Santa Barbara, CA, WPH Press, 10/17/26
The Santa Barbara YMCA and host James Coronado played host to the biennial CalCup Invitational on the third Saturday in October, pitting the best players from Southern California against the best from Northern California in a one-day team competition to determine the preeminent region in California.
The CalCup is a longstanding event that was last contested in Fresno, CA in 2022 and won by Team SoCal. Team NorCal would be aiming to avenge their 2022 CalCup loss (HERE) in Santa Barbara.
The CalCup features singles and doubles matches in every division, with the doubles matches in increments of five years from Open to 75+. Each match is worth one point, with the team winning the most points winning the coveted CalCup.
Team Southern California was led by Team Captain Juan Flores and featured top star R48 #9 Dylan Hernandez, former Elite 8 member Stephen Cooney, and former junior standout Miles Paine, while Team Northern California was led by Team Captain Sean Haley and featured R48 #10 Coleman McGrath and NorCal legend Erik Torres.
2026 CalCup Open Matches
In a rematch of the 2026 R48 Red fifth place final won by Coleman McGrath (HERE), McGrath defeated Hernandez for the second time in four weeks to earn a point for Team NorCal.
Erik Torres earned another point for Team NorCal by defeating Miles Paine in the second Open singles match.
McGrath and Torres teamed up to sweep the Open matches at the 2026 CalCup, earning another point for Team NorCal by defeating Team SoCal’s Stephen Cooney and Dylan Hernandez.
CalCup Open Results
McGrath def Hernandez 15-9, 15-13
Torres def Paine 15-9, 15-13
McGrath/Torres def Cooney/Hernandez 21-7, 21-18
Team NorCal Takes the Cup!
Team Norcal’s Open sweep clinched the 2026 CalCup, with Team Norcal edging Team Socal by one point, 11-10.
“Great day of handball with a stacked lineup on both sides,” stated winning NorCal Team Captain and WPH ambassador Sean Haley. “Amazing matches throughout the day in all age brackets! Huge thanks to the Coronado family for the hospitality and all the players on both sides for coming from all over California to carry on this long-standing tradition.”
“Thank you to the players who stepped up to represent their age groups and regions (in the CalCup),” stated SoCal Team Captain Juan Flores. “This year was all about returning to our competitive roots by bringing out our top players, resulting in incredible, close-fought matches and nail-biting tie-breakers. Congratulations to NorCal on taking the overall victory by a razor-thin margin of 11 matches to 10. Special thanks to my counterpart, NorCal Captain Sean Haley, for assembling an elite opposing lineup, and to the Coronado family for their hard work behind the scenes at the venue. We’re already looking forward to the next event.”
More info on the 2026 CalCup Invitational HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer