Major League Volleyball debuts in January 2026, Sacramento among first 10 teams
SACRAMENTO — California's capital city will be home to one of the 10 initial franchises in the newly announced Major League Volleyball (MLV) set to launch in January 2026.
USA Volleyball announced the new women's pro volleyball league on Thursday, with current Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé said to be a founding member and owner of the new Sacramento franchise.
"Something like this puts more eyes on Sacramento. The more we do that, the better off we are," said Barry Broome of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council.
Other MLV franchises will be in Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Kansas, Ohio and Washington.
It opens the door for girls and women playing the sport to now have more options to play after the collegiate level, options that have been very limited for a long time.
"Volleyball, the participation is there. The explosion is there at the local level," said Mark Harrison, a longtime girls volleyball coach at Sacramento Performance Volleyball Club. "I really think the social media space has really helped push volleyball and women's sports in general. Before, you only had TV to look to and the reality was you just didn't see women playing sports on TV."
Volleyball is the most popular girls team sport in the country.
UC Davis has a successful women's volleyball program where leaders are excited to see the professional expansion of the sport right in their backyard.
"Youth volleyball in the area is growing year-over-year with more and more kids getting involved in the sport. Sacramento is a great place for a professional volleyball team. It's a great sports town with tons of potential for growth," said UCD women's volleyball head coach Dan Connors. "To have a professional team here locally with elite players from around the country playing in front of our fans is an amazing thing for the community, the youth and for the game at all levels. It also gives our athletes that UC Davis something to shoot for if they would like to continue volleyball at the professional level."
Other notable founding partners of the league include musician Jason Derulo, Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Wash Jennings, and entrepreneur Danny White who will own the MLV's founding franchise — the Omaha Supernovas. It was not yet known what the Sacramento franchise would be named.
Considering ventures to make professional women's volleyball have not been so successful in the past, Harrison says this time it feels different.
"To me, it's who is involved in it. It's not just Kerri Walsh, arguably the best volleyball player we've ever seen in our country. It's these billionaires," said Harrison.
USA Volleyball says the MLV is backed by more than $100 million in funding.
"The league aspires to be the top women's pro sports league in the U.S., offering elite competition and rivalries, excellent medical and training support, top venues, and major broadcast partnerships," USA Volleyball said in the announcement.
In addition to owning the Kings and this new women's franchise, Ranadivé was instrumental in Major League Baseball's Athletics franchise moving from Oakland to West Sacramento for the next three seasons. The A's will play ball at Sutter Health Park during that time, which is currently also the home of the San Francisco Giants' Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats, which Ranadivé also owns.
"I always support Vivek's visions, his sports visions for Sacramento. He's proven to be more right than people give him credit for," said Broome.
