For the upcoming 2018 NCAA beach volleyball season, TCU and Southern Mississippi will be joining the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA). The addition of the two programs brings the CCSA to a total of 12 members for the season. TCU has had a beach program since 2015, while Southern Miss will compete in their inaugural season of beach volleyball in 2019, set to be led by Stephanie Radecki who recently took over as head coach for both the indoor and beach programs.
The CCSA enters their third season of sponsoring beach volleyball this spring. Some of the top beach talents are in the CCSA, including Florida State who is the two-time defending league champions as well as the national runners-up in the inaugural NCAA season. 4 teams out of the original 10 have made an appearance in the post-season tournament during the first two seasons of play.
TCU’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Jeremiah Donati, said, “We’re very excited to receive and accept an invitation for our beach volleyball program to join the CCSA. Having conference affiliation, combined with our #13 national ranking to close last season, continues the tremendous momentum we have in beach volleyball under the leadership of head coach Hector Gutierrez.”
In total, TCU now has a conference home for all 21 of their NCAA sponsored sports.
Last season, TCU went 18-8 overall not qualifying for the NCAA Championships, though finished the season ranked in the top-15 at #13. The squad will be returning a number of players for the 2018 season, including Jaelyn Green who was selected by USA Volleyball to compete in the 2017 USAV Collegiate Beach Championships.
Beach volleyball is rapidly growing and became the 90th championships sponsored program in the NCAA in the 2015-16 season, shortly after being recognized as a sport in the 2011-12 season. Gulf Shores, Alabama will be the home of the 2018 NCAA Beach Championships, with ESPN holding the television rights to broadcast the competition for the next five years.
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