This is Puerto Rico's sixth World Championship appearance. After little success in their first two appearances in 1974 and 1982, they have fared better in recent times. Their best finish came in 2002 on their return to the tournament after 20 years. Victories against Argentina, Dominican Republic and Kenya secured qualification for the second round, in which three defeats left them 11th overall. Since then they have been ranked 15th in 2006 and 17th in 2010.

They are gathering vital experience by competing regularly against elite sides in the World Grand Prix. At last year's event they finished 18th, having finished 13th and 11th in the previous two editions. Puerto Rico enter this tournament on the back of a successful 2014 World Grand Prix campaign where they qualified for the Final Round of Group 2 by finishing second behind the Netherlands in the group stage. They lost to the Netherlands in the semifinal before beating Poland 3-0 for third place.

Puerto Rico boast strong performances in continental competitions, where they finished in third place at the 2009 and 2014 Pan American Cup. They also finished fifth at the 2011 Pan American Games. In the NORCECA Championship they won a silver medal in 2009, slipped to fourth in 2011, and then regained their place on the podium last year by claiming bronze.