Aleks Grozdanov is a Bulgarian middle blocker, captain of the Bulgaria Men’s National Volleyball Team and a player for Bogdanka LUK Lublin in Poland’s PlusLiga. Blocking is the clearest signature of his game: he finished the 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship as the tournament’s leading blocker with 18 kill blocks, earned a place in the official Dream Team and captained Bulgaria to its first World Championship final in 55 years.
His club career has taken him from Bulgaria to Italy, Belgium and Poland, with significant spells at Verona, Greenyard Maaseik, Ravenna, Vero Volley Monza and Bogdanka LUK Lublin. The 2024 move to Lublin opened his most successful club chapter so far: the team won the 2025 CEV Challenge Cup and Polish championship, added the Polish SuperCup and Polish Cup, and finished as PlusLiga runner-up in 2025–26. Grozdanov remained one of the league’s defining blockers throughout that run and is registered with Lublin again for 2026–27.
Player Information
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Aleks Grozdanov |
| Native name | Алекс Грозданов |
| Date of birth | 28 March 1998 |
| Nationality | Bulgarian |
| Born | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Position | Middle blocker |
| Height | 206 cm |
| Weight | 94 kg |
| Spike reach | 360 cm |
| Block reach | 345 cm |
| Dominant hand | Right |
| Previous clubs | Dobrudzha 07 Dobrich, Verona Volley, Greenyard Maaseik, Consar Ravenna, Vero Volley Monza, Verona Volley |
| Current club | Bogdanka LUK Lublin |
| Club number | 11 |
| National team | Bulgaria Men’s National Volleyball Team |
| National-team number | 11 |
| National-team role | Captain |
| @alexgrozdanov |
His current Polish league registration lists Grozdanov at 206 cm and 94 kg with a 360 cm spike reach and No. 11 for Bogdanka LUK Lublin. An official CEV roster from his Greenyard Maaseik period lists a 345 cm block reach, while Volleyball World currently uses a 208 cm height figure for international competition. For the primary profile measurement, the 206 cm figure aligns with his current Polish league registration and multiple CEV records.
Grozdanov’s verified Instagram identity is @alexgrozdanov; the account has been embedded and attributed to him in Bulgarian sports coverage over multiple years.
Early Life & Volleyball Beginnings
Grozdanov grew up in Sofia in a sporting family. Both of his parents were rowers, and volleyball was not the first sport he tried. His CEV EuroVolley ambassador profile describes a childhood that included football, swimming, folk dancing and choreography before volleyball became the sport he pursued seriously. Away from the court, the same profile identifies travelling and golf among his interests and names his father as his personal hero.
He entered professional volleyball at 17 with Dobrudzha 07 Dobrich. Rather than spending several seasons on the edge of a senior roster, he moved into the starting six and quickly became part of a title-winning team. CEV’s biographical profile credits his early Dobrudzha period with a Bulgarian championship and Bulgarian Cup before he decided to continue his development abroad.
The decision to leave Bulgaria came when Grozdanov was still a teenager. At 19 he moved to Verona, beginning a relationship with Italian volleyball that would eventually include Verona, Ravenna and Monza across several different stages of his career. That early move mattered because it placed a young middle blocker in the SuperLega environment while his technical game and physical profile were still developing.
His international pathway developed at the same time. CEV records show Grozdanov in Bulgarian youth competition from the mid-2010s and later in senior European Championship squads, with his national-team shirt number eventually settling at No. 11.
Club Career
From Dobrudzha to Verona and Maaseik
After establishing himself with Dobrudzha 07, Grozdanov joined Calzedonia Verona for 2017–18. The move gave him his first season in Italy and his first sustained exposure to a league built around powerful serving, fast middle combinations and tactically sophisticated blocking systems.
He then moved to Greenyard Maaseik in Belgium for 2018–19. The season produced another major early-career milestone: Maaseik won the Belgian championship. Grozdanov later described that title as a confidence-building stage before his return to Italy.
His Maaseik period also put him into Champions League competition. CEV records from that team listed him at 206 cm with a 360 cm spike reach and 345 cm block reach — measurements that already reflected the physical profile he would carry into his prime years.
Two Seasons in Ravenna
Grozdanov returned to Italy in 2019 to join Consar Ravenna. He spent two seasons there, gaining a much larger body of SuperLega experience than during his first Italian spell. The importance of Ravenna was less about a single trophy than repetition at a high level: week after week, he was facing setters and attackers capable of punishing a middle blocker who was late reading an action or slow closing the block.
Those seasons helped bridge the gap between Grozdanov as a promising young Bulgarian middle and Grozdanov as an established starter capable of moving between major European clubs.
CEV Cup Success with Vero Volley Monza
For 2021–22, Grozdanov moved to Vero Volley Monza. That season delivered his first major European club trophy when Monza won the CEV Cup.
The title was an important addition to his résumé because it came after several seasons of development in Italy rather than at the beginning of his career. Verona’s official presentation when he later returned to the club specifically highlighted his CEV Cup victory and his growing SuperLega experience as important parts of the player he had become.
Return to Verona
Grozdanov returned to Verona in 2022, five years after his first arrival in the city. The second spell reunited him with an environment he already knew, but he returned as a far more experienced middle blocker after seasons in Belgium, Ravenna and Monza.
In Verona’s presentation of his return, Grozdanov spoke about how much he had developed since his first Italian experience and about the challenge of playing against the quality found throughout the SuperLega. His second Verona period lasted through 2023–24 before he chose a new league and a new role in Poland.
Bogdanka LUK Lublin and a Major Career Breakthrough
Bogdanka LUK Lublin signed Grozdanov for the 2024–25 season. The move became one of the most important of his career.
His first season in Poland ended with two major trophies. Lublin won the CEV Challenge Cup, defeating a field that included Cucine Lube Civitanova, and then secured the first Polish championship in club history. Grozdanov was not simply part of those squads; his blocking became one of the identifiable strengths of the team. He finished second in the PlusLiga blocking classification during the championship season.
One illustration came during the 2025 PlusLiga final series. In Lublin’s straight-set victory in the second match against Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, Grozdanov led the match with three kill blocks. Lublin eventually closed the championship series 3–1 to claim its first league gold.
Grozdanov discussed the season in a PlusLiga interview after the title, explaining that he still saw room to improve his reading in block despite finishing near the top of the league ranking. He also credited the environment in Lublin — including the opportunity to learn alongside Wilfredo León — with helping him take another step forward.
The 2025–26 season extended that run of success. Lublin added the Polish SuperCup and then won its first Polish Cup in January 2026, completing the set of major domestic trophies in less than a year. Grozdanov was named the tournament’s Best Middle Blocker.
His regular-season production reinforced that award. Volleyball World recorded 284 points during the 2025–26 PlusLiga campaign, including 178 attack points, 86 block points and 20 aces. By the end of the championship, he was the league’s leading blocker, while Lublin finished with the silver medal after losing the final series to Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie.
Lublin also made its Champions League debut in 2025–26. The team advanced from its pool before its European season ended in an all-Polish quarterfinal against PGE Projekt Warszawa. That campaign gave Grozdanov experience in all three major CEV club competitions after earlier appearances in the Champions League and his CEV Cup and Challenge Cup titles.
Club Career Timeline
| Seasons | Team | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | Dobrudzha 07 Dobrich | Bulgaria |
| 2017–18 | Calzedonia Verona | Italy |
| 2018–19 | Greenyard Maaseik | Belgium |
| 2019–20 to 2020–21 | Consar Ravenna | Italy |
| 2021–22 | Vero Volley Monza | Italy |
| 2022–23 to 2023–24 | Verona Volley | Italy |
| 2024–25 to present | Bogdanka LUK Lublin | Poland |
The chronology is supported by CEV competition records, Verona’s club history and Grozdanov’s current Polish league registration.
National Team Career
Grozdanov progressed through Bulgaria’s youth structure before establishing himself with the senior national team. CEV records connect him with Bulgarian youth competition from 2015 onward and later list him in senior EuroVolley and Olympic-qualification campaigns. By EuroVolley 2023 he was wearing No. 11, the number he continues to use with the national team.
A major change in responsibility came in 2024 when Grozdanov became Bulgaria’s senior men’s captain under head coach Gianlorenzo Blengini. The leadership role placed him at the center of a young national-team cycle that increasingly featured players such as Aleksandar Nikolov and Simeon Nikolov around an experienced core. FIVB continued to identify Grozdanov as Bulgaria’s captain entering the 2026 VNL.
Captain of Bulgaria’s 2025 World Championship Silver-Medal Team
The defining international tournament of Grozdanov’s career came at the 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship in the Philippines.
Bulgaria arrived ranked outside the tournament’s leading group but advanced through the knockout stage with a young roster. After defeating Portugal in the round of 16, the Bulgarians came back from two sets down against the United States in the quarterfinal and then defeated Czechia 3–1 in the semifinal. Grozdanov scored the point that finished the opening set of that semifinal. The victory sent Bulgaria to a World Championship final for the first time in 55 years.
Bulgaria ultimately took silver behind Italy, but Grozdanov’s individual tournament was exceptional in his own position. He finished first in the World Championship blocking ranking with 18 kill blocks, ahead of Italy’s Roberto Russo and Slovenia’s Jan Kozamernik. The official tournament awards selected Grozdanov and Poland’s Jakub Kochanowski as the two middle blockers in the World Championship Dream Team.
For a captain whose primary contribution comes in a position that often receives less attention than outside hitter or opposite, that combination of team and individual recognition was significant. Grozdanov’s tournament was not built around scoring volume; it was built around repeatedly closing attacking lanes at the net while anchoring the front-row structure of a team that exceeded its previous recent results.
2026 VNL and EuroVolley
Grozdanov remained captain for the 2026 international season. Volleyball World recorded 86 points across 12 VNL matches: 55 in attack, 27 from blocks and four from serve. His 27 blocks translated to 2.25 block points per match, continuing the same strength that had defined his World Championship campaign.
The summer then moved to EuroVolley 2026, with Bulgaria playing at home in Sofia. CEV records again listed Grozdanov as No. 11. Bulgaria reached the round of 16, where its tournament ended against Germany on 19 September. The hosts won the first two sets 25–21 and 25–21, but Germany completed a reverse sweep to win 3–2 and advance to the quarterfinals.
The result ended Bulgaria’s continental campaign, but it did not alter Grozdanov’s central place in the team’s current cycle. He remains captain of a group that moved from rebuilding to a World Championship silver medal within a relatively short period.
Playing Style & Strengths
Grozdanov’s game is built first around blocking. At 206 cm in his current Polish league registration, with a 360 cm spike reach and a historically listed 345 cm block reach, he has the physical size expected of an international middle blocker. His results, however, reflect more than reach alone.
His strongest seasons show repeatable production across different levels of competition. He led the 2025 World Championship with 18 kill blocks, produced 86 block points in the 2025–26 PlusLiga season and added another 27 blocks during the 2026 VNL. That consistency across club and national-team systems points to timing, reading and lateral closing as major parts of his effectiveness rather than blocking success that depends on one specific matchup or setter.
Grozdanov has spoken directly about that side of his game. After Lublin won the 2025 Polish championship, he said he continued to study opposing teams and look for new details that could improve how he reads attacks at the net. The comment matches what his statistics show: even after reaching the top tier of PlusLiga’s blocking rankings, he has treated the skill as an area that can still be refined.
His attacking role is more selective, as is normal for a middle blocker, but efficiency matters when those opportunities arrive. Volleyball World recorded 178 attack points at 56.33% efficiency during the 2025–26 PlusLiga campaign and 55 attack points at 58.51% efficiency during the 2026 VNL.
He also contributes from the service line. His 20 aces in the 2025–26 PlusLiga season give him another way to affect rotations without needing to be involved in every attacking sequence. The combination of serving pressure and blocking is especially useful for a middle because both can change the quality of an opponent’s offense before a defensive rally fully develops.
Leadership has become part of his profile as well. Grozdanov is no longer simply a specialist brought onto the court for his blocking. As Bulgaria’s captain, he is responsible for leading a young national-team core while maintaining his own high-volume defensive responsibilities at the net.
Major Achievements
Grozdanov’s résumé combines championships in several countries, two different CEV club trophies and the most significant medal of his international career at the 2025 World Championship.
Selected National Team Honors
| Year | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | FIVB Men’s World Championship | Silver medal |
The 2025 silver was Bulgaria’s first appearance in a World Championship final in 55 years. Grozdanov captained the team throughout the run.
Selected Club Honors
| Season / Year | Competition | Result | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Bulgarian Championship | Champion | Dobrudzha 07 Dobrich |
| 2016–17 | Bulgarian Cup | Winner | Dobrudzha 07 Dobrich |
| 2018–19 | Belgian Championship | Champion | Greenyard Maaseik |
| 2021–22 | CEV Cup | Winner | Vero Volley Monza |
| 2024–25 | CEV Challenge Cup | Winner | Bogdanka LUK Lublin |
| 2024–25 | Polish Championship | Champion | Bogdanka LUK Lublin |
| 2025–26 | Polish SuperCup | Winner | Bogdanka LUK Lublin |
| 2025–26 | Polish Cup | Winner | Bogdanka LUK Lublin |
| 2025–26 | Polish Championship | Runner-up | Bogdanka LUK Lublin |
His early Bulgarian and Belgian honors are documented in CEV’s player biography, while his Monza CEV Cup, Lublin Challenge Cup and Polish achievements are supported by official club, league and CEV records.
Selected Individual Awards
| Year | Competition | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | FIVB Men’s World Championship | Dream Team — Best Middle Blocker |
| 2026 | Polish Cup | Best Middle Blocker |
At the World Championship, Grozdanov combined the Dream Team award with first place in the tournament’s blocking statistics. In January 2026, he was again recognized at his position when Lublin swept the Polish Cup individual awards after winning the trophy.
Personal Life & Interests
Sport was part of Grozdanov’s life before volleyball became his profession. His parents competed in rowing, and he experimented with several activities while growing up in Sofia. In CEV’s EuroVolley ambassador feature, he identified travelling as a favorite way to spend his free time, said he had taken up golf, named Bulgarian banitsa as his favorite food and described family and friends as important sources of motivation.
Grozdanov is engaged to former Bulgarian sprinter and television presenter Karin Okolie. The couple made their relationship public during the summer of 2026 and announced their engagement in early October. Okolie shared the news publicly on social media, while Bulgarian outlets reported that the pair had previously chosen to keep most details of their relationship private.
Where Is Aleks Grozdanov Playing Now?
Aleks Grozdanov remains with Bogdanka LUK Lublin for the 2026–27 season. His current Polish league registration lists him as No. 11, and the club’s extension announcement confirmed that he would continue in Lublin after the success of his first two seasons there. The decision kept him in a team that won the 2025 Polish championship before finishing second in 2026.
Grozdanov explained in January 2026 that remaining in Poland was a deliberate career choice. He valued the level of PlusLiga, the continuity of Lublin’s core roster and the opportunity to keep competing at a demanding level as he works toward the next Olympic cycle.
Internationally, he remains captain of Bulgaria. His latest major national-team tournament was EuroVolley 2026, where Bulgaria’s run ended in the round of 16 against Germany on 19 September. That followed a 2026 VNL in which Grozdanov once again ranked as a major blocking contributor for the national team.
Recent Performance Snapshot
| Competition | Total Points | Attack Points | Block Points | Aces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 PlusLiga | 284 | 178 | 86 | 20 |
| 2026 Volleyball Nations League | 86 | 55 | 27 | 4 |
The figures reinforce the central pattern of Grozdanov’s current game. His club workload produced 86 block points in one PlusLiga season, while his 27 blocks in 12 VNL appearances gave Bulgaria another high-level blocking season immediately after his World Championship-leading performance in 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall is Aleks Grozdanov?
Grozdanov is listed at 206 cm by his current Polish league profile and by CEV records. Volleyball World currently lists him at 208 cm in its international player database.
What position does Aleks Grozdanov play?
He plays middle blocker for Bogdanka LUK Lublin and the Bulgaria Men’s National Volleyball Team.
Which club does Aleks Grozdanov play for?
Grozdanov plays for Bogdanka LUK Lublin in Poland’s PlusLiga and is registered with the club for the 2026–27 season.
Is Aleks Grozdanov Bulgaria’s captain?
Yes. Grozdanov has captained the Bulgaria men’s senior national team since 2024 and continued in the role during the 2026 international season.
What did Aleks Grozdanov win at the 2025 World Championship?
He captained Bulgaria to the silver medal, finished as the tournament’s leading blocker with 18 kill blocks and was selected as one of the two middle blockers on the official World Championship Dream Team.
What number does Aleks Grozdanov wear?
He wears No. 11 for both Bogdanka LUK Lublin and Bulgaria in his current club and national-team registrations.
References
- Polish league — Aleks Grozdanov 2026–27 player profile
- Volleyball World — Aleks Grozdanov VNL 2026 player profile and statistics
- CEV EuroVolley — Alex Grozdanov ambassador profile
- Verona Volley — Grozdanov returns to Verona
- CEV — 2025 Men’s Challenge Cup final standings
- Volleyball World — Lublin’s first PlusLiga medal is gold
- PlusLiga — Aleks Grozdanov on his development after the 2025 Polish title
- PlusLiga — Aleks Grozdanov ahead of the 2026 Polish Cup finals
- Volleyball World — 2025 World Championship statistical leaders
- Volleyball World — 2025 World Championship Dream Team
- Volleyball World — Bogdanka LUK Lublin complete Polish treble with first Cup title
- CEV — Germany vs Bulgaria, EuroVolley 2026 round of 16