At 216 centimeters tall, the “tallest player in Korean volleyball history” Cho Jin-seok (21-Kyung Hee University) is knocking on the door of the Korean Professional Volleyball V League.The Korea Volleyball Organization (KOVO) will hold the V-League 2023-2024 Male Rookie Draft at Mayfield Hotel in Gangseo-gu, Seoul at 2 p.m. on Sept. 30.A total of 42 players have submitted applications, including 38 college students, three high school graduates, and one from an unemployed team.Cho Jin-seok, a third-year middle blocker at Kyung Hee University, is the tallest player in Korean volleyball history at 216 centimeters, five centimeters taller than Kim Eun-seop (retired) at 211 centimeters.He is also 11 centimeters taller than Park Jun-hyuk (205 centimeters-Hyundai Capital), who is currently the tallest player in the V-League.
Cho started playing volleyball in the fourth grade at Suncheon Daesok Elementary School and has been a middle blocker ever since.Although he is said to be “still lacking in athleticism and strength,” he was born with a “height” that no competent coach could give him.That’s why many experts expect him to be a “top pick.Suseong High School outside hitter Yoon Seo-jin (18, 195.5 centimeters) is another player on the radar of professional teams.Yoon captained the national team at the 2023 FIVB Under-19 World Championship in August, helping South Korea to its third-place finish in 30 years.KU outside hitter Lee Yoon-soo (20, 197.1 cm) and middle blocker Yang Soo-hyun (21, 200 cm) are also in the running for the top spot.
Hanyang University outside hitter Bang Jun-ho (21, 194.6 centimeters), the son of 48-time Olympic committee member Bang Shin-bong (48), who was known as “Spider Hand” during his playing days, is also waiting to be selected by a professional club.The draft order will be determined by a lottery with 35 percent for Samsung Fire, 30 percent for KB Insurance, 20 percent for OK Financial Group, 8 percent for Woori Card, 4 percent for KEPCO, 2 percent for Hyundai Capital and 1 percent for Korean Air, in reverse order of last season’s final standings.
Samsung Fire traded its 2024-2025 first-round rookie pick to Korean Air in exchange for Son Hyun-jong and its 2023-2024 first-round rookie pick, giving the team the right to use Korean Air’s first-round pick in the draft.KB Insurance received Woori Card’s second-round rookie pick in a December 2021 trade, allowing them to select a player twice in the second round of this draft.The team selecting the rookie must sign a contract and register the player with the league within 15 days of the draft.The rookie is eligible to join the team, train, and play as long as he is in good standing.
Rookie contracts are 160 million won for the first two rounds, 140 million won for the third and fourth rounds, 120 million won for the fifth and sixth rounds, and 110 million won for the seventh round.Players selected in the second round will receive 85 million won for the first and second rounds, 65 million won for the third and fourth rounds, 45 million won 스포츠토토존 for the fifth and sixth rounds, and 35 million won for the seventh round.
