Women's Volleyball | February 20, 2020
LOS ANGELES – Brad Keller, who helped coach the UCLA women's volleyball team that qualified for the 2019 NCAA tournament after serving as an assistant with both USC and UCLA men's programs that reached the NCAA championship match, has been named the USC women's volleyball head coach, Trojan Athletic Director
Mike Bohn announced today (Feb. 20).
The 40-year-old Keller has extensive experience coaching women and men at the international, national, collegiate, club, and high school levels.
"We are very excited to welcome Brad back to the Trojan Family," said USC Athletic Director
Mike Bohn, "He is a great fit for USC, and he embraces our aspirations to reclaim USC's rich volleyball heritage. He has a deep passion for the game of volleyball and believes in our student-athlete centric model. His mastery of the Southern California recruiting landscape will be a difference-maker for our program. He brings a strong coaching pedigree and has coached the game at a national-caliber level."
"This is a dream for me," said Keller. "I started at USC, so it's so nice to be back here. This is a very exciting time and I can't wait to start working with this team to build on USC's incredible women's volleyball tradition.
"I want to thank everybody at USC who took the time to get me here, especially Athletic Director
Mike Bohn,
Joyce Bell, Paul Perrier, and Brandon Sosna. They've been unbelievable throughout this process. I also want to thank all the people at UCLA who were so instrumental in my eight years there, including Dan Guerrero, Christina Rivera, Kenny Donaldson, Matt Elliott, John Speraw, Mike Sealy, and Ashley Armstrong."
As the associate women's head coach at UCLA in 2019, Keller helped the Bruins to a 19-12 overall record. UCLA took fourth place in the Pac-12 with a 13-7 league record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament where the Bruins fell to eventual NCAA national runner-up Wisconsin.
Prior to the 2019 season with the women's team, Keller served six years (2013-18) as an assistant coach for the UCLA men's volleyball program. While on staff, Keller coached 10 All-Americans and helped the Bruins reach the NCAA national semifinals in 2016 and a national runner-up finish in 2018. According to
Volleyball Magazine rankings, Keller helped bring in four top-ranked recruiting classes at UCLA: in 2013, '14, '17, and '18.
On the national level, Keller has served as a coach for the U.S. Youth National Team programs. He was the head coach of the A1 U.S. Boys' Youth Team that won silver at the 2018 NORCECA U19 Continental Championship. Keller was also the U.S. Youth National Team's associate head coach in 2016 and 2017; and served as an assistant coach in 2014 and 2015.
Keller's collegiate coaching career began at USC where he served as an assistant coach for the Trojans for four seasons (2007-10). In 2009, USC won the MPSF Tournament and finished as the NCAA runner-up. Among the outstanding Trojan men that he coached were Murphy Troy, Tony Ciarelli, Tri Bourne, and brothers Riley and Maddison McKibbin.
Keller joined the UC Irvine men's program for the 2011 season as an assistant coach where he helped the Anteaters to a No. 3 national ranking and a semifinal appearance in the MPSF tournament. In the fall of 2011, Keller moved to the women's side of the sport and spent that season as an assistant coach a UConn. In the spring of 2012, Keller was named an assistant coach for the Santa Clara women's volleyball program. He helped the Broncos through the spring season before he was hired by the UCLA men's program that summer.
Prior to joining the collegiate coaching ranks, Keller was the owner, director, and a coach of Bay to Bay, a boys' volleyball club in Northern California, from 2000-06. His club won a pair of silver medals at the Junior Olympics and produced numerous NCAA Division I student-athletes. In the summer of 2006, he served as an assistant coach with the U.S. Men's Junior National Team.
Keller's other coaching experience includes two seasons (1995-96) as an assistant with the girls' team at Del Mar High School in San Jose, Calif.; and as head coach in 1999 of the girls' junior high team at Harvard-Westlake High School in North Hollywood, Calif.
As a student-athlete, Keller played outside hitter and defensive specialist at Loyola Marymount for two seasons (1999-2000) before the school stopped sponsoring the sport. He received his bachelor's degree in graphic design with a minor in marketing from LMU in 2002.
Keller attended Bellarmine Prep in San Jose, Calif., where he was the CIF Central Coast Section MVP in 1998. His younger brother Jarod played libero for the Stanford men's volleyball program. Keller was born Dec. 30, 1979.
Last season, USC faced one of the nation's toughest schedules and finished the with an 18-14 overall record despite myriad injuries and changes to the Trojans' lineup. The Women of Troy went 11-9 in the Pac-12 and landed in sixth place. USC received an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament and made its 37th all-time appearance in the tourney (29th straight) where the Trojans advanced to the second round before falling to top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Baylor. Outside hitter
Khalia Lanier was honored as an AVCA second-team All-American.
For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING...
JOHN SPERAW,
head coach U.S. Men's National Team and UCLA men's volleyball
"Brad has been a tremendous coaching partner for me over the years. He is an outstanding teacher of the game."
LORI OKIMURA,
past chair of USA Volleyball
"I've watched Brad fine tune his coaching style over the years, achieving success at many levels including within the U.S. national team and high performance pipeline. He is both a teacher and student of volleyball, poised to bring out the best in any given situation and find a way to share his championship mindset. With great support from USC Athletics, women's volleyball is in good hands with
Brad Keller."
DIANE COPENHAGEN,
former USC women's volleyball player
"I am excited to see what Brad can build at USC. He understands the culture and traditions that embody what it means to be a Trojan. He brings an extensive volleyball knowledge and passion for the game that is contagious. His ability to focus on technique while still creating a competitive environment will help develop a strong program. Brad takes great pride in supporting the student-athletes and helping them succeed on and off the court. I welcome him back to the Trojan Family."
RILEY McKIBBIN,
former USC men's volleyball player
"I'm so fired up that USC hired
Brad Keller. It's a great hire. He helped recruit me to USC. One thing that he does so well is he's an amazing communicator. He can relate to anyone and everyone and makes everyone feel comfortable. He's very collaborative and creative in his approach and is open to new things; it's not my way or the highway. And he's one of the best recruiters in the game. He also has a great knowledge of the game and continues to be a student of the game. We've turned to him often for technique and strategy."
MADDISON McKIBBIN,
former USC men's volleyball player
"Brad has been itching to be a head coach and put together a program that is an accumulation of the experience he has gained coaching both women and men. He has taken all the right steps in his coaching career and has worked with some of the game's best coaches. He has gathered a lot of skills, which will make him a very capable head coach. I can't wait to watch him at USC."
