CARLSBAD — When the Payne family sat down for Thanksgiving dinner last November, it did what many families do — allowed everyone to say what they were thankful for.
Roman Payne made it a point to thank his parents, which in and of itself isn’t an unusual response for a 17-year-old.
But what the 7-foot senior middle blocker for Carlsbad High School said he was grateful for was.
“I made sure to say I’m thankful for my parents forcing me to play volleyball,” said Payne, one of the top boys volleyball recruits in the nation. “Everyone laughed at it, but I’m super grateful they got me into volleyball.”
So that’s how arguably the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the sport came to be. He was forced into it.
And the Lancers, currently sitting at 25-2, No. 3 in the nation by MaxPreps.com and the early favorites in the San Diego Section Open Division, should thank Heather and Collin Payne, too.
“I didn’t want to play at all,” Roman Payne said of his introduction to the sport at age 12. “I thought it was a boring sport. I grew up playing baseball, basketball, soccer and flag football, a bunch of different sports. I never thought about volleyball until I was forced into it.”
To understand his beginning in the sport, it’s important to realize where Payne is currently.
Although high school boys volleyball recruit rankings are nowhere near as extensive and analyzed as girls lists, Payne is the top middle blocker in the nation.
After receiving offers from all the top college programs, including back-to-back and 21-time national champion UCLA, he picked Hawaii. The Rainbow Warriors are currently ranked No. 4 in the nation.
Payne missed Carlsbad’s 2024 CIF playoff run and parts of the end of the school year while leading the U.S. National Team to the championship of the U19 NORCECA Continental Championship in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
He not only played on that prestigious team in one of the world’s top tournaments for that age group, Payne earned the Best Blocker Award.
“I would definitely say Roman is one of the top younger middles in the country,” said former Carlsbad teammate Parker Tomkinson, now at USC. “Playing alongside him during the high school season gave me a very good insight on what kind of amazing player he will turn out to be.”
A few weeks ago, Payne led Carlsbad to a third-place finish at the prestigious Best of the West Tournament hosted by Poway High School. The top two teams in the nation at the time in Manhattan Beach Mira Costa and Los Angeles Loyola battled for the championship.
Carlsbad played point-for-point in the first set of the semifinals against Mira Costa, which Carlsbad coach Annette Bashford said had 11 NCAA Division 1 recruits, including the UCLA-bound Grayson Bradford.
Payne and the Lancers shut Bradford down. Carlsbad fought off several set points in the first set to tie it at 24. The Lancers eventually ran out of gas and lost 31-29, 25-14.
But in the loss, Payne further served notice that he can take over a match.
Lancers junior setter Ben Sauerwine constantly gave the ball to Payne, including several slides, a play rarely seen in the boys game.
Two weeks later, Payne carried the Lancers to a championship in La Jolla’s Beach City Invitational, earning the tournament’s MVP for middles. He was ed on the all-tournament team by teammates Derek Bashford and Harvard-bound Oliver Doty.
Payne had 12 kills and four stuff blocks in the 25-16, 25-20 championship win over Arizona Highland.
Annette Bashford, who coached in Arizona before moving here three years ago, is not only the Lancers’ coach but is also Payne’s English teacher. When asked about his strengths as an athlete, she didn’t point to his size, power or physical presence at the net.
“He’s very coachable,” said Bashford, the mother of Carlsbad outside hitter Derek Bashford. “He listens toeverything I say and makes adjustments. He listens to everything the assistant coaches say. That’s what I love about him. He’s an amazing player who’s going to have an amazing career, but he’s still so coachable.”
Payne teamed with Derek Bashford in the fall as Carlsbad’s No. 1 pair in beach volleyball, which isn’t a CIF sport for the boys. The duo captured the Open Division championship.
Derek Bashford is probably Payne’s closest friend on the team. He says Payne brings more than just a commanding presence.
“He’s a super nonchalant guy,” Bashford said. “He’s super chill.”
In addition to his massive physical presence, Payne is demonstrative on the court. He’s not shy about letting teammates and sometimes opponents know about the play he just made.
But as emotional and vocal as Payne and the Lancers are for their own benefit, they’re simply an entertaining product.
“We’re all just having fun out there,” Payne said. “There was a mom that came up to us (at the Best of the West) and said, ‘Wow, it looks like you guys are having a lot of fun.’
“That was cool to me, because you can see how we never really look down. We always look for the positive. As a team we play better when we play together.”
It certainly wasn’t pure joy when Payne first started playing.
Payne had given basketball, football, baseball and soccer a try before breaking his wrist at the age of 11. His mom made him go to tryouts at Coast Volleyball Club when his wrist healed at 12.
“I ended up going to tryouts and making the team,” Payne said. “Now I’m here and I’m very grateful for that.”
Although he uses the term forced, there is no bitterness in Payne’s voice and no regret in his actions of following his parents’ push.
Volleyball is a family affair for the Paynes. Heather Payne played at Cal State Northridge. Collin Payne played basketball at San Diego State.
They played beach volleyball together, particularly when their kids were younger.
Roman’s older siblings Cayla and Jackson are currently playing volleyball in college. Cayla is a second-year starting middle blocker at Colorado, and Jackson is in his final year at Cal State Northridge.
Northridge was a finalist for Payne’s next destination. Ultimately, he decided on Hawaii.
“If you’ve ever been to a game there, you know. You understand how crazy it really is,” he said. “That was one of the huge deciding factors because the fans make such a big impact on your game.”
Payne continues to make the most out of his senior year. He returned to the Lancers basketball program for the first time since his freshman year, and the squad made it to the Open Division championship game before losing toMontgomery.
Carlsbad has a huge test coming soon. The Lancers play back-to-back matches against defending Open Division champion Torrey Pines on April 17 and 22.
Payne plans to enjoy his final high school matches.
“He doesn’t just assume that ‘I’m the best player on the team so I don’t have to listen,’ ” Annette Bashford said.
“He’s very coachable, which sets an example for the rest of our team. He’s not too good for everyone. He’s a great leader. He keeps things light when they need to be light. He keeps things serious when they need to be serious. He’s really good at reading the tone.”
