Paul Araiza

Paul Araiza joined the Sand Devils in the fall of 2020 and has helped guide the team to new heights. The 2025 Sand Devils broke the record for single-season wins, winning 22 games with the help of Araiza, which included a 9-1 mark on home sand. Arizona State finished the season ranked No. 12 for the second year in a row. At the first Big 12 Beach Volleyball Championships, ASU finished in second place, coming up just short in a 3-2 battle against the 2025 NCAA National Champions TCU. The Sun Devils were undefeated against unranked opponents this season, a trend they continued from last season. Additionally, the squad picked up seven ranked wins, the second most in a season in program history. Araiza coached Samaya Morin to earn AVCA All-America Second Team honors and had three on the Big 12 All-Conference Team. In his fourth season with the Sand Devils in 2024, Araiza helped ASU to its most successful in program history alongside first-year ASU head coach Kristen Rohr. The team went 21-10 and made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, earning a No. 12 seed. The 21 wins tied the ASU record for wins in a season. ASU had raked in 11 ranked wins this season, the previous record was held at three during the 2019 season. Before this season, there were 13 total ranked wins throughout team history. In the rankings, Arizona State was No. 12 in the final AVCA Coaches Poll. The Sun Devils were ranked for the entire season, the first time the program has been ranked for more than four weeks. Araiza also coached Daniella Kensinger and Ava Williamson to earn AVCA All-America Second Team honors, the first All-Americans in program history. Williamson and Arden Besecker also earned AVCA Top Flight for Flight 2 this season. For his third season, Araiza helped the Sand Devils to an 11-13 record, 6-5 in Pac-12 play. Of the six Pac-12 wins, which are the most ASU has had, two came against Utah, two against Oregon and two against Arizona. The highlight of the season was the team sweeping the regular season series against Arizona for the first time since 2014. Not only did the Sun Devils win both teams while the Wildcats were ranked, but ASU came back down 2-0 in both duals to win 3-2.  Araiza helped the program to a 17-15 record in 2022, the second-highest win total in ASU history. The Sand Devils earned five Pac-12 wins, which is the most they’ve had in the seven years of conference play. Additionally, there was a five-dual win streak early in the year, which is tied for the second-longest streak in program history. Arizona State earned two ranked wins, both against in-state rival Arizona, one in the regular season and one in the Pac-12 Championships.  In Araiza's first season as the assistant coach in 2021, ASU had an overall record of 10-12. Of the 10 wins, four were sweeps. The Sand Devils had a 4-7 Pac-12 record, picking up wins over Washington, Utah and No. 11 Cal. The season ended at the Pac-12 Championships where Arizona State was able to earn one victory, edging out a 3-2 win over Washington. Araiza joined the Sand Devils in the fall of 2020 with a strong coaching resume. He comes to ASU after a season with Cal’s beach volleyball team as the volunteer assistant coach. Prior to his time with the Bears, he was part of the UC Berkeley beach volleyball coaching staff and spent time working with various top beach volleyball clubs in California.   The sand is not the only place Araiza has found success. He also coached indoor volleyball teams at the high school level, winning three state championships in four years at Cathedral Catholic High School with the women’s team and then moved to the men’s indoor team to win two CIF titles. He also won a state title in his first season with Point Loma High School’s indoor women’s team.   The San Diego native competed on the AVP Tour from 2005-18, recording three top-10 finishes in his career. His best finish was seventh place in 2016 at the Seattle Open. He played on San Diego State’s club team, where he was selected to the all-tournament team in both 2004 and 2005. He graduated with a degree in psychology. He played at Grossmont College for two years before transferring to SDSU.