Hometown boy Rylan Smith accounts for the Lakeland Rustlers’ entire 2025 recruiting class for the coming Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference men’s volleyball season.
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Even with that limited retooling of the roster, Rustlers coach Taylor Dyer believes the six-foot-five Smith provides a rare commodity that Lakeland has traditionally lacked at the setter position.
“Rylan obviously has the size and the height that we’re looking for at that position,” Dyer said. “It’s kind of a luxury we’ve never had, to have a setter of that size, so we’re excited about that.
“He comes from a great family. He’s a great kid. He’ll fit in nicely with us.”
In recruiting Smith, the collegiate Rustlers are adding one of their own. He has played years of club volleyball with the Rustlers program through 18U this past season, while also wearing the Lloydminster Comprehensive Barons’ colours at the high school level and representing the province with Team Saskatchewan at national events.
“We love that he’s local, too,” Dyer said. “We’re getting to that point now where our club system is developing some kids that can go and play at the next level. Which is great for us and great for volleyball in our community. I couldn’t be happier about how things are going on that side of things.”
From his perspective, Smith’s familiarity with the Rustlers, and the opportunity to study at Lakeland and continue playing volleyball at home, were decisive factors in his ACAC commitment.
His two finalists in selecting a post-secondary school were Lakeland and Camrose’s Augustana College, whose Vikings also play in the ACAC.
“I’m pretty excited,” Smith said. “I went to a couple of different ID camps during the (recruiting period). My next school (after Lakeland) was probably going to be Augustana, but Lakeland was a little bit more attractive.”
FAMILIAR FACES
He felt relatively comfortable this year while auditioning with the Rustlers in a few practices. Some of his brother Tristan’s former high school teammates already play with Lakeland, so he’s somewhat familiar with those local players.
“They have a really good setter, Keifer (Sinclair), that’ll help me train to get better, so that’ll be nice just to have a guy to look up to,” said Smith, who’s been working on his strength development this off-season.
“My goal is to gain a lot more weight and put on some muscle so that I can actually compete with the different level of volleyball that college provides.
“I’m six-foot-five and 170 pounds. I’m pretty tall, but for my height, I need to be 200, probably, with muscle.”
Along with working out in the gym five or six times per week, Smith planned to complement that physical training with healthy eating.
“Lots of food, but not just lots of food,” he said. “I have to eat lots of the right food.”
Of course, the comforts of home should help him in that regard.
“Nothing beats a home-cooked meal,” agreed Smith, who also plans to continue his part-time retail job throughout the school year.
The Rustlers carry a strong contingent of players from the region, and Smith hopes his relationship with them eases his transition to both the team and collegiate volleyball.
“Most of the guys at Lakeland now, my brother actually played with during high school, so I went out and practised with them a couple of times,” he said.
“I think they’re going to welcome me kind of like a kid, and they’ll be my adults for a little bit. I hope they don’t put the rookie (treatment) on me so much, since I’m the only one there. I hope they take it easy on me.”
Smith thanked the supportive teammates and coaches he has had during his high school years with the Barons and the Rustlers club program, including this past season with an 18U team that placed fourth in Division 1 at the Sask provincials.
“I think we had a great showing this year, especially because we only had three Team Sask guys, and every other team that placed higher had an entire lineup full of them,” said Smith, whose father Doug coached those Rustlers.
HELP FROM FRIENDS
Rylan Smith believes that encouragement from teammates and coaches has been influential in his maturity and development as a volleyball player.
“I think Kolton (Wildeman) was one of my teammates that had the greatest impact on my volleyball,” Smith said. “He kind of pushed me to get better, help me become the guy I am.
“I used to struggle a lot with mental toughness throughout the game. The little comments, just the casual trash talk, used to get underneath my skin, and Kolton helped me overcome those challenges. Not only Kolton, but my entire team and coaches helped me overcome those.”
Wildeman and Smith were teammates at both the club and high school levels, as well as with Team Sask. Wildeman is bound for the College of the Rockies in Cranbrook, B.C., this fall.
In cross-conference play as college freshmen, the pair of Lloyd Comp graduates might face each other early in the season. They’re among six members of the 18U Gold club Rustlers joining college volleyball teams this year.
One of them, Will Reiniger of Vermilion, is part of Team Sask for the Canada Summer Games in St. John’s, N.L., this August.
Smith opted out of the provincial team program this summer to focus on work and his readiness for college.
“It was a tough decision, but with grad and all, I was leaning toward having a good last summer (close to home) before my adult life actually starts,” Smith said.
Wildeman was all but on Team Sask for a third straight year, but he ultimately decided not to go that route. He wanted more time to prepare for his move to college immediately after the Canada Games.
It’s a turning point in the lives of longtime volleyball buddies. As he reflected on his high school years, Smith flipped the yearbook back to Grade 10 for one of his lasting memories.
“Probably my favourite season was my Grade 10 year at the Comp, just because I got to play with my older brother and my dad was coaching, so it was pretty cool to have both of them there with me,” he said.
“I think I improved a lot that year, just because I wanted to catch my brother as much as I could.”
Youngest sibling Katie, going into Grade 10 this September, is also a competitive volleyball player. She was part of the historic Momentum 15U girls’ club team that won Saskatchewan gold this spring.
This summer, Doug Smith is not only moving on as coach of the senior boys’ Barons, but also as vice-principal at Lloyd Comp. But he remains active in education and athletics as the inaugural principal of the Lloydminster-based Pursuit School of Sport.
Rylan Smith is mapping out his career plans. He plans to study in the business-appraisal field at Lakeland.
“I talked to the professor for the business and appraisal course, and he was pretty chill,” Smith said. “It’s something that’s going to be a fun course, and one of my friends from the Comp is going into that as well.”
Along with Smith and Wildeman, four other 18U Gold Rustlers are also bound for post-secondary volleyball.
St. Jerome’s twins Will and Brett Reiniger join their brother Landon at Medicine Hat College.
Jaydon Joyal, from North Battleford, is going to Augustana College, while Colton Campbell of Ministikwan heads to Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
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