Bobcats land Zodiacs star middle Enns

Alfredo Enns has enjoyed his trips to Brandon enough to call it home for the foreseeable future.

The all-star middle blocker from Winkler’s Garden Valley Collegiate has committed to the Brandon University Bobcats for the 2026-27 Canada West men’s volleyball season.

“I’m stoked. Playing at the U Sports level is definitely a dream of mine,” Enns said. “It’s coming true, and getting to do it with the Brandon Bobcats is a privilege I’m excited for.”

Enns and the Zodiacs travelled to the Wheat City in 2024 for the BU varsity boys’ tournament last year, earning an all-star selection as his team reached the semifinals. He picked up another at Neelin’s Spartan Dig, again following a semifinal exit.

The six-foot-five attacker spent the summer with Team Manitoba and returned to lead GVC to the BU tourney title as the MVP a couple of weeks ago.

Bobcats head coach Grant Wilson has been impressed each time he’s watched Enns play.

“He definitely left a positive impression on us,” Wilson said.

“Physicality-wise, he’s ahead of most kids in his age class for sure. Like anything, especially as a middle blocker, there’s always lots to learn and adjust to the speed of the game. We like to think he’ll come in and compete with the older guys right away and make us a better team.

“The first thing that stood out for me was his reading ability as a middle blocker. I liked how he read the game and thought he moved well for a guy his size. Obviously, when you watch him attack, his physicality stands out, so there were a few things that captured our attention and drew us to him for sure.”

Enns said he chose BU for a few reasons.

“The community, how loud the fans get, the fan base is definitely more hyped and more active than any U Sports level games I’ve been to, at U of M (Manitoba) or U of W (Winnipeg), Brandon stood out to me in that way,” Enns said.

“With the smaller city, I feel like I’m going to get more familiar with my classes and the community around me as well.”

Enns and his peers lost their Grade 7 season to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he was eager to join a school team in Grade 8. While hockey was his first passion, volleyball took over. He joined the Aztecs Volleyball Club 15-and-under team a few years ago and moved up to 18U last season.

This year, he’s trying to lead the Zodiacs to the AAA provincial title that eluded them last year in a 2-1 final loss to the Neelin Spartans. GVC swept Neelin in the quarterfinals at BU this year and is the top-ranked AAA team in the province.

After the high school season, Enns plans to play for either the Winman or the Bisons in Winnipeg this year to tune up his game with a busier schedule before making the jump to U Sports. But he’s definitely grateful for the coaching he has received at home from Steve Goertzen and Jordan Peters.

“They definitely pushed me to be a better human but improved me the most out of any coaches,” Enns said, adding he can’t wait to add Wilson to that list.

“I’ve heard Grant is great at improving blockers and will make me 10 times better, so I’m excited for that.”

Enns joins Ontario native Mason Lange, who’s currently training with Volleyball Canada’s National Excellence Program, and Dauphin’s Gabe Beaudin in the rookie class.

QUICK HITS: The Bobcats are in Puerto Rico representing Canada at the NORCECA Final Six men’s tournament. They fell to 1-2 on Wednesday with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-19) loss to Mexico. Liam Pauls led BU with 10 points, including nine kills and two errors while Matthew Siebenga added eight points on five kills. Canada faces the host Puerto Rico today at 7 p.m. CDT.

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