The 2025 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship was recently completed in Gulf Shores, Alabama after a move from Huntington Beach, California, due to wildfire recovery efforts.
The single-elimination bracket kicked off on Friday, May 2nd, with first-round duals. The quarterfinals and semifinals followed on Saturday, setting the stage for a finale on Sunday. The final on May 4th, saw TCU face Loyola Marymount in a nail-biting championship match. TCU emerged victorious, claiming their first-ever NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship title with a 3-2 win, a historic moment breaking the traditional dominance of UCLA or Southern Cal.
However, despite the thrilling matchup, some are questioning a final dominated by international players and the impact on the development of U.S players in what are called Olympic sports.
The final matchup featured five flights. Of TCU’s 10 players, eight were listed as international players while LMU’s lineup featured seven international players. This means that 75% of the players participating in the final were international players.
The total starting field at Gulf Shores (160 players) was comprised of 27 international players which represented 16.8% of all players.
The contrast between teams fielding international players and those that did not was clearly evident in the semi-finals. LMU defeated UCLA 3-2 in one semifinal. The Bruins fielded no internationals. TCU defeated CalPoly 3-1. CalPoly also fielded no international players.
In fact, among the sixteen teams that qualified for the championship tournament, the international players on the rosters of finalist TCU and LMU accounted for approximately 55% of the 27 international players making an appearance in Gulf Shores.
The outcome raises questions about the future of international players on beach volleyball rosters and the implications for U.S. recruits. Will more teams turn to international players who often take advantage of “sports academies” and therefore more competition ready? Given the new rule related to roster caps, will U.S recruits face more competition from international players for spots on high level college teams? Which schools favor international recruits over U.S. players?
The Dig will continue to research these questions.
