[6] Santa Ynez Valley Union High School athletic teams are nicknamed the Pirates.

The school is a member of the CIF Central Section and began competing in the Mountain League starting in 2022.

Prior to that, SYHS was a member of the CIF Southern Section and the now defunct Los Padres League.

Despite only being formed in 1992, the Santa Ynez boys' volleyball program qualified for the CIF-SS playoffs 29 years in a row and set CIF records with 19 consecutive league championships, 208 straight league wins, and four straight CIF-SS titles.

[7][8] In 2019, the SYHS girls' track and field team captured the Channel League title after a perfect season.