What the New Pro Volleyball Federation Can Bring to Professional Volleyball in the U.S.
Starting in February 2024, fans of volleyball in the U.S. will finally have their own professional league to watch. For years players have had to go overseas to play professionally, usually in Italy, Turkey, Japan, Spain, Portugal, Finland, and Israel, among many others. Players will often sign with a professional league in one of those countries toward the end of their final season playing collegiately and leave to play right after graduation. With Pro Volleyball Federation, U.S. players will be able to play in their own backyards.
As of now, there will be a 16-game schedule with 14 players per team. They hope to have at least eight teams during the inaugural season and will eventually add more. The league announced its first team will be in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Since the first team was announced, the league has also announced teams in Atlanta, Columbus, Omaha, Orlando, and San Diego. The league has branded itself as “real.” Everything about the league is real, the volleyball, level of play, compensation, media coverage, investment in its athletes, professional arenas, and facilities.
Aside from the founders of the league and others like the CEO and VP of Volleyball Operations, the Pro Volleyball Federation has given players a chance to have inside roles within the league. Jenna Rosenthal is a player consultant, while Ronika Stone, Tori Dilfer Stringer, Morgan Hentz, and Kenzie Maloney are Player Relations Associates. These players will have a hand in helping to recruit more players for the inaugural season, as well as other seasons to follow.
Some notable names of players who have joined the league are Morgan Hentz, Tori Dilfer Stringer, Jenna Rosenthal, Ronika Stone, Kenzie Maloney, Kendall White, Kashauna Williams, Camila Gomez, Leah Edmond, Sydney Hilley, Anota Adekunle, Gabby Waden, Janet Faitumalo, Willow Johnson, Yossi Pressley, Shannon Scully, Jamie Peterson, Ali Bastianelli, Shelly Stafford, Tarah Wylie, Regan Pittman, Kylie Cole, Hana Lishman, and Naya Crittenden. As we get closer to the start of the inaugural season, we hope to see more notable players join the league. The league is open to both American players and international players.
As the league slowly comes together as the year goes on, players have begun signing to teams. Leah Edmond was the first player to sign with a team, and she signed with Atlanta. Following her, Ali Bastianelli, Kendra Dahlke, Grace Cleveland, Allison Whitten, Kylie Cole, Polina Shemanova, Marlie Monserez, Alli Lennihan, Shelly Stafford, Tori Dilfer, and Morgan Hentz have all signed with Atlanta as well. With player signings starting to happen for the Atlanta franchise, it will be interesting to see which franchise comes next.