TAYLOR CRABB
BORN ON THE BEACH
The Shortest MVP of All Time
THE JOURNEY
Taylor Crabb started playing volleyball at the age of 3 on the sand courts at Outrigger Canoe Club in world-famous Waikiki Beach. He started to make waves nationally at an early age at Junior Olympics, competing annually with Outrigger's Club team.
He finished his high school career at Punahou School ranked as the #1 player in the country and ESPN ranked Punahou as the #1 team in the country with a perfect 30-0 record. He won MVP of the "Best of the West" tournament in San Diego his senior year.
Despite his high school success, only 1 college recruited him to play Outside Hitter -- Long Beach State. All the other schools wanted him to play Libero or Setter due to his small stature at 6 feet tall.
Crabb went on to prove those other schools wrong by not only starting at Outside Hitter for 4 years at Long Beach -- but going on to win National Collegiate Player of the Year in 2013 -- an unprecedented accomplishment for a player his size. For more on this awesome story, check out this video by The McKibbin Bros called "The Shortest MVP of All Time."
He joined the AVP in 2015, which is the largest professional volleyball tour in the U.S. He's won the following awards:
• Newcomer of the Year (2015)
• 5x Defensive Player of the Year (2016-2019, 2022)
• 2x Best Team (2018-2019)
• 2x MVP (2018-2019)
• 12x Champion
At 29 years old, he qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with partner and 4x Olympian Jake Gibb. However, despite taking every precaution and getting vaccinated, Taylor tested positive for COVID-19 upon arriving in Tokyo. In a selfless move, he chose to replace himself with fellow-Hawaiian and longtime friend Tri Bourne rather than risk any chance of Gibb not being able to compete in his 4th Olympics. Check out the full story here in another video done by the McKibbin Bros, who Taylor grew up with at Outrigger and Punahou.
Expect Taylor to be even more motivated to reach the 2024 and 2028 Olympics.
Taylor's parents are Paula and Chris Crabb and he was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. His older brother Trevor Crabb is also a star on the AVP and has a great chance to represent USA in the Paris Olympics with partner Tri Bourne.
Taylor and his brother Trevor currently reside in Redondo Beach, California and host an Instagram show together called "Drinking Whiskey with the Crabbs."