Volleybird Builds Out C-Suite with Three Sports Industry Executives

The hires mark Volleybird’s journey from direct-to-consumer to a full commercial organization spanning retail, wholesale, and proprietary product lines

MIAMI, FL, UNITED STATES, September 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Volleybird, the sport discovery company behind subscription boxes for tennis, pickleball, padel, and golf, today announced three additions to its team: Tim Bainton, Mike Knowles and Denny Mazur. The hires strengthen Volleybird’s leadership bench as the company, founded by athletes Tracy Thomas and Cassandra Toroian, enters a period of accelerated growth and product expansion.

Tim Bainton Named as COO

Bainton is a seasoned racquet sports industry executive, entrepreneur, and advisor with more than 20 years of experience building, operating, and growing businesses across tennis, pickleball, padel, golf, and the broader sports and lifestyle industries. He is the founder of Blue Chip Sports Management, an organization he launched in 2009 that has grown to serve more than 30 facilities and has helped generate more than $250 million in client revenue.

A former collegiate coach and university professor, Bainton has also authored four books and has been a trusted industry source featured in outlets including Forbes, Bloomberg, Axios, and The Wall Street Journal. Bainton will work closely with co-founder and CEO Cassandra Toroian on Volleybird’s overall growth strategy and execution. His responsibilities span strategic partnerships, business development, philanthropic initiatives, and capital raising to support expansion across the company’s core sports and lifestyle verticals and proprietary product development initiatives.

“What excites me most about Volleybird is that we’re building something much bigger than an online store or another sports brand,” said Bainton. “Cassandra and Tracy have a genuine vision for creating a platform that connects sport, lifestyle, community and purpose for the GenX that amazingly is often overlooked. I’ve spent much of my career working across the sports that Volleybird serves, and I believe there is a significant opportunity to build a brand that can authentically live across all of them, specifically for a customer base that has been largely ignored. I’m incredibly excited to be part of this next chapter and to help turn that vision into something with real scale and lasting impact.”

“Tracy and I are so pleased Tim has come on board,” said Toroian, co-founder and CEO of Volleybird. “His lifelong love for all these sports, plus his experience in building Blue Chip Sports Management, give him a wonderful set of skills and background to join us on this journey.”

Mike Knowles Named Chief Marketing Officer

Knowles leads branding and marketing strategy for Volleybird. He founded Inside the Lines Advisory, a growth strategy practice for racquet sports organizations. A former Division I All-American tennis player at Ole Miss, he most recently served as chief marketing officer of the Racquet Sports Professionals Association, where he led the organization’s rebrand after 97 years and grew membership renewal 25% year over year under direct competitive pressure. He started his career in marketing at agencies including Young & Rubicam and Publicis, and on the client side at Flowers Foods.

“Mike’s stellar background and years of experience in consumer brands, spanning both racquet sports and consumer product marketing, make him the perfect fit to help us roll out our Volleybird brand and products,” said Toroian, co-founder and CEO of Volleybird.

Denny Mazur Named Chief Revenue Officer

Mazur is a sports business executive and growth strategist with extensive experience building brands, revenue channels, sales organizations, and go-to-market strategies across golf and the broader sports industry. He has successfully grown revenue at brands including Srixon, Cleveland Golf, XXIO, ASICS, OnCore Golf, Scott Golf, GOLF.AI, Dunlop Tennis and Padel, PuttView, Whoosh, Spektrum Sports, SNYDER Golf and Southwind Apparel.

At Volleybird, he leads the company’s go-to-market strategy and sales execution for its new racquet sport and golf product launches this fall and winter, overseeing both the company’s green grass channel and its B2B marketplace channel.

“What excites me most about Volleybird is the people, the thoughtful, innovative premium products they are bringing to market and the unique gift-boxing model that spans tennis, pickleball, golf and padel,” said Mazur. “There’s a real gap in the market, and Volleybird is filling it in a way that feels fresh, premium, and built for where these sports are going.”

About Volleybird

Volleybird is a premium sport discovery company serving tennis, pickleball, padel, and golf players across North America. Founded by athletes Tracy Thomas and Cassandra Toroian, Volleybird hunts down the gear, apparel, and lifestyle products that most players would never find on their own, from established brands to emerging makers redefining the sport.

Volleybird’s flagship subscription box delivers more than $200 worth of hand-picked, sport-specific items every 60 days. Alongside its direct-to-consumer business, Volleybird selectively develops its own product lines where it sees genuine gaps in the market, starting with female-oriented golf accessories and apparel and unique racquet sport gear, including the Darling Collection. These product lines are being rolled out through clubs, facilities, and targeted retailers across the U.S., with international expansion on the horizon in the coming quarters.

Volleybird has been featured in the New York Post, Florida Tennis Magazine, Fox21 News Colorado, and CBS News Washington, D.C. For more information visit volleybird.shop.

Cassandra Toroian
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