The Bay Area\u2019s volleyball scene is expanding to the professional level.<\/p>\n
League One Volleyball (LOVB) announced Thursday morning that an expansion team would be coming to San Francisco<\/a> for the 2027 season.<\/p>\n The woman-led investment group behind the team features many names familiar to Bay Area sports fans, including Bay FC co-founders Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne and Danielle Slaton. Former U.S. women\u2019s soccer star Abby Wambach and her wife, best-selling author Glennon Doyle, are also among the co-owners. Jes Wolfe, the CEO of women\u2019s empowerment brand Rebel Girls, is the chairwoman for the club, which is known as LOVB San Francisco.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bay Area has become a beacon for women\u2019s sports \u2014 a place where investment, innovation, and community come together to create real impact,\u201d Wolfe said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThese leaders have broken barriers in boardrooms, on the court, and across culture,\u201d LOVB Pro president Rosie Spaulding said of the club\u2019s ownership. \u201cTheir commitment to LOVB San Francisco reflects our mission to build a new model for women\u2019s sports \u2013 one powered by community, opportunity, and a pipeline that elevates athletes from their very first serve to the pro stage.\u201d<\/p>\n The announcement means a fourth consecutive year an expansion women\u2019s sports team will debut in the Bay Area, after Bay FC launched in 2023 and the Golden State Valkyries in 2024. The Women\u2019s Pro Baseball League<\/a> will have a team representing San Francisco<\/a> in its inaugural 2026 season, though the first season will have all teams based in Springfield, Illinois.<\/p>\n LOVB, which was founded in 2020, is a multi-tier program that stretches to the youth level. The group already has connections to the Bay Area via youth clubs such as Red Rock, Kai Beach Volleyball and Mavericks Beach Volleyball.<\/p>\n The league touted the Bay Area\u2019s existing volleyball culture at the collegiate level, citing Stanford\u2019s nine national championships. The sport has increased in popularity in recent years at the collegiate and youth levels, setting a new high of 492,799 high school players nationwide in 2024-25, second only to outdoor track and field, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations<\/a>.<\/p>\n Beyond the Bay Area\u2019s team owners, the league received Series A investment in 2022 from sports figures Billie Jean King and Kevin Durant, as well as Series B funding from Lindsey Vonn, Jayson Tatum and Candace Parker.<\/p>\n The pro level of LOVB launched just last January and has teams in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison, Nebraska and Salt Lake City. Along with San Francisco\u2019s team, the league announced 2027 expansion teams in Minnesota and Los Angeles this week. Matches are played in home regions, not at a single neutral site, but the San Francisco team has not announced a home venue.<\/p>\n The league played a 14-week season in 2025 and players made a minimum of $60,000.<\/p>\n