Miles Evans embraces ‘ups and downs’ of Olympic journey
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (BVM) – Miles Evans has worked hard over the last several years to become one of the top men’s beach volleyball players in the United States. Now, he will be part of an elite group of athletes representing Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
“I would say this is just the beginning for me,” Evans said. “I’ve established myself now. I kind of have a bigger name than I ever have before.”
The 34-year-old didn’t begin playing volleyball until his sophomore year at Dos Pueblos High School, and didn’t compete at the club level until he was 17. At the same time, he began playing in local beach volleyball tournaments, quickly realizing his talent.
“That kind of showed me that I had a little skill there,” Evans said.
After high school and a two-year stint at Santa Barbara City College, Evans accomplished one of the biggest goals of his early volleyball career: playing at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“I remember watching UCSB play for the first time, and they were All-Stars, they were so good,” Evans said. “I remember being like, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”
The 6-foot-4 outside hitter became a standout for the Gauchos, racking up 514 kills, 261 digs and 95 blocks across two seasons.
As his college tenure concluded, Evans was ready to pursue a professional indoor career overseas. A severe ankle injury derailed those plans, but it also might have been a blessing in disguise.
While Evans returned to full health, one of his coaches invited him to Hermosa Beach to play beach volleyball. With a strong finish at one of his first tournaments, Evans realized where his future may lie.
“That actually gave me a lot of motivation because I hadn’t put a ton of time into the sport yet,” Evans said.
In the years since, Evans has become a staple on the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Tour and has earned multiple wins as a pro. However, the journey wasn’t always easy.
“I realized that the level was so high and I didn’t really believe that I could get there,” Evans said. “My coaches and my mentors were like, ‘You can do it. You have the talent, you have the potential.’ There were so many ups and downs, so many partner switches to get to this point.”
Evans’ most recent partner switch was a decision that has led him to Paris. Almost two years ago, he received a text from fellow AVP standout Chase Budinger asking if he would be interested in partnering for an Olympic run.
Budinger was a standout volleyball player at La Costa Canyon High School north of San Diego. In 2006, he was named Volleyball Magazine’s National High School Volleyball Player of the Year. The now 36-year-old also shined on the basketball court and was co-MVP of the 2006 McDonald’s All-American game alongside Kevin Durant.
Budinger went on to play basketball at Arizona and later in the NBA for seven seasons, but he returned to volleyball following his career on the hardwood.
When Evans got the text message from Budinger, he was elated to make a run at Paris.
“Chase came into the beach volleyball scene a little bit late but he had successes right away,” Evans said. “There was always respect there for each other.
“I remember getting the text asking if I wanted to go on an Olympic run and I was so excited.”
Evans and Budinger saw early success together including a victory at the AVP Denver Open and a second-place finish at a World Beach Pro Tour tournament in Thailand. The duo has only gotten better since, and Evans believes Budinger has helped him further reach his potential.
“Chase picking me up and working with me to go on an Olympic run was everything,” Evans said. “I’m just giving everything that I have now and in the past I didn’t really believe enough, so I wasn’t putting the full effort into it. And now it’s just such an awesome feeling to pursue my dream and go all in. I’m just really thankful to have such a great partner.”
Qualifying for the Olympic games in any sport isn’t easy, but the pairing’s instant chemistry is part of what put them in position to do so.
“We believed that we could go on the Olympic run,” Evans said. “There were a million ups and downs. I think us finishing really well at the end of last year and giving ourselves a shot to compete, that gave us a lot of confidence. Now we’re kind of tapping into that potential this year.”
One of the biggest moments during qualifying came as they beat fellow U.S. Olympic hopefuls Theo Brunner and Trevor Crabb in a head-to-head match at the NORCECA Continental Finals in April, an event that Evans and Budinger went on to win.
With only two teams per country per gender allowed to qualify for the Olympics, they ultimately needed Brunner and Crabb to lose once more in an event in the Czech Republic just a couple of months ago which officially secured their spot in Paris.
“The last part of the Olympic journey was extremely stressful,” Evans said. “I was getting sick at times, I was losing sleep … It was so hard to stay focused on our games when they [Brunner and Crabb] were playing, because their success was directly related to us going to the Olympics.
“It was such a beautiful moment when we ended up qualifying. It was unfortunate that we had to rely on maybe the other team not doing as well, but we earned that spot and it was such an awesome feeling to find out that we were Olympians.”
Evans and Budinger, currently ranked 13th in the world, will join Miles Partain and Andy Benesh as the two U.S. teams that will compete at Eiffel Tower Stadium on the Champ de Mars from July 27 through Aug. 10.
The beach volleyball court at the Paris Olympics has the most UNREAL backdrop 🤯🗼
(via @Paris2024)
pic.twitter.com/RIjaU6aZKU— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 12, 2024
While the moment will be big, Evans has gained experience playing internationally over the past eight years, including during world championships and the Pan American games. Since qualifying, Evans has also spent time watching videos and highlights of past Olympic beach volleyball matches, gaining a perspective of exactly what to expect in Paris.
“We’re considered the underdogs and I’m going to turn some of that nervous pressure into the fuel to compete at our highest level,” Evans said. “I don’t think anyone thinks we’re going to medal. That’s just a great opportunity for us to go play the way that we play and let it ride. See if we can end up on that podium if not get that gold medal.”
Winning a gold medal would put the 34-year-old in the same company as fellow Santa Barbara volleyball stars Karch Kiraly, who won gold alongside Kent Steffes in Atlanta in 1996, and Todd Rogers, who won in Beijing in 2008 with Phil Dalhausser.
“It means the world to me,” Evans said. “Santa Barbara is my hometown, I love that place.”
While Kiraly has also been an idol, watching Rogers train for the Olympics in 2008 as Evans coached a youth camp really sparked his dream.
“That definitely instilled the Olympic dream in me,” Evans said. “It was really awesome to see him [Rogers] compete and get the gold medal … I want to see if I can represent Santa Barbara in that same light.”
Evans and Budinger have a lot ahead of them in Paris, but just getting to this point is quite an accomplishment. That’s something that is not lost on the Santa Barbara native.
“This has been a dream of mine since high school,” Evans said. “I kind of had the feeling that I was going to be a professional volleyball player as I got better and better.
“I realized that I could compete against the best in the world not too long ago. This year, we’ve been working extremely hard to make sure that we have the confidence to go in and compete against these top teams.”
As one of the top beach volleyball players in the country, Evans could earn an opportunity in multiple Olympics, including the 2028 summer games in Los Angeles.
“It’d be even more of a dream come true to play in front of my family and my friends. It doesn’t stop here,” Evans said. “I’m really excited to play in this Olympics, but this future Olympics is kind of the end all be all in my eyes.”
For now, Evans is focused on his first Olympic experience in Paris, one that he and Budinger are relishing as they look to bring home a medal.
“At the end of the day, we’re going out there with nothing to lose,” Evans said. “Just trying to play as free as we can, enjoy the experience and see if we can get on that podium and represent the United States the best way we can.”
