College volleyball star Merrick McHenry starts the new season with a No. 1-ranking & the best smile in the country
Subscribe to our daily newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.With a new season beginning Thursday, UCLA is No.
1 in the NV/AVCA coaches poll. McHenry, who’s returning for his fifth season, is one of the biggest reasons why. Unsurprisingly, the All-American is featured prominently in the Bruins’ celebratory graphic.A post shared by UCLA Men's Volleyball (@uclamvb)A post shared by Merrick McHenry (@merrickmchenry)McHenry, who hails from a volleyball family in Texas, loved growing up in the Lone Star State.
But he never felt comfortable with his gay identity. That was one of the prevailing reasons why he wanted play at UCLA: Los Angeles is a playground for young queer men looking to explore and find their way. “[To] be a gay man and grow up in Texas … I just felt out of place,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “To be able to be around people who still love me despite what a lot of parts of the world might see as different … it’s a journey and it still is a journey but I think I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my own skin as a 22-year-old nowadays.
I think it’s only just going to get better for me.”McHenry is right about that. He’s firmly established himself in the UCLA record books, leading the nation with a .537 hitting percentage last season, second all-time for the storied program.