NATS 2026 LOS ANGELES SECTIONAL PREVIEW
Written by Drew Ryder. NATS is sponsored by Spikeball.
The North American Tour Series heads west to Los Angeles the third sectional of the season, but the final stop before Team USA selection camp in Raleigh which is already just one weekend away. Given the high stakes, we are getting a sizable 32 team Bronze+ division. 11 teams are set to compete in Women’s advanced. Given the nature of this tournament and the pressure it places on many teams competing, expect urgency from the opening serve to the final point.
There’s no shortage of competition, but a clear tier of top teams has emerged heading into Saturday.
Foolish (Lucas Pruett/Sunny Gu) is one of the most intriguing teams to watch. In their first appearance this season, they showed flashes of top-level play before falling to Rogue in a dramatic three-game quarterfinal. A 40-38 loss in game two proved to be the turning point in that series, but it also demonstrated just how high their ceiling can be. Both players are still searching for their first top 4 placement of 2026 on tour, so this tournament carries extra importance, particularly for Lucas. He is competing on home turf this weekend and likely has some ground to cover results wise on his quest for a Team USA spot. The key to success for this team is high quality serves at good percentages. Foolish isn't a team that swings for the fences from 7ft, but serve pressure that leads to an out of system rally is where they can cause the most trouble to teams.
Paradox (Kyle Fowler/Paq Clifford) remains the “team to beat” despite their underwhelming T-5 finish in Dallas. Winning may not be as automatic as some were led to believe after sweeping Atlanta. Dallas exposed issues in hold percentage, but their serving prowess and high ceiling for big time plays continue to be a talking point about Paradox. This weekend is less about proving they can win and more about demonstrating consistency at an elite level to remove all doubts from their Texas trip. A strong bounce-back performance would reaffirm their positioning for spots on the flight to Paris this summer.
Another storyline worth watching is the mashup of Model/Rose. Unlike the other two teams, this is a team where the selection dynamic as a pair is less cut and dry. Kieran has all but earned his spot on the team. He has been at the top of the sport for multiple seasons now, and there is no sign of that changing as we head into the middle of 2026. Not to mention, Kieran won his first pitcher of the year in Dallas with his season partner Connor Nelson. Max’s situation for Worlds is a bit more complicated. Having gotten injured in early 2024, and being out all 2025, his T5 in Atlanta with F/M will not be enough alone to make the team. Expect a very dialed in Max Model this weekend with him having everything to play for. On paper, this team has a good combination of consistency and pop-off archetypes. However, an underrated piece of the puzzle is how much higher Kieran’s overall floor has gotten in the last several months. In particular, serve receive and hitting can be looked at as some underrated pieces in what is becoming a more complete skillset each weekend. While Max is known to be a defense and fundamentals guy, he will get support in these areas from “2026 Kieran”.
The women’s division features an exciting mix of familiar tour regulars and returning names. Three of the top teams fall into the ladder category. Cosmic, made up of Seb Kim and Joelle Nguyen, have not played a sanctioned women’s event in 4 months, but the hometown pairing still has a feasible route to doing well Saturday through strong chemistry. One pool of 7 for the morning works in their favor, allowing them to settle in during pool play while seeing every major bracket threat early. It would not be surprising to see them build momentum as the day progresses. Another team stepping back into competition is Dropouts, featuring Sarah Allen and Lou Washburn. While Sarah recently placed second in Dallas, Lou has not played a sanctioned North American event in over a year. Even with some uncertainty around tournament volume, both players have the ability to contend for glassware, and know what it’s like to win tournaments. The third experienced team to watch is the reunion of THUS Parabatai. Kaylin Morgan and Kayla Wu Fleming enter as the highest combined elo team in the field despite Kayla being out of sanctioned competition for over 9 months. Similar to the other returning teams, expect them to find their rhythm deeper into the tournament.
Get to know the Pros
To best understand how the competitors are feeling, we spoke with Sunny Gu and Kalin Morgan. They offered great perspective on their rise to the top, who they’re excited to play this weekend, and why they are the right pick for Team USA at Worlds this summer.
Sunny Gu’s roundnet journey began after a summer of repeatedly losing to his high school buddies at the beach, which eventually pushed him to join Northeastern’s club team upon arrival as a college Freshman. That decision quickly translated into progress, as he climbed from impressive college roundnet results to deep runs at STS tournaments. This weekend, he is especially looking forward to a potential matchup with JARVIS, a team he has only faced once, bringing both familiarity and unfinished business. NEM Phantom are on the radar for Saturday also, a duo he has grown alongside through similar competitive paths. For Team USA, Sunny highlights both his results and his versatility, including a gold medal at the Pan American Games, and emphasizes his ability to adapt to any partner while elevating team performance. He also views his defense as a defining strength that separates him from much of the field and strengthens his value on the international stage.
Kalin Morgan’s roundnet career began in college alongside her longtime volleyball partner Kayla, with the duo quickly establishing themselves as top competitors. Their breakout came in 2021 with a run to the national championship match, and they have remained consistent at the highest level while gaining experience on major stages such as Worlds and ESPN broadcasts. Kalin values both competitive success and the relationships built through the sport, especially the opportunity to travel and grow alongside close teammates. This weekend, she is looking forward to matchups against Elle and Joanna, Lou and Sarah, and Joelle and Seb, all teams that combine high level play with long standing familiarity. When it comes to Team USA, Kalin does not plan to pursue a Worlds spot this cycle.
It’s safe to say the tour is in full swing! With LA this weekend, selection camp next weekend, and Montreal following that, there is plenty of roundnet to keep up with. To view the results in LA, see this week’s forecasted predictions, and keep up to date with everything going down on tour, check out the links below.
Follow along with the Los Angeles Sectional here
View the forecasted predictions here
Check out the North American Tour Series here to follow live updates and get looped into all the big tournaments going down this year!
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