Dain Blanton, USC Beach Volleyball, and the building of an NCAA dynasty

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter features Dain Blanton, the head coach of the USC Beach Volleyball team and the man who has built the biggest dynasty in all of college sports right now. Despite losing 12 players from last year’s NCAA Championship-winning team, Blanton rebuilt in a hurry, winning a third straight NCAA title this past May. Indeed, life is good to be Blanton, and it’s good to be a USC Trojan. We chatted all about this year’s run, as well as:

• Blanton’s recruiting process, and how he has a unique challenge in navigating the equivalency nature of scholarships rather than head count
• Why he is such an advocate for single-elimination NCAA Championship, in spite of that format hurting dominant teams such as USC
• How he managed to rebuild his entire lineup in the span of a few months
• The constantly changing landscape of NCAA Beach Volleyball, and women’s sports in general

And so much more! Absolute blast, as always, hanging with Dain.

ENJOY!

***

We have a new -- but temporary -- sponsor with the Saucedwear Tournament, a $17,000 open with $5k to the winners down in Navarre Beach, Fla., where Travis Mewhirter first learned to play. Registration ends on July 14, and players can sign up at saucedwear.com! 

We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Stay healthy with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter and get your greens today! https://athleticgreens.com/partner/d35ctoffer-strength/en?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=influencer&utm_campaign=sandcast_d35ct__a3172__o27&utm_term=cac__a3172__o27&utm_content=sport__a3172__o27

We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/

If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/

This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the absolute best balls in the game, hands down. You can get a 20-percent discount using our code, SANDCAST-20! https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball

Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB

SHOOTS!