No surprises! "Top prospect" Yoon Kyung selected first overall, Hyundai Capital's 2% odds turn into a dramatic second pick... Men's volleyball draft sets all-time low selection rate [KOVO Rookie Draft]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Even as upsets emerged in the ball lottery, the first overall pick was exactly as expected. Yoon Kyung (Inha University), who had been evaluated as the top attacker in university volleyball, earned the honor of being selected first overall in the 2026-2027 men's professional volleyball rookie draft.

OK Savings Bank selected Yoon Kyung, an outside hitter from Inha University, with the first overall pick at the 2026-2027 Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) men's rookie player draft held at 2:30 p.m. on the 28th at the Mayfield Hotel in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

A total of 59 players participated in this year's draft, including 48 from 13 universities, 5 from five high schools, and six affiliated with amateur teams. The biggest point of interest was where Yoon Kyung, considered the top prospect of this draft, would land.

Yoon Kyung had long been evaluated as a promising talent who would lead the next generation of Korean men's volleyball. As an attacker who has represented the national team at the under-19 (U-19), under-20 (U-20), and under-21 (U-21) levels, he consistently demonstrated his presence in age-group international tournaments.

In particular, he played a key role as a core attacker for Korea at the 2025 International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) U-21 World Championship held last year in Zhangmen, China. In the first group stage match against Canada, he led a comeback victory by scoring 18 points, including four blocks. He erupted with 26 points in the placement match against Egypt. He also accounted for a tournament-high 27 points combined across both teams in the final ranking match against Japan.

While Korea finished the tournament in 12th place, Yoon Kyung proved his attacking power against world-class prospects. The experience he accumulated by moving between the university stage and age-group national teams led to this first overall selection.

The ball lottery to determine the selection order differed from expectations. Based on the reverse of the final standings from last season, Samsung Fire had the highest probability of securing the first overall pick at 35%. OK Savings Bank was at 30%, KEPCO at 20%, KB Insurance at 8%, Woori Card at 4%, Hyundai Capital at 2%, and Korean Air at 1%.

However, the first ball drawn was for OK Savings Bank. Then, Hyundai Capital, which had only a 2% probability, secured the second overall pick. An upset occurred as Woori Card, with a 4% chance, also obtained the third pick rights. KB Insurance took fourth, KEPCO fifth, and Samsung Fire, which held the most balls, dropped to sixth. Korean Air was last in seventh place.

However, there were no surprises in the choice of OK Savings Bank, which secured the first overall pick rights. Yoon Kyung's name was called first. With Yoon Kyung's selection, Inha University has produced five players selected first overall in the history of the V-League men's rookie draft, tying for first place with Kyunggi University. Previously, Kyunggi University held sole first place with five players, followed by Inha University and Hanyang University with four each.

Yoon Kyung also holds the record as the last player selected first overall under the rookie signing bonus system. The benchmark amount for the first overall pick's signing bonus this year is 160 million won, separate from the rookie salary of 40 million won. KOVO plans to abolish the men's rookie signing bonus starting from the 2027-2028 season. Following this, Hyundai Capital selected Jang Eun-seok, a middle blocker from Hanyang University, with the second overall pick. Woori Card selected Jeon Yu-seok, an outside hitter from Chungbuk National University, with the third pick.

KB Insurance selected Jang Bo-seok, an opposite spiker from Hanyang University, and KEPCO selected Yeo Gwang-woo, a libero from Inha University, with the fourth and fifth picks, respectively. Samsung Fire selected Im In-gyu, a middle blocker from Inha University, and Korean Air selected Lee Seung-il, an outside hitter from Suncheon Jeil High School, concluding the first round. Notably, Lee Seung-il was the only high school player selected in the first round of this draft.

In the second round, OK Savings Bank selected Baek Ha-jun from Yeongcheon City Sports Council, Woori Card selected Park Woo-young from Hanyang University, KB Insurance selected Hyun Seok-jae from Chungbu University, KEPCO selected Han Jae-won from Inha National University of Education Affiliated High School, and Korean Air selected Song Jeong-min from Suseong High School.

Hyundai Capital and Samsung Fire waived their picks starting from the second round. In the third round, Korean Air's selection of Hong Jun-beom from Sungkyunkwan University was the only pick made, and in the fourth round, no teams exercised their draft rights. As training players, OK Savings Bank selected Baek Chang-jin, KB Insurance selected Lee Han-sam and Lee San, and KEPCO selected Ong Min-hyeok and Lee Yu-ri.

Out of a total of 59 players, only 18 were chosen by professional teams, including five training players. The selection rate was 30.51%, breaking the previous record low of 37.5% (18 out of 48) set last year.

Earlier in the morning, the women's draft also saw only 16 out of 57 players selected, recording an all-time low of 28.07%. Both the men's and women's divisions left a record of their lowest-ever selection rates on the same day.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original