USC Beach Volleyball's Dain Blanton Named AVCA National Coach of the Year

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fifth-year USC beach volleyball head coach and Olympic gold-medalist Dain Blanton was selected as the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year on Friday, May 2.

The award is a first for Blanton who was selected as the Pac-12's Coach of the Year in 2022. It is the third time a USC coach has earned the national honor. Prior to Blanton, Anna Collier won the AVCA National Coach of the Year award twice (2014, '19).

Under Blanton's leadership, the Women of Troy are 33-4 in 2024 and won the program's fifth Pac-12 championship. With the league title, USC received the Pac-12's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament and looks to extend its win count in Gulf Shores where the Trojans have won each of the last three NCAA crowns. Blanton holds an all-time coaching record of 138-20 (.873) in five years at USC.

Blanton has led the Trojans to three consecutive NCAA championships (2021, '22, and '23) and raised the program's total to six national titles. USC has also won two Pac-12 championships under his leadership (2022, '24) and were runners-up for the 2021 crown. He has coached 14 AVCA All-Americans including seniors Delaynie Maple (San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines HS) and Megan Kraft (San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines HS), and Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes who are on track to represent the United States in the Paris 2024 Olympics.

No. 1-ranked USC (33-5) earned the top seed in the NCAA championship and will begin defense of its three consecutive national titles on Friday (May 3) with a round of 16 match-up against either Atlantic Sun champion North Florida (24-11) or Ohio Valley champion Chattanooga (19-9). All duals at the championship will be shown live by ESPNU and ESPN2.

For more information on the USC beach volleyball team, a complete schedule, and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/beach. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow the team on Instagram and on X @USCBeach.

Players Mentioned

Megan Kraft

Delaynie Maple