Megan and Nicole McNamara are 22-year-old professional beach volleyball players from Vancouver, British Columbia. The identical twins played together at UCLA, where they won two NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships. After graduating last year, the twins are now members of Team Canada and are working to pursue their Olympic dreams. 

What inspired the two of you to first pick up the sport?

Megan: In sixth grade, we started passing the ball around during a beach vacation and we really loved it. And when we came home we joined our middle school indoor volleyball team because that was what was available at the time. And then a couple years later we found out that Vancouver had a beach volleyball camp, so we signed up. It all took off from there.

Have you two always been partners?

Nicole: Yes. Ever since we first started playing beach volleyball when we were 12, we have always played together, and that’s a big part of why we love it. I was injured at one point during our UCLA offseason, and Megan had to play with different partners. But in every competition, we have always played together.

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Do you two spend most of your time together even outside of volleyball? 

Nicole: Yeah, we live together and we have a lot of the same friends, so we do spend a lot of time together. But as we’ve gotten older, we’ve tried to carve out time in our schedules that’s dedicated to being alone, because it can be a lot when you work together and train together. But we’re best friends and we love doing things together. We have a lot of the same hobbies, including travel, which is great because our sport brings us to beautiful places around the world, and we also love cooking. We started a website where we post tournament updates and share our favorite recipes. Just fun little things we like to do outside of sports.

Beach volleyball probably isn’t the first sport people think about when they think about Canada. Is it popular in Vancouver?

Megan: It’s growing a lot. When we first started, they had a lot of local tournaments. There was a big professional adult scene, but it was mostly just playing for fun on the side. But it’s really growing in the younger ages now, especially since it became an NCAA sport in 2015, which was also our first year in college. Before that it was just part of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Now, so many up and coming young girls want to get scholarships to play down in the States.

Was UCLA always a dream school for both of you? Did you know from the outset of the recruiting process that you both wanted to go to the same school and remain partners? 

Nicole: California was always the dream. It’s the biggest hub of beach volleyball in North America. As soon as we heard that there was beach volleyball in college, we knew that we wanted to be recruited together and use that as a stepping stone for our professional careers and Olympic dreams. It was important for our parents, too, for us to go to university and get degrees. We were recruited by a few other schools, but as soon as we stepped foot on the UCLA campus, we were both just wide-eyed. We fell in love right away, and we immediately knew that was where we wanted to go.

Megan: Heading into the recruiting process, we knew we wanted to stay as a pair. It was actually pretty hard for us to sell to coaches because we are an undersized pair. A lot of coaches wanted to split us up because of that, because a pair usually consists of a tall blocker who is six feet plus and a “smaller” defender who is under six feet. Megan and I are both around five-nine, so we fall on that smaller side. But our UCLA coach thought it was great that we wanted to stay partners, and she let us prove to her that we could play together in college.

What was the transition to college competition like for you? 

Megan: We started out as the number one pair on the team as freshmen, so we felt a lot of pressure. We were going up against all of the best pairs from every other school. So the transition was definitely hard at first, but we had such a supportive and awesome team surrounding us.

Nicole: Starting at the ones was a huge honor. Especially as sisters, we had a lot of media coverage and a lot of the eyes were on us. People wanted to know who these “freshman Canadian twins at the one pair” were. There was pressure, but it also allowed us to mature. We wanted to represent UCLA well, and as we got older, younger players started looking up to us as role models, which definitely forced us to take the role very seriously. We knew we always had to be focused at practice and looked for ways to succeed.

What do you think was the key to your success at UCLA?

Megan: I think the fact that we had just been playing together for so long. A lot of the partnerships in the NCAA were only formed that year, or maybe they had a couple years together, but we’d been playing together already for so many years before we arrived on campus. And being sisters we’re just so comfortable with each other. We can hold each other to a high standard and say the difficult things.

Nicole: I mean, we would pass the ball back and forth in our front yard for hours and hours growing up, so our ball control is one of our biggest assets. Being undersized, we needed that in order to win games. And we definitely had an underdog mentality just because we are smaller players. We went out every game playing our hearts out. Our coach called us “Team Fearless.”

When did you start to have Olympic aspirations? 

Nicole: When we first started playing the sport at 12 years old was when we knew we wanted to go as far as we could go. We loved it that much. And at around the age of 15, we started to play internationally for Team Canada in the Underage World Championship. That was when we realized that it could be realistic for us, too.

What has the last year been like after graduating college? 

Megan: Right after graduation in 2019, we moved to Toronto and started training with the Canadian national team. We’re the third-ranked Canadian team right now, so the 2020 Olympics would have been out of the picture for us because only the top two teams per country compete, and the other two pairs had already confirmed their spots. So our main focus is the 2024 Olympics. And this year we just really wanted to play in as many professional tournaments as we could to gain more experience and to get more comfortable playing at that level, because it’s definitely a big jump from the NCAA.

What does a typical professional beach volleyball season look like for you? 

Nicole: First, the FIVB posts all of the information about the tournaments that are happening for the upcoming year, ranging from one star to five stars with five stars being the highest level. In all these tournaments you get points that go towards Olympic ranking. So ahead of the season, Megan and I sit down with our personal coach and go over the schedule to see what tournaments make sense for us to compete in based on location, level, expenses, etc. For example, we already had our plan for what tournaments we were going to play in from March till August of this year, and all of those tournaments were three to five stars. But obviously that plan has been put on hold indefinitely.
Megan: We can pick which tournaments we want to attend, but it’s ultimately based on entry points. You get points based on your performance at a tournament, and then, a few weeks before a given tournament, they’ll tell you if you have enough points to play in that tournament. It’s pretty late notice, so even when we have a plan for the season, it sometimes changes.

The Coronavirus has obviously impacted your spring/summer season, with cancelations left and right. How has it impacted your training? 

Megan: We’re in Vancouver with our parents right now. We were actually at a tournament in Sydney, Australia when the virus began to get serious. This was mid-March, and the tournament was cancelled at the very last minute. So we were in Sydney for a total of 48 hours and then had to get on a plane to come back. We decided to go home to be with our parents in Vancouver rather than back to our apartment where we normally train and live, because there’s no training in Toronto right now.

We’ve been lucky to have pretty nice weather so we are able to go pass the ball around in our yard. This allows us to keep our skills sharp. But it’s definitely hard because we have no sand, no net, and no structured practices. It is hard to simulate the same type of training that you normally would do. But we’re just trying to stay in shape with at-home body workouts and yoga.

How much do you think time away from being in the sand will affect your game and your chemistry as a pair? 

Megan: It is definitely tough to maintain a peak. And we felt like we were nearing a peak for upcoming tournaments. We were training all the time, lifting really heavy, practicing five to six days a week. It’s hard to maintain that at home. But regardless, we’re just trying to keep the cardio up and stay in the best physical shape that we can, so if things do ramp up really fast, the skills might come back a little bit faster if we’re already in peak physical shape.

Nicole: And we know everyone else is in the same boat. So when we do get stressed about our limited training, we try to remind ourselves that everyone else is living it too. This is a global situation, so we’re trying to stay positive and control what we can control.

Former Tennessee basketball coach Kellie Harper is on the move to Missouri, with the school naming Harper as the program's fifth-ever head coach on Tuesday.

"I am incredibly honored to be the next head coach at Mizzou," Harper said in the school's announcement. "Missouri is a special place, and I know firsthand the passion and pride that surrounds this program... The foundation is in place for success — and I can't wait to get started."

Harper replaces previous Tigers boss Robin Pingeton, who resigned last month after 15 seasons. She subsequently stepped away after the team finished last in the SEC for two consecutive seasons.

In her five seasons leading the Vols, Harper earned a 108-52 overall record. She parted ways with Tennessee after last year’s second-round NCAA tournament flameout.

Even so, Harper's 53-24 overall conference record at Tennessee trailed only four-time NCAA title-winning coach Kim Mulkey (LSU) and three-time national champion leader Dawn Staley (South Carolina) in SEC winning percentage.

"Kellie is a proven winner and dynamic leader who understands the 'Will to Win' necessary to succeed at the sport's highest level," said Missouri athletic director Laird Veatch.

Harper brings exceptional resume to Missouri

Harper earned three straight NCAA championships as a player under legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. Then, she began building a playoff-heavy resume as a coach.

In her 20 years leading DI teams, Harper led them to 16 postseason berths, including nine trips to March Madness. She remains one of just two NCAA coaches to ever take four different programs to the tournament.

Before taking the Vols to back-to-back Sweet Sixteens in 2022 and 2023, Harper's first trip to thaat NCAA tournament round came with Missouri State in 2019. That's when she took a Cinderella team on a run to cap her six-year tenure with the Bears.

It's that title-hunting experience that Missouri is hoping to harness, as the Tigers haven't made the March Madness cut since 2019 — the year that the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury drafted Mizzou's all-time leading scorer Sophie Cunningham.

"I am thrilled," said the Missouri alum and new Indiana Fever guard. "I have so much respect for coach Harper, and I can't wait to support her and our Tigers however I can."

March Madness opens its doors on Wednesday night, as the 2024/25 NCAA tournament’s First Four round takes the court with eight teams pursuing the final four tickets to the Big Dance.

Two of the play-in games will pit the last four teams to receive at-large bids against each other, sending Princeton, Iowa State, Washington, and Columbia into battle to snag one of the tournament's final two No. 11 bids.

The other two games are comprised of the lowest ranked conference tournament champions, meaning SWAC champ Southern, Big West winner UC San Diego, CAA victors William & Mary, and Big South title-holders High Point will all compete to enter this weekend's first round as No. 16 seeds.

First Four ups the ante with compelling NCAA storylines

Thanks to growing parity across the NCAA, this year’s First Four brings a new level of heat, with 2024 breakout stars, conference titans, and tournament newcomers raising the stakes right from the jump.

As two of 2025’s six March Madness debutants, both UC San Diego and William & Mary are hoping for a bit of beginner's luck as they take the NCAA tournament court for the very first time.

Meanwhile, the Ivy League will take aim at securing three spots in the 64-team bracket, with both Princeton and Columbia hoping to join conference tournament champion No. 10 seed Harvard in the first round's field.

Standing in Princeton's way is underdog Iowa State, who nearly scored what would have been one of the 2024 tournament's biggest upsets.

Fueled by now-sophomore sharpshooter Audi Crooks — who currently ranks 12th in the nation in field goal percentage — the Cyclones pushed then-No. 2 seed Stanford to the brink, forcing overtime before the Cardinal claimed the 87-81 second-round victory.

"It’s definitely possible," Crooks said this week, commenting on the likelihood of replicating Iowa State's 2024 run. "I think for me it just amplified me personally, and also us as a team. Any success that I have is the team’s success, not necessarily about individual things."

How to watch Women's March Madness First Four games

Stepping into Wednesday's spotlight are Princeton and Iowa State, who will take the court at 7 PM ET before UC San Diego takes on Southern at 9 PM ET.

Then on Thursday, Washington will face Columbia at 7 PM ET, with William & Mary's match against High Point wrapping up the First Four round at 9 PM ET.

Both Wednesday matchups will air on ESPNU, with ESPN2 carrying live coverage of the Thursday clashes.

The 16th NWSL team in Denver will kick off its 2028 season in a home of its own design, with the incoming expansion club announcing plans for a new 14,500-seat, purpose-built stadium on Tuesday.

"This will be the largest overall investment in a women’s professional sports team in history," said controlling owner Rob Cohen in a team release. "It will provide our club, our fans, our partners, and our community with a state-of-the-art stadium that will provide us a distinct home-field advantage and will serve as the most inclusive environment in all of Colorado." 

The team — set to debut in 2026 — will play its first two seasons in a temporary venue while the new stadium remains under construction.

Positioned inside Denver city limits at Santa Fe Yards, the stadium complex will include a 3.5-acre park and mixed-use development, all accessible via the Broadway Light Rail station.

The blueprints also incorporate the ability to expand beyond the stadium’s initial 14,500 seats, with the team interested in eventually extending the capacity closer to 20,000 fans.

"This announcement is a game-changer for the NWSL and a bold statement about where women’s sports are headed," said league commissioner Jessica Berman. "Santa Fe Yards will set a new standard for what professional athletes deserve.

"Denver is helping to shape the future of women’s soccer, and we can’t wait to see the impact this world-class venue will have on players, fans, and the community."

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Denver joins other NWSL clubs pursuing custom stadiums

Denver’s stadium project follows in the footsteps of Kansas City’s first-ever purpose-built NWSL stadium, which opened its doors alongside the Current's 2024 NWSL season opener.

Meanwhile, fellow 2026 expansion side Boston is in a stadium race of their own, with the club currently in an ongoing struggle to redevelop White Stadium using both public and private funds.

Boston is currently defending the redevelopment in court, as both local political tensions and renovation costs continue to rise.

While Denver has yet to confirm its funding sources, Cohen told ESPN that "it is the ownership group’s intent that we will pay for and build the stadium."

Soccer-specific stadiums in the US come at a premium, but Denver’s immediate large-scale investment showcases just how far prospective teams are willing to go for a seat at the NWSL table.

Securing a Women’s March Madness ad spot has never been tougher, with Disney and ESPN reporting a 200% year-over-year rise in total ad sales, with an impressive 95% of the 2024/25 NCAA tournament's overall inventory already sold.

Ads for April 6th's championship game completely sold out over three months ago, as brand interest surges alongside women's college basketball's skyrocketing viewership.

With some of the championship spots topping $1 million, Disney Advertising now puts those seven-figure March Madness ad rates on par with the cost of advertising during the NBA Finals or College Football Playoff National Championship game.

Brands race to buy ad space in women's sports

Revenue and impact generated by women’s basketball advertising has been on the rise all season, fueling the race to buy into one of the year's biggest sports moments.

While 45 new brands hopped on the March Madness train this year, previous brands returned with even bigger budgets, increasing their 2025 spending by an average of 81%.

"We actually had to strategically fight to not sell out sooner," Disney Advertising VP of revenue and yield management Jacqueline Dobies told AdWeek. "We intentionally wanted to carve out space for as many of our brands as possible and be as inclusive as possible for this particular property."

"If we would have taken every single dollar and unit we had been offered, we would have sold out before the upfront was even over."

As advertisers continue to elbow their way into the space, expect the March Madness uptick to spill over into future events across women’s sports — especially as brands who are late to the party scramble to buy in.

"A lot of years ago, the question was: 'How do we convince brands to buy women’s sports?'" noted Dobies. "That’s not the conversation anymore. It’s: 'How do we make space for everybody?'"