Preview: Big 12 Beach Volleyball Championships

Thursday, April 23

Tucson, AZ

12:15 p.m.

TCU

Arizona

TCU beach volleyball team in a line postgame

Preview: Big 12 Beach Volleyball Championships

4/22/2026 9:18:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball

Championship Central TCU Notes

Horned Frogs head to Arizona in pursuit of conference crown

TUCSON, Ariz. – Seeking its fourth consecutive conference championship, the ninth-ranked and second-seeded TCU beach volleyball team heads to the desert to take on the Big 12 Beach Volleyball Championships on Thursday and Friday at Bear Down Beach in Tucson.

THE MATCHUPS

Thursday
No. 2 TCU vs. No. 6 Arizona – 12:15 p.m. CT
No. 2 TCU vs. No. 3 Arizona State – 5:15 p.m. CT

Friday
No. 2 TCU vs. TBD

MATCH DAY INFO

All matches at the Big 12 Championships can be streamed on ESPN+. The main stream focuses primarily on court one, and features announcers. However, all streams are available on ESPN+.

NOTING THE FROGS

• TCU is coming off the program's first ever National Championship in 2025. With the win, the Horned Frogs also became the first team other than UCLA or USC to hoist the trophy.
• Entering the 2026 season, TCU is the second-winningest program in collegiate volleyball dating back to the 2021 season.
• In 2025, the Horned Frogs won the inaugural Big 12 Championship marking the program's third consecutive conference crown. TCU is one of just three programs nationally to have accomplished this feat (LMU and Georgia State).
• Of the 12 Horned Frog starters in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, just four are returning to Fort Worth this season. 2025 Big 12 Freshman of the Year Sofia Izuzquiza joins Anhelina Khmil, a member of the 2025 Big 12 Pair of the Year (alongside Ana Vergara), as the headlining returners to Fort Worth this season.
• Other starters returning are Stacy Reeves and Deniela Konstantinova, who started at No. 5 in the postseason last year.
• TCU utilized the transfer portal to fill out its roster for 2026, picking up Anna Long (Florida State), Adriana Serrano Ferro (Grand Canyon) and Natalie Glenn (Long Beach State). These transfers enter with a great deal of experience from their previous institution.
• In the season opener against No. 11 Arizona State, none of TCU's starting pairs had competed together in a collegiate match.
• Head coach Hector Gutierrez is in his 10th season as TCU's leader and has orchestrated the meteoric rise of the program. He currently has a career record of 237-90.
• Big 12 Beach Volleyball has a new look going into its second season, as the conference added Florida State, South Carolina and Boise State.
• TCU was one of the earliest beach volleyball programs in Texas, starting varsity competition in 2016. This was the same year that NCAA beach volleyball officially became sanctioned.
• Of TCU's lineup for the Big 12 Championships, four are newcomers this season to the Horned Frogs lineup. In addition, just two (Anhelina Khmil and Sofia Izuzquiza) were members of TCU's lineup last season, albeit with different partners at different positions.

NOTING THE TOURNAMENT
• TCU heads to Tucson, Arizona, in search of its fourth consecutive conference crown.
• The Horned Frogs enter as the No. 2 seed, and will be in a pool with No. 3 Arizona State and No. 6 Arizona in the tournament.
• Following pool play, the tournament will move into a single elimination bracket based on the results of pool play.
• TCU went 5-3 in conference play this season, including a 3-1 mark at the Big 12 Preview.
• Of the Horned Frogs losses, one to Arizona State was avenged later in the season with a 5-0 sweep.
• The other losses were to Florida State, and TCU holds a 1-2 record against the Seminoles this season. All three matches came down to the final point.
• TCU won the inaugural Big 12 Championship last season in Fort Worth.