UCLA beach volleyball players Maggie Boyd and Sally Perez have been named to the inaugural AVCA Beach Player of the Year Watch List. The pair, who played together on Court 1 during the 2025 season, achieved a 32-4 record and received MPSF Pair of the Year honors. In fall 2024, they became the first UCLA duo to win the AVCA Pairs National Championship.
Boyd, a senior from Flower Mound, Texas, is recognized as a three-time first-team All-American and all-conference selection. She was awarded MPSF Player of the Year in 2025 and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2023. Boyd holds a career record of 92-17 and enters the upcoming season with a streak of 14 consecutive dual match wins. She has also earned second-team Academic All-America honors, a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award, and two conference all-academic distinctions.
Perez, a sophomore from Apex, North Carolina, recently completed her freshman year with several accolades. In 2025 she was named first-team AVCA All-American and MPSF Freshman of the Year while earning first-team All-MPSF recognition. She made the Director’s Honor Roll for each quarter attended so far at UCLA. This past fall she won gold at the FIVB U21 Beach Volleyball World Championship alongside Stanford’s Avery Jackson; they are only the second American pair to achieve this result.
The watch list may expand as more players are considered throughout the season. A group of semifinalists could be announced in early April before four finalists are selected ahead of the National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship in May 2026. The Player of the Year will be revealed at an awards banquet during championship week in Gulf Shores.
Other athletes on this year’s watch list include Kennedy Coakley (USC), Ella Connor (Cal Poly), Emma Donley (California), Alexis Durish (Florida State), Malia Gementera (Long Beach State), Taylor Hagenah (Long Beach State), Zoey Henson (USC), Erin Inskeep (Cal Poly), Avery Jackson (Stanford), Anhelina Khmil (TCU), Audrey Koenig (Florida State), Brecht Piersma (Texas), Ruby Sorra (Stanford) and Madison White (Texas).
