USC Beach Volleyball to Join MPSF in 2025

LOS ANGELES – The six-time national champion USC beach volleyball team will join the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) beginning with the 2025 season, the league announced on Wednesday, Nov. 9. The MPSF's addition of beach volleyball makes it the third sport in the last two calendar years to be added to the conference and the Federation now sponsors championships for a record-high 12 sports.

The Trojans are joined in the newly formed league by California, Grand Canyon, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, and Washington, all of which will play final seasons in the Pac-12 in 2024 except for GCU, which competed as an independent for 10 years before moving to the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) for 2023 and 2024. USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington are set to move to the Big Ten for most sports in the summer of 2024. Similarly, most sports at California and Stanford will compete as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

"The MPSF is extremely excited to provide beach volleyball student-athletes an incredible conference experience on the west coast," said MPSF Chair and Grand Canyon Senior Associate Athletics Director Tim Baron. "We look forward to working alongside the athletic directors, administrators, coaches and student-athletes of these distinguished universities."

The inaugural MPSF Beach Volleyball Championship Tournament is scheduled for April 2025, with specific dates and location still to be determined. The 2025 NCAA Championship will be held May 2-4 in Huntington Beach, Calif., for the first time.

USC has won five of the seven NCAA championships, including the last three, while UCLA captured the only other two titles. Entering the 2024 season, USC (236-38; .861) and UCLA (246-41; .857) have an astonishing combined record of 482-79 (.859) in their program histories and have routinely finished in the top three of the AVCA national rankings. The Trojans and Bruins are also members of the MPSF in men's and women's water polo and in men's volleyball.

"Amidst so much change in the world of collegiate athletics, it is great to see the steps that are being taken in order to promote the growth and visibility of beach volleyball," said fifth-year head coach Dain Blanton. "I think USC joining the Big Ten Conference was certainly a huge step in the right direction and for us, we are excited to be able to maintain a high level of competition among the teams that we will join the MPSF with. I am hopeful it will continue to bring more attention to one of the most exciting sports in the world. The MPSF has been a fantastic partner throughout this process and has long served as a strong west coast presence for so many sports including men's volleyball when I was a student-athlete. We are looking forward to working with the league as the 2025 season approaches."

Since the 2021 hiring of MPSF Executive Director Foti Mellis, the league has added 25 teams, 12 schools, and three sports. The 12 sports currently sponsored by the MPSF for 2024-25, in addition to beach volleyball, are men's volleyball, men's and women's water polo, men's and women's gymnastics, men's and women's indoor track & field, men's and women's swimming & diving, fencing, and artistic swimming. The MPSF entered the 2023-24 academic year with 107 total NCAA Championships. The conference won four NCAA titles in 2022-23, fourth-most among all Division I conferences. trailing only the ACC, SEC, and the Pac-12.

Under fifth-year head coach Dain Blanton, the USC beach volleyball team captured its third straight NCAA Championship (fifth NCAA title and sixth national title) in 2023. The Women of Troy finished the year ranked No. 1 and had an overall record of 32-5. USC added two more AVCA All-Americans to its history books with the third selection for Megan Kraft and the first-career honor for Delaynie Maple. Kraft was named the Pac-12's Player of the Year while she and Maple earned Pac-12 Pair of the Year laurels. Both were named to the Pac-12 All-Conference Team and were joined by Madison Shields and Madison White. Blanton finished his fourth season with a 105-15 career record and Gustavo Rocha was chosen as the AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year.

MPSF beach volleyball information, including specific championship details, will be forthcoming on the conference website at mpsports.org and on social media @MPSFSports.

For more information on the USC beach volleyball team, a complete schedule, and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/beach. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow the team on Instagram and on X @USCBeach.

Players Mentioned

Megan Kraft

Delaynie Maple

Madison White