The Progressive AVP Laguna Open
The 2026 AVP season ends where the sport’s history runs deepest. The Progressive AVP Laguna Open, the world’s longest-running beach volleyball tournament, closes the calendar September 19-20 on the sand at Laguna Beach, free to the public, with 16-team draws in each gender and one last AVP title on the board.
The Men’s Draw: The Partnership Returns, and the Rematch That Can Only Happen in the Final
The Crabb brothers are seeded first and second again, and on opposite halves of the bracket (again). A Taylor versus Trevor final is on the table at Laguna. Manhattan Beach made the same promise in August and never delivered it. Laguna is the last chance of the year.
Taylor Crabb and Andy Benesh enter at #1, playing their first AVP event since the Chicago semifinal, still holding the Manhattan Beach title they won without dropping a match. They open Saturday at 8am on Court 1 against a Friday qualifier.
And at #2, the partnership is back on AVP sand. Chase Budinger and Trevor Crabb enter together for the first time since Manhattan Beach, where they lost the tournament’s opening match to a pair that came through the qualifier. Trevor arrives changed since then: a back-to-back AVP League Champion, fresh off a .750 hitting final in Chicago. Their first match in Laguna, Saturday at 10am on Court 3, is against a Friday qualifier again.
The rest of the draw is loaded with new looks. James Shaw, who led the entire League in hitting percentage at .542 and reached the Chicago final, pairs with Austin Ace’s Ryan Wilcox at #4. Miles Partain enters at #10 with Jacob LaBouliere, the 6’9″ 24-year-old from Pipersville, Pennsylvania who has two 5th-place finishes on the 2026 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour and has drawn attention as one of the top young American blockers. They open against #7 Cody Caldwell and Chaim Schalk in one of Saturday’s best first-round matchups.
The international entries bring a second set of brothers: Juan Enrique and Joaquin Bello, who compete for England on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, enter at #12 and open against #5 Miles Evans and Alex Ranghieri. Norway’s Mathias Berntsen and Hendrik Mol hold the #3 seed.
The Women’s Draw: Cheng and Kraft’s Closing Argument
No team in the field has been better in 2026 without an AVP title to show for it. Kelly Cheng and Megan Kraft reached the Manhattan Beach Open final. They reached the Chicago semifinals. They enter Laguna as the #1 seed at the last event of the year, with one more chance to convert the season’s most consistent excellence into an AVP championship. They open Saturday at 8am on Court 2 against a Friday qualifier team.
The most credentialed obstacle sits at #3. Victoria and Thâmela of Brazil, ranked third in the world, already own a 2026 AVP title after winning the Huntington Beach Heritage event earlier this season. A Cheng and Kraft path to the crown likely runs through the highest-ranked team on the sand.
At #2, Savvy Cory and Devon Newberry enter their third AVP event as a pairing after an early exit at Manhattan Beach. The two most consequential substitutes of the League season have a seed that says the field expects more this time.
The Remix
The League partnerships have dissolved for the season’s last weekend, and one reunion stands out. Kylie DeBerg enters at #11 with Hailey Harward Zacca, her 2025 AVP League partner from Dallas Dream. Their opening match is one of Saturday’s sharpest: #6 Terese Cannon and Betsi Flint at 9am on Court 4.
Elsewhere in the draw, Megan J. Rice pairs with Torrey van Winkle at #7 and opens against #10 Ally Batenhorst and Sara Hughes. Toni Rodriguez and Geena Urango meet Chloe Loreen and Corinne Quiggle in an 8-9 matchup on Court 4 to start the morning.
How the Weekend Works
Friday, September 18 is qualification day: up to 32 teams per gender, starting at 7:30am, with four advancing to each main draw. Saturday’s opening rounds begin at 8am, and Sunday runs the remaining elimination matches through the semifinals and finals. The main draw is double elimination: lose once and you drop to the contenders bracket, lose twice and the season is over.
TUNE IN
Three courts stream live on Bally Sports Live all weekend.
Event Details
The Progressive AVP Laguna Open runs Friday through Sunday, September 18-20 at 175 N Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach, CA. Admission is free to the public.
AVP members get 25% off AVP merch and 30% off Wilson volleyballs. Join at members.avp.com.
The longest-running tournament in beach volleyball gets the last word of the 2026 AVP season. One weekend, one title, and every thread of the summer on the sand.
Follow it all at avp.com.