelled to secure Lange as quickly as possible.

“He’s a pretty big, physical guy for a 17-year-old. You can see he’s hit the weight room and he takes care of his body and works hard. He’s a solid passer, smart attacker, physical, he does all the things you want as an outside attacker and he’s just a real student of the game too,” he said.

“He’s a bit of a volleyball nerd, he loves to watch a lot of volleyball high-end stuff and tries to work some of the stuff he sees into his own game. He’s a real neat kid and I think he’s going to fit in great here.”

Ultimately, Lange could have picked his school in Ontario next year but wanted to play in Canada West. He sees how tough the conference is, how well it performs at nationals and how most of the best players on the national team tend to come from the league.

He has another full year of volleyball before arriving in Brandon, He’s confident he can help the Bobcats as soon as he arrives.

“I think I am one of the best passers in Ontario … as a left side, 17U-18U age group,” Lange said.

“When I’m feeling it, I am the best server.

“No matter how many errors I have, no matter what I’m doing, I’m always positive, I’m always encouraging, I’m always having that will to win, pushing my teammates and pushing myself.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

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