The Longhorns are looking to build off a 2025 season that saw them win the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association Conference championship and reach the national quarterfinals.
Texas beach volleyball begins its 2026 campaign on Thursday at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. And they’re kicking off the year with some stiff competition.
“We have to wait a long time … We get a few competitions in the fall, but it’s nothing like putting on the actual Texas jersey, getting out there and playing,” Texas head coach Stein Metzger said on Feb. 5. “We’re excited to get back to it.”
The Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic is a three-day round-robin tournament featuring seven teams: No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 USC, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Loyola Marymount, No. 9 California and No. 16 Hawaii.
After each team has played each other once, the team with the best record will be crowned champions.
With all seven teams being ranked and high in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Collegiate Beach Preseason Poll, Metzger knows the Longhorns will have their work cut out for them.
“It’s definitely a litmus test to see where we’re at,” Metzger said. “We haven’t really played those teams with a team where we have the talent level to have an opportunity to beat them … it’s pretty exciting. We’re gonna go in there and see where we’re at.”
The tournament also gives Texas a chance to measure itself against its new conference opponents.
After competing in the CCSA last season, the Longhorns are beginning a new era in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, a conference Metzger called the “strongest conference that’s ever been put together in the history of the sport.”
UCLA, Stanford, USC and California are all members of the MPSF and will serve as Texas’ main roadblocks to another conference title.
“It’s not going to be easy to win that one, that’s for sure,” Metzger said.
The Longhorns have a few new faces this season after they were able to bring in their first legitimate freshman recruiting class. In its first couple of seasons, the coaching staff prioritized building a strong nucleus of experienced transfer athletes.
Metzger has spoken very highly about his freshman players, saying they could see lots of playing time this season.
“There’s a good chance that half of our starting roster will be new faces,” Metzger said. “There are, like, four or five freshmen that have a legit shot of being in the lineup.”
Texas may be a relatively new program, but this week’s competition gives it another chance to continue cementing itself as one of the nation’s top beach volleyball programs.
“We’re doing exactly what we set out to do, and I feel pretty bullish that we can do something similar this year,” Metzger said. “I think we’re gonna make some noise.”
