Booker T. Washington's Tomasz Wisniakowski signs with Ohio State for men's volleyball

An area boys volleyball standout signed to play at the collegiate level on Friday.

And he never played a minute of high school volleyball.

Tomasz Wisniakowski, who's a senior at Booker T. Washington, signed to play at Division I Ohio State, a top-15 team in the national rankings.

Wisniakowski has grown up in a volleyball-centric family, with his uncle playing in the Association of Volleyball Professionals for some time. His dad also played volleyball growing up.

"It's a great opportunity. I'm glad to see all the hard work I've put in has paid of," Wisniakowski said on Friday. "I'm really excited."

Wisniakowski, this past season, played for a club volleyball program in Orlando, and would travel down to central Florida every other weekend for practices.

That's on top of the hours and miles of traveling to different tournaments throughout the country, as well.

"It makes it more challenging, the travel aspect," Wisniakowski said. "I've gotten pretty used to it."

So traveling to the northern half of the country to play at Ohio State, along with a Division I travel schedule, shouldn't be anything new for Wisniakowski.

Ohio State, as of Monday, currently has a 12-10 record. The Buckeyes, who have had a team since 1968, are the defending MIVA champions, and are a three-time national champion, most recently in 2017.

"The coaches at Ohio State were personable and they seemed like they really wanted me on the team," Wisniakowski said. "The facilities will give me an opportunity to be great, and the academics are solid."

Friday also provided the opportunity for Wisniakowski, who played high school soccer at Booker T. Washington as a freshman, to sign with three of his close friends, even though he stuck with volleyball primarily starting his sophomore year.

"It was awesome to play with them and play high school sports for a season," Wisniakowski said. "I'm still friends with all of them."

"He was another one that I coached for many, many years when he was young. During his sophomore year, he made the decision to shift to volleyball. We all know how special and talented he is. He was such a good soccer player as well,"