NORTH KINGSTOWN – It might be a surprise to hear that North Kingstown’s star pin hitter will play for an experimental collegiate men’s beach volleyball program instead of continuing to play indoors, but Ryan Harrington’s mind is made up.
The NK senior recently announced his commitment to join the Division III Stevenson University NCAA men’s beach volleyball program, which was the first of its kind when it was introduced in 2022.
Harrington wants to play all over his side of the net rather than one single position, and the pairs system of beach volleyball allows him to do that.
“On the beach, you get to do everything. Pass, set, hit all the time. And you get more touches because it’s two-on-two instead of six-on-six,” Harrington said. “A lot of it was my decision, but I talked to my family and they thought, yeah, you have so much fun playing on the beach, so why not give it a try?”
The women’s side of collegiate beach volleyball has been sponsored by the NCAA since 2010, but the men’s game is still in its infancy.
Stevenson, which is located near Baltimore and competes in D-III, was the first to offer the men’s sport through the NCAA at a varsity level, and three D-II schools have followed suit. Three additional schools sponsor men’s beach volleyball through the NAIA, and Liberty (NCAA D-I) offers it as a club sport.
The eight participating schools compete against each other in the fall. They play for a national championship, held through the American Volleyball Coaches Association, and Stevenson won it in 2024.
“They won the national championship, so that was another reason why I highly considered it,” Harrington said. “I considered indoor. In the recruiting process, I originally sent an email to [Stevenson’s] indoor coach, and I knew they had a beach team too, but when I sent the email, he just forwarded it to the outdoor coach. He got back to me and we set up a phone call.
“Even my college coach said, ‘When you sent in recruitment videos and stuff, he said my game is more tailored to the outdoor game.’ I thought I’d give it a try.”
Harrington isn’t unfamiliar with the beach side of volleyball. His father, Mike Harrington, founded the South County Juniors Volleyball Club in 2015 originally as a girls beach program that expanded and found its niche indoors.
Ryan, naturally, plays outdoors during the summer, including on the sand with the Newport Volleyball Club. He’s been around the beach game for years, but he’s made his name in the North Kingstown gym as one of the best outside hitters in the state. When the 2025 season ends, he’ll be a four-time RI Coaches Association all-state selection.
He’s somewhat following in the steps of former NK girls volleyball Gatorade Player of the Year Abby Ryno who graduated in 2022 before joining the women’s beach volleyball program at the University of Louisiana Monroe. Boys volleyball doesn’t have a Gatorade award, but Harrington is regarded as one of the best players in the state.
Harrington still wants to play indoors, potentially as a walk-on, for the men’s program that plays in the winter. But once his final high school season ends, his main focus is the beach team.
“When I go there, during my four years, I want the men’s beach scene to expand a little bit,” Harrington said. “There’s no All-American list, there’s only four teams that make the national championship. Obviously there’s not that many schools. I’d love to see it double when I’m there. I’m just looking forward to the future. I know that I’ll have a good time there. It’s something new.”
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