Evan Hoburg Patak (born June 23, 1984) is an American

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player who is a member of the

United States men's national volleyball team The United States men's national volleyball team represents the country in international competitions and friendly matches. The team is governed by USA Volleyball. The team has won five Olympic medals, including three gold. History As the birth ...

Playing career

Youth and collegiate

Patak grew up in

Pleasanton, California Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the Amador Valley, it is a suburb in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 79,871 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. In 200 ...

and attended Foothill High School where he played for the school's volleyball team. He was named to the First Team All-

East Bay Athletic League The East Bay Athletic League (EBAL) is a high school sports league in the North Coast Section of the California Interscholastic Federation. The league was created in 1964; previously teams competed in the "East Bay Division" (EBD) of the Diablo Va ...

three times, earning the title of Most Valuable Player in his senior year. He also played club volleyball for Diablo Valley Volleyball Club. Following graduation, Patak enrolled at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

and played for the

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos are the intercollegiate athletic teams who represent the University of California, Santa Barbara. Referred to in athletic competition as ''UC Santa Barbara'' or ''UCSB'', the Gauchos participate in 19 NCAA Division I ...

. After redshirting in 2003, he went on to play 4 seasons with the Gauchos and was named the 2004 AVCA Newcomer of the Year and a three-time All American. He also led the nation in kills in 2005.

Professional

Patak joined the professional ranks right out of college in 2007 and joined Puerto Rican-based club Playeros de San Juan in the

Liga de Voleibol Superior Masculino The Liga de Voleibol Superior Masculino (LVSM) is a men's professional volleyball league in Puerto Rico. The competitions are organized by the Puerto Rican Volleyball Federation (Federación Puertorriqueña de Voleibol, FPV). League Champio ...

. His stay was brief, leaving them for

Aris Volleyball Club Aris Thessaloniki Volleyball Club is the professional volleyball team of A.C. Aris Thessaloniki, the major multi-sport club of Thessaloniki, Greece. Aris VC participates in the A2 League and it is one of the most historical teams of the whol ...

in the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

A1 Ethniki The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

before the end of the year. Patak returned to the Puerto Rican LVSM in 2008. According to then-manager Jorge de Jesús, he nearly rejoined his old Playeros de San Juan team, now rebranded as Mets de Guaynabo, but ultimately joined

Indios de Mayagüez The Indios de Mayagüez (Mayagüez Indians) are a baseball team in Puerto Rico's Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League, in Spanish). Based in Mayagüez, the ''Indios'' have won 18 national ...

. Due to the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

and his contract with the U.S. National Team, Patak joined Indios de Mayagüez after their season had started. Evan Patak

The offseason saw yet another move as Patak joined Austrian-based aon hotVolleys in Fall 2008. He played with the team until January 9, 2009 when his contract was mutually terminated due to the club's financial constraints. He returned to the Greek A1 Ethniki that same month after signing with P.A.O.K. Thessaloniki V.C. He joined Turkish club

Halkbank Ankara Halkbank Ankara is a professional men's volleyball team based in Ankara, Turkey and sponsored by the state-owned Halkbank. It was founded on 21 July 1983 as Halkbank Spor Kulübü with blue, white and red colors ...

of the

Turkish Men's Volleyball League The Turkish Men's Volleyball League, officially called the Efe League (Turkish: Efeler Ligi), is the highest professional men's volleyball league in Turkey. It is run by the Turkish Volleyball Federation. Founded in 1970, the league is considere ...

in Summer of 2009. He stayed with the club through early May 2010. After Greece, Patak joined South Korean V-League club

Incheon Korean Air Jumbos Incheon Korean Air Jumbos ( ko, 인천 대한항공 점보스) is a South Korean professional volleyball team. The team was founded in 1969 and became fully professional in 2005. They are based in Incheon and are members of the Korea Volleyball Fe ...

. They ended with the best regular season record in the V-League for the 2010–2011 season, but lost in the championship playoffs finals. He returned to Europe to play for Italian club

Umbria Volley Umbria Volley was an Italian volleyball club based in the Umbria Region. The club was founded as ''Pet Company Perugia Volley'' in 2001. Since the season 2001/02 the club plays in the A1 league, the top league in Italy. After the season 2011/12, U ...

of the

Italian Volleyball League Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

in December 2011. Patak landed in Puerto Rico for the third time in October 2012. He signed for

Plataneros de Corozal Plataneros de Corozal is a professional volleyball team based in Corozal, Puerto Rico. They play in the Puerto Rican Liga de Voleibol Superior Masculino. Season 2013-2014 Achievements National competitions * Liga de Voleibol Sup ...

after Dallas Soonais was lost to a shoulder injury. After a semi-finals loss that ended Plataneros de Corozal's season, Patak joined Spacer's de Toulouse in January 2013. He proved to be a huge catalyst to turn Spacer's season around, making a run in the Coupe de France but ultimately coming in second best. Despite his play, he was not brought back for a second season.

International

Patak has been a member of the full

since 2008. He was initially a member of the U.S. delegation for the

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

earning a bronze medal in both trips. Patak was on track to also participate in the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Games, but did not participate due to injury. He also joined for a six-city tour against Japan. After leaving UC Santa Barbara, Patak's first action with the senior men's national team was in 2008 NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifying Preliminary Matches, 2008 Four Nations Tournament,

2008 Men's Pan-American Volleyball Cup The 2008 Pan-American Volleyball Cup was the third edition of the annual men's volleyball tournament, played by seven countries from June 2 to June 7, 2008, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The winner of each pool automatically advanced to the semi- ...

2008 FIVB Volleyball World League The 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League was the 19th edition of the annual men's international volleyball tournament, played by 16 countries from 13 June to 27 July 2008. The Final Round was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pools composition Inter ...

, and 2008 Volleyball America's Cup. Despite being named to the 2008 Summer Games preliminary roster, Patak missed being named to the final roster and was subsequently named an alternate. U.S. assistant coach

Rick McLaughlin Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

tipped Patak as having the potential to peak in 2012 for the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Games. He was a mainstay for the United States moving forward, appearing in a number of major competitions including the

2009 Men's NORCECA Volleyball Championship The 2009 Men's NORCECA Volleyball Championship was the 21st edition of the Men's Continental Volleyball Tournament, played from October 12 to October 17 at the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The winner qualified for the 200 ...

, 2010 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship qualification (NORCECA),

2009 FIVB Volleyball World League The 2009 FIVB Volleyball World League was the 20th edition of the annual men's international volleyball tournament, played by 16 countries from 12 June to 26 July 2009. The Final Round was held in Belgrade, Serbia. Pools composition Pool st ...

2010 FIVB Volleyball World League The 2010 FIVB Volleyball World League was the 21st edition of the annual men's international volleyball tournament, played by 16 countries from 4 June to 25 July 2010. The Final Round was held in Córdoba, Argentina. Qualification *Top 14 t ...

2011 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup The 2011 FIVB Men's World Cup was held from 20 November to 4 December 2011 in Japan. The tournament was the first step in the qualification process for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, United Kingdom. The top three teams qualified f ...

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

2011 Men's NORCECA Volleyball Championship The 2011 Men's NORCECA Volleyball Championship was the 22nd edition of the Men's Continental Volleyball Tournament, played from 29 August to 3 September 2011 in the Palacio de Recreación y Deportes in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The winner qualified ...

, 2011 FIVB Volleyball World League, and

2012 FIVB Volleyball World League The 2012 FIVB Volleyball World League was the 23rd edition of the annual men's international volleyball tournament, played by 16 countries from 18 May to 8 July 2012. The Final Round was held in Sofia, Bulgaria. Qualification *Top 13 teams of ...

. Despite being regularly featured, Patak was named an alternative to the

2012 London Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competi ...

and was again named as an alternate. He was named to the

2013 FIVB Volleyball World League The 2013 FIVB Volleyball World League was the 24th edition of the annual men's international volleyball tournament, played by 18 countries from 31 May to 21 July 2013. The Final Round was held in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Qualification *Top 1 ...

preliminary roster, but did not have any court time.

References

External links

Team USA player profile

FIVB World League player profile

Lega Volley player profile

CEV player profile

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patak, Evan 1984 births Living people American men's volleyball players UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's volleyball players Halkbank volleyball players P.A.O.K. V.C. players Universiade medalists in volleyball Universiade bronze medalists for the United States Volleyball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games volleyball players for the United States