Major League Volleyball has launched a Los Angeles franchise that will begin play in the 2027 season, giving the league a new foothold in one of the country’s biggest sports markets. The move puts the expansion club on a clear clock even as the team’s name, branding and first creative campaign remain under wraps.
That is why the announcement landed now: fans searching for Zaza Pachulia will find a league trying to turn a future debut into a major-market statement before the first serve is even hit. Major League Volleyball is entering its fourth season in 2027, and the Los Angeles addition arrives as the league looks to widen its reach beyond its early footprint.
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is the majority owner and founder of MLV LA, while Ben Priest will serve as governor and managing partner. Soon-Shiong is also a minority stakeholder in the Los Angeles Lakers, a link that only sharpens the scale of the market the league is trying to enter. Priest previously served as the Governing Owner of the Omaha Supernovas before joining the MLV LA venture.
The franchise will be anchored by the expansion of the NantWorks campus in El Segundo, which is set to serve as a hub for team operations, administration and athlete performance. Jaime Weston said adding Los Angeles is an important step in the growth of Major League Volleyball and its long-term vision for the sport in the United States, while Priest said the group is focused on long-term growth for the league, its athletes and the sport.
Alisha Childress, an Olympian and three-time NCAA Champion, will be the team’s first head of competition and head coach. Childress said Los Angeles deserves a pro volleyball franchise that reflects the ambition, diversity and energy of the city, and that the goal is to build a world-class environment where elite athletes can compete, grow and inspire the next generation.
The unresolved piece is the one that will drive the next burst of attention: what the franchise will be called and how it will look. The organization said that the official team identity, branding and inaugural creative campaign will be unveiled in the coming weeks, making the Los Angeles launch less a finished reveal than the opening move in a larger rollout.
