Delegate Assembly votes in boys volleyball as sanctioned activity to begin Spring '26
The Delegate Assembly of the Oregon School Activities Association voted in boys volleyball as an OSAA-sanctioned activity at the assembly’s Monday, Oct. 6, meeting.
Boys volleyball will begin its first season as a sanctioned activity in the Spring of 2026, following two years as an emerging activity. It is the first activity to join the association’s offering since girls wrestling before the 2023-24 association year.
Oregon is the 26th state to add boys volleyball as a sanctioned activity.
Boys volleyball is the first activity to be added through the OSAA’s emerging activity process, which promotes the growth of meaningful interscholastic participation opportunities for students in athletics. It includes activities that have the potential to meet the required number of schools participating to be considered for official sanctioning by the OSAA.
Sixty-eight varsity teams competed last spring, when Central Catholic (6A), Summit (5A), Estacada (4A) and St. Mary’s, Medford (3A/2A/1A) claimed culminating event titles in May. Over the last six years, the sport has seen a 51% growth — the highest among boys sports — nationally, according to the American Volleyball Coaches’ Association (AVCA).
In Yamhill County, Yamhill Carlton High School made strides as the first local team to organize a boys volleyball team. The effort was made by a group of committed seniors, which resulted in 21 boys attending an initial meeting to gauge interest.
The Tigers started the season with three straight losses, but turned things around, finishing Special District 7 league play 5-5 against 3A, 2A, and 1A teams.
They advanced to 3A/2A/1A playoffs as the No. 12 seed and were pitted against No. 5 Creswell (14-1, 8-0), where they lost 0-3.
Tigers’ head coach Tom Harris — a native of Fresno, California, where he played competitive volleyball in high school — said the state previous sanctioning the sport was frustrating because he knows how big it could be given earlier attention.
“I’m excited to see the momentum building here in Oregon. It’s been a little bit of a source of frustration just because I know how big it could be and how big it is in other parts of the country, so I’m hoping that this whole situation will help expedite that growth and kind of get us caught up,” Harris said.
With eyes on next season, Harris is hopeful for much growth for boys volleyball in Oregon.
He was grateful to coach a committed team in the spring, and said the game can grow with ease because it is easy sport to pick up. Only two of his players in the Tigers’ first season had any previous experience and those who had never played became enthralled.
“It was a very special season,” Harris said. “The group of guys that we had were good human beings, good kids, and we really enjoyed the opportunity to work with them. By the first game of the season, most of the kids had only played for a month, maybe two. But by the end of the season, we ended up qualifying for the state playoffs, so that for us was very exciting.”
A plan book and dates for the 2026 season will be released at a later date.
Another sport that YC has gotten ahead on — girls flag football — is in the second year of a two-year emerging sport status and is eligible to be voted on at the October 2026 Delegate Assembly meeting.
Other local schools, like McMinnville High School, are weighing interest in both boys volleyball and girls flag football and will consider the best way to add them during future budget discussions.
Comments