UCLA beach volleyball is less than a week away from its first tournament of the 2026 season at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic in Honolulu on Thursday. The Bruins are coming off a 2025 season that ended in the semifinal round of the NCAA championship. Entering the 2026 campaign, coach Jenny Johnson Jordan ushered in a handful of newcomers to bolster the squad and replenish lost pieces. Daily Bruin contributor Aaron Propst breaks down UCLA’s incoming and outgoing players.

2025 Record: 32-7, NCAA Beach Volleyball championship semifinal appearance

Head coach: Jenny Johnson Jordan

Outgoing players

UCLA’s 2025 season ended in a five-set upset loss to Loyola Marymount in the semifinals of the NCAA championship, which marked the end of seven Bruin tenures.

Graduate student Reagan Hope transferred back to her home state to pursue a master’s degree and spend her final collegiate year at Arizona State. She earned 21 wins and recorded multiple dual-clinching victories during the 2024 season. Along with this, Hope gained international experience with Team USA at the 2021 FIVB U20 World championship.

Peri Brennan graduated as a three-time AVCA All-American, an AVCA Top Flight Award winner, a First Team All-MPSF selection, a two-time All-Pac-12 honoree and a member of the 2024 Pac-12 All-Tournament Team. Her Bruin resume is rounded out by a 69-12 career record and multiple NCAA championship dual-clinching wins, including a semifinal victory over No. 4 Florida State in 2023.

Similarly, Tessa Van Winkle has exhausted her collegiate eligibility. She notched 56 career dual wins, including victories over No. 1 USC during the 2024 season. She is currently working toward a graduate degree in transformative coaching and leadership. The San Clemente, California, local plans to pursue a professional beach volleyball career and work in sports marketing.

Incoming Players

UCLA added five freshmen and one standout transfer from Arizona State to fill the holes left by the departees.

Junior Ava Williamson ranks in the top 10 at Arizona State in career wins and brings experience to a UCLA team that was on the brink of winning the national championship just a season ago.

She is tied for the fourth-most single-season wins in program history, helping Arizona State clinch its first tournament appearance in program history two years ago and recording a ranked win over No. 4 LMU – the team that ultimately ended UCLA’s season in last year’s semifinal.

As a key contributor to program-best starts and landmark rivalry wins during her collegiate career, Williamson is a prominent addition to a team with championship aspirations.

Five freshmen are beginning their collegiate careers in blue and gold: Olivia Le Blanc, Ruby Hill, Alina Ryan, Jesse Dueck and Mallory LaBreche. LaBreche, Le Blanc and Ryan represent three of only 12 five-star recruits in the 2025 recruiting class, per The Dig 75.

LaBreche comes in as a powerful hitter, winning the BVCA club championship in 2025 with MBSand. Le Blanc was named to the JVA Class of 2025 Best of Beach list all four years of high school and also played on the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program. Ryan totaled 934 digs, 504 kills, 487 assists and 143 aces throughout her high school career. Dueck was named to the Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 Underclassmen to Watch in 2024. Hill was named the JSerra Beach Volleyball MVP in 2023.

The group adds both immediate impact and long-term depth as the Bruins aim to claim a national title.

Returners

A winning team isn’t created in a day. It requires development from players and chemistry that brews over time.

12 athletes are returning, with the ultimate goal of hoisting UCLA’s first championship trophy since 2019.

The most notable returners are Sally Perez and Maggie Boyd, who collectively earned MPSF Pair of the Year honors last season. The duo has already established itself as one of the strongest pairs in program history, pairing consistent production with postseason composure on the top court.

Boyd and Perez went 31-4 on court one, helping UCLA navigate a schedule that included 32 ranked opponents last year. Perez posted a 26-4 record against ranked teams, while Boyd went 27-4, demonstrating the pair’s ability to thrive against top competition week after week.

But their impact was most evident in decisive moments. Boyd and Perez clinched nine dual matches each, including the pivotal point in a 3-2 victory over No. 5 USC on Senior Day, and helped fuel a 13-match winning streak that began with a victory against No. 19 Washington on April 4. In the postseason, they also recorded a 6-0 record across the NCAA and MPSF championships.

The duo’s return solidifies its cornerstone status on the main court, bringing championship-level production back to UCLA’s lineup.

Although Boyd and Perez did not lead a championship run last season, the duo alongside an emerging group of new talent has the potential to propel the program to a national title.