This post was updated Feb. 19 at 11:33 p.m.

Miles Partain has unofficially returned to UCLA men’s volleyball with one year of collegiate eligibility remaining.

Partain, who was a setter/opposite hitter for the Bruins from 2021-2023, is waiting on NCAA clearance in order to officially return to action on the court. A decision is expected to be made within the next couple weeks, coach John Hawks confirmed to the Daily Bruin on Wednesday evening.

A UCLA Athletics spokesperson said the NCAA requires Partain to return some of the prize money he earned while competing on the AVP Beach Pro Tour, which would reinstate his amateur status.

The 2022 MPSF Player of the Year is currently pursuing a master’s degree at UCLA. He departed the program early February two years ago – five weeks after the start of the 2023 season – and hung around in Westwood until he graduated with an applied mathematics degree at the end of winter quarter.

Partain split ways with the Bruins in pursuit of the beach volleyball World Tour qualifiers. He then competed with Andy Benesh as part of Team USA on the beach volleyball roster during the 2024 Paris Olympics. At 22 years old, Partain made history as the youngest United States beach volleyball player to ever compete at the Games.

[Related: Miles Partain steps away from UCLA men’s volleyball program]

“Miles is a professional in every sense of the word,” Hawks said. “It’s just his preparation, the way he thinks about the game, his competitive mindset, his ability to maximize his talents, and that alone, should bleed into the guys around him.”

Junior setter Andrew Rowan is expected to remain in his current starting post despite the standout setter’s return. In 2022, Partain was one of three finalists for the Lloy Ball Award as the nation’s leading setter after spearheading UCLA to the nation’s top hitting percentage. 

Partain will instead serve in the libero position – possibly in lieu of redshirt junior libero Matthew Aziz and sophomore outside hitter Luca Curci – who were rotating at the defensive specialist role. Instability at libero has been a consistent issue for UCLA, which falls outside the nation’s top 50 in digs per set. The Bruins found a temporary solution last year in former outside hitter Alex Knight, but their defensive woes persisted into 2025.

“He may be in place of both of them (Aziz and Curci), but the reality is that Miles has to earn it. It’s not going to be given to him, by any means,” Hawks said. “Miles knows that. He’s going to be the best bench guy in the country if he’s not on the court, or he’ll be trying to help us win a title.”

In 2021, Partain appeared in seven matches as a reserve setter. But by 2022, the then-sophomore was an AVCA First Team All-American, guiding the team to a 22-5 record on the season with 1,040 total assists.

And though Partain’s return to Westwood will signal the reinstitution of his indoor volleyball career, he’ll continue to adorn the international beach volleyball stage after the indoor offseason.

“Everybody on the team is just super happy that he’s with us and back,” Hawks said. “I’m so proud of him, too, just wanting to come back and finish with his boys. This is a big thing for him.”