Kelly Marie Claes born September 18, 1995, grew up in Fullerton CA. She lives with her parents Paul & Quincy, her brother Daniel and her sister Kristi. She was a nationally ranked setter during her time playing indoor at El Dorado High School, only to switch courts and commit to USC for Sand Volleyball. While playing at USC she managed to obtain 4 National Championships, being named All-American, 2 PAC-12 Player of the Year awards her junior and senior year and ending with a 146-4 record at USC winning over 100 straight matches.

Kelly has represented the United States in the FIVB Under 19 & 21 World Championships in both 2013 & 2014 earning a Bronze medal finish in both events. Post graduation from USC, Kelly was named the 2017 LA Sports Woman of the year. After she declared herself a professional beach volleyball player she earned top finishes in both the AVP (1st place in Chicago Gold Series Championship in 2017) & FIVB (2nd place in Xiamen, China and 3rd in Qinzhou in 2018). Kelly looks to continue her journey to represent team USA in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.