Francesco Sani

Francesco Sani
Personal information
Nationality	American, Italian
Born	(2002-07-16) 16 July 2002 (age 23) Greenbrae, California, U.S.
Height	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)
College / University	UC Irvine
Volleyball information
Position	Outside hitter
Current team	Verona
Number	11
Career
Years Teams 2023– Verona
National team
2019 United States U-19 2021–2022 United States 2025– Italy
Honours Men's volleyball Representing   United States Pan American Cup 2022 Gatineau Representing   Italy World University Games 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Team

Francesco Sani (born 16 July 2002) is a professional volleyball player who plays as an outside hitter for the Italian Volleyball League club, Verona. Born in the United States, he represents Italy at the international level. He was a member of his country of birth's national team from 2021 to 2022.

Career

Youth and college

Sani began his club career with The St. James, while at school level he played in the Maryland tournaments with Walter Johnson High School. ^[1] After graduating he landed in the NCAA Division I university league with UC Irvine, where he played from 2020 to 2023, also being included in the second All-America team. ^[1]

Club

In the 2023–24 season, Sani signed his first professional contract in Italy, where he participated in the Italian Volleyball League with Verona, ^[2] being registered as an Italian. ^{[3] [4]}

National team

Sani was called up to the US under 19 national team to play in the 2019 World Championship. ^[5]

In 2021, Sani made his debut for the senior American national team at the NORCECA Final Six, where he won the bronze medal. ^[6] A year later, he won two more bronzes, again at the NORCECA Final Six ^[7] and then at the Pan American Cup. ^[8]

In 2025, after having switched his sporting nationality, ^[3] Sani made his debut with the Italian national team, winning the bronze medal at the Summer World University Games in the same year. ^[9]

References

1. "Francesco Sani". UC Irvine. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
2. "FRANCESCO SANI È UN NUOVO GIOCATORE DI RANA VERONA" (in Italian). 12 July 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
3. "Verona, Francesco Sani tesserato come giocatore italiano" (in Italian). 23 October 2023.
4. "Volley, chi è Francesco Sani: il giovane schiacciatore italiano, nato in America, che sta esplodendo a Verona" (in Italian). 13 November 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
5. "FIVB Volleyball Boys' U19 World Championship Final 15-16 (Places 15 and 16)". 30 August 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
6. "Men Senior Pan American Cup 2021 Final 3-4 (Places 3 and 4)" (PDF). 9 September 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
7. "NORCECA Panamerican Men Volleyball Cup 2022 Final 3-4 (Places 3 and 4)" (PDF). 17 July 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
8. "XV Men Senior Pan American Volelyball Cup Final 3-4 (Places 3 and 4)" (PDF). 14 August 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
9. "Universiadi: l'Italia supera 3-1 il Giappone e conquista la medaglia di bronzo". 24 July 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.

External links

• Francesco Sani at LegaVolley.it(in Italian)