Caymanian volleyballer Dylan Lynee has officially committed to Webber International University where he will pursue his dreams of furthering his development in the sport.
Lynee, 17, signed his letter of intent on Friday, 20 March and is scheduled to relocate to Florida this August to join the Warriors’ volleyball programme.
Currently completing sixth form at St. Ignatius Catholic School, Lynee will study sports management at Webber, with his sights set on a future in sports marketing.
While his primary focus will be on beach volleyball, he has expressed an interest in competing in both beach and indoor disciplines should the alternating season schedules allow for it.
Reasons behind attending Webber
The decision to attend the Babson Park campus was influenced by Lynee’s interaction with current Webber athletes Carson Barnes and Ayden Keeter during a locally hosted under-23 North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation tournament.
“I met [them] at a Cayman under-23 NORCECA stop … [and] they really showed me the talent that lies there,” Lynee said.
Beyond this inspiration, Lynee said that due to the proximity of the university to Cayman, he really looks forward to “living closer to home” at a campus much nearer than other schools he applied to.
“Webber’s smaller campus and family style of community is very familiar to home so the transition from Cayman to that environment won’t be unfamiliar,” he added.
Lynee enters the collegiate ranks following a successful tenure in regional youth competitions. Though he first began the sport three years ago, he officially transitioned to competitive play six months later.
He secured second-place finishes at both the CAZOVA Under-18 Beach Volleyball World Championship Qualifiers in Trinidad and Tobago and the CAZOVA Under-21 World Championship Beach Qualifier in Cayman.
Lynee also placed seventh at the NORCECA under-23 tournament hosted in Cayman and sixth at the Under-18 NORCECA tournament in the Dominican Republic – a performance that earned him and his teammate a spot in the 2025 World Championships.
His immediate goals at Webber include helping the team defend its AVCA Men’s Beach Volleyball Championship title. Nationally, he hopes to place higher at upcoming CAZOVA and NORCECA stops for Cayman.
“I have [placed] second in two CAZOVA stops … so I want to see my improvements by finally securing a gold medal in both,” Lynee said.
Pursuing the collegiate dream
For Lynee, his pathway into the sport was also shaped by being surrounded by family members who competed nationally, including his older cousins Cristin Alexander and Marissa Harrison. Harrison also played the sport collegiately at California Polytechnic State University.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to represent a school and play sports in college. It originally started with swimming, and then it transitioned to indoor volleyball, and now it’s beach volleyball,” he said.
Despite his move to the United States, Lynee plans to maintain his ties to the local volleyball community.
“Giving back to the community has always been something that has been on my mind. The way I would do that is by still representing Cayman in international tournaments. Although I’m going to be away at school, international tournaments are also a huge priority of mine, so trying to still represent Cayman in that sense is a huge must,” he said.
He also expressed a desire to return during summer breaks to assist with coaching at youth volleyball camps and to provide coaching to local “[newcomers] or younger athletes” in the sport.
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