UC San Diego

• 2009 MPSF Coach of the Year

MEDIA
• Volleyball Weekly (5/12/21)
• Off the Block National Media Day Zoom (1/28/21)
• Mic'd Up Video (12/11/20)
• Between Two Zooms Interview (5/14/20)
• Volleyball Magazine (2/18/20)
• ESPN3 Interview (1/4/20)
• Off the Block (6/9/16)

Kevin Ring '96 served as head coach of UC San Diego men's volleyball for 17 seasons.

In 2022, the Tritons went 13-11 overall and 5-5 in Big West action. Ranked as high as No. 8 nationally, UC San Diego earned seven victories over other ranked teams including No. 2 Long Beach State (national runner-up), No. 3 Hawaii (national champion), No. 11 BYU (twice on the road), No. 12 Stanford, and No. 13 UC Irvine (twice).

For the third-straight season, outside hitter Kyle McCauley earned All-America honors from the AVCA. Along with McCauley, libero Matt Palma was an All-Big West First Team selection. Middles Shane Benetz and Logan Clark picked up All-Big West Honorable Mention and outside Matthew Lim was named to the Big West All-Freshman Team.

The 2021 campaign saw UC San Diego play a shortened season due to COVID-19 protocols. The Tritons went 5-13 overall and 3-7 in Big West Conference matches, good for fourth place and the fourth seed in the league tournament in Honolulu.

In Hawai'i, UC San Diego wasted no time in making history. In a first round match against CSUN, the Tritons earned their first-ever postseason win as an NCAA Division I or Division II team. In the semifinals, they stunned unbeaten, No. 1-ranked, top-seeded, and soon to be national champion Hawaii in a five-set battle. The Tritons' incredible postseason run came to an end in the championship match against third-ranked UC Santa Barbara.

For the second straight season, McCauley was named an AVCA All-American as well as an All-Big West First Team selection. Benetz was an All-Big West Honorable Mention.   

In 2020, Ring's 15th year as head coach at UC San Diego, the Tritons recorded a historic season despite it being cut short due to COVID-19. They amassed a 14-5 record, the team's most victories since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2001.

In a campaign full of firsts, on Feb. 15 UC San Diego defeated UC Irvine to earn its inaugural Big West Conference victory since joining the league at its inception in 2018. A week later, the Tritons blanked the Anteaters 3-0, giving the team its first-ever Big West sweep and regular season series sweep.

UC San Diego collected seven wins against nationally-ranked teams including UCLA (No. 3), UC Irvine (No. 5 and No. 6), Penn State (No. 10), Loyola Chicago (No. 11), Princeton (No. 13), and Concordia Irvine (No. 13). It was the team's first win against UCLA since 2012.

Speaking of rankings, on Feb. 24 the Tritons climbed to a Division II program-best No. 6 in the nation, a slot they occupied for three consecutive weeks until the season came to an abrupt close. They entered the year unranked since 2013 and made their debut in the poll at No. 15 on Jan. 27.

Between Feb. 4 and Feb. 28, UC San Diego reeled off six-straight victories, tying the team's longest-ever win streak.

On March 11, UC San Diego swept No. 10 Penn State at RIMAC Arena, which would prove to be the final match of the season for the Tritons as the NCAA canceled its remaining winter and spring championships on March 12 due to the pandemic.

McCauley was named to the AVCA All-America First Team as well as the AVCA Newcomer of the Year, while setter Connor Walbrecht was selected to the AVCA All-America Second Team. They were the first Tritons to ever collect AVCA All-America First or Second Team accolades and McCauley was the first-ever AVCA Newcomer of the Year from UC San Diego.

In 2019, Ring hit a milestone during the campaign, earning his 100th career victory on March 12 as the Tritons defeated Lindenwood in straight sets at RIMAC Arena.

In its second year competing in the Big West, UC San Diego saw Clark and setter Blake Crisp named to the league's All-Freshman Team.

The 2018 season marked the beginning of a new era for the team as Ring led his Tritons into the newly-formed Big West Conference. The Big West added men's volleyball as a sponsored sport on May 31, 2016, with UC San Diego joining as an associate member.

In 2018, opposite hitter Tanner Syftestad became the first player in program history to garner AVCA All-America recognition with an honorable mention. He was named to the first-ever All-Big West First Team and was tabbed the Division II National Player of the Year by Off the Block for the second-straight season. In addition, outside hitter Wyatt Harrison earned a spot on the Big West's All-Freshman Team.

UC San Diego players have gained postseason recognition from the MPSF on 11 occasions during Ring's time in charge, led by the only three All-MPSF picks in program history in Syftestad (2017), setter Phil Bannan (2011) and libero Eric Leserman (2007), all of whom earned spots on the second team. His student-athletes have excelled over the years in the classroom, typically ranking near the top of the 12-team conference in number of MPSF All-Academic honorees. The Tritons boasted their then-all-time highs of seven and eight such selections in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Six were recognized for 2015, before the program shared the league high of seven in 2016 with BYU, ahead of Stanford's six, and took up the top rung alone in 2017 at nine. UC San Diego totaled 60 MPSF All-Academic awards under Ring's watch.

The Tritons more than doubled their win total in 2016 from the previous year. Highlights included a come-from-behind, five-set home triumph over Princeton in late January, and a straight-set victory at Concordia in March that snapped a lengthy success streak for CUI in Irvine. In the December 2015 issue of Volleyball Magazine, Ring appeared at No. 10 in a listing of the top head coaches in college men's volleyball, as voted by his peers.

In 2013, UC San Diego achieved its first-ever season sweep of USC, the 2012 national runner-up. The Tritons began the 2013 and 2014 campaigns with program-best placements of fourth at the annual UC Santa Barbara Asics Invitational, opening the 2013 installment by rallying from two sets down to triumph over then-fifth-ranked Lewis.

The 2012 squad finished with a 9-19 overall record and sat ninth in the MPSF with a 6-16 mark, narrowly missing its first berth in the eight-team league tournament. UC San Diego recorded upsets over No. 3 UCLA, No. 9 Long Beach State, No. 11 Hawai'i, No. 12 UC Santa Barbara and No. 13 CSUN. The team strung together an unprecedented five-match win streak in league play late in the season, with three coming on the road. For the second straight year, the Tritons climbed to as high as No. 11 in the AVCA national poll.

Outside hitter Carl Eberts and libero Chase Frishman earned All-MPSF honorable mention. Outside hitter Vaun Lennon was tabbed the AVCA National Player of the Week in early April, becoming the third Triton to garner that distinction in the history of the program. Additionally, six players were named MPSF All-Academic in 2012.

UC San Diego finished with five MPSF wins in 2011, producing upsets at defending national champion and fourth-ranked Stanford, at No. 5 UCLA, at No. 7 UC Irvine, at No. 11 Pepperdine and at home against No. 11 Hawai'i. The sweep at Stanford marked not only the Tritons' first-ever triumph at Maples Pavilion, but also snapped an 18-match home win streak for the Cardinal.

On March 24, 2011, UC San Diego hosted third-ranked Ohio State and took a four-set victory over the Buckeyes, who went on to win the national championship.

Bannan made his way onto the All-MPSF Second Team as a senior after becoming UC San Diego's all-time leader in assists and service aces. Ring also graduated middle blocker Calvin Ross, who took over as the school's career leader in blocks. Four Tritons were named MPSF All-Academic in 2011.

In 2010, the Tritons were ranked in the top 15 nationally throughout and collected six conference wins for the campaign, including two each over UCLA and Pepperdine. Bannan picked up All-MPSF honorable mention for the second straight year.

Ring led the 2009 squad to the most successful season in program history. The Tritons won a Division II-best 13 matches and nearly qualified for the MPSF Tournament, being eliminated during the final weekend of conference play. UC San Diego defeated several ranked teams, including a win over UCLA for the second consecutive season. The Tritons finished the year ranked No. 11 in the country and Ring was honored by his peers by being voted the MPSF Coach of the Year.

Before being elevated to the head-coaching position on June 15, 2005, Ring spent the previous nine years as an assistant for the UC San Diego men's squad. He served as the top assistant for Duncan McFarland in 1997 and 1998, for Jon Stevenson in 1999 and for Ron Larsen between 2000-05. Ring helped guide the Tritons to an NCAA Division III national championship in 2000.

In addition to his duties with UC San Diego men's volleyball, Ring was an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of San Diego. He also served as an assistant coach for the Torero women's volleyball team in 2004-05.

Ring got his start at UC San Diego as the men's volleyball team manager from 1989-91 before playing for the Tritons for three seasons.

Ring was the full-time manager for the USA men's national team from 1991-93 and continued on as a technical advisor through 1996. He accompanied Team USA to the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and the 1996 Games in Atlanta. The 1992 squad left Spain with a bronze medal.

To this day, Ring maintains strong ties to USA Volleyball, as he aided women's national team head coach Karch Kiraly and his staff in preparing Team USA for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. He helped out during the 2013 USA Volleyball Cup against Japan, and was present for various training camps in Southern California. Ring joined the team in Bangkok, Thailand, in August of 2014, to serve as an on-court assistant for its final stop of the FIVB World Grand Prix preliminary rounds.

While maintaining a high level of success on the court and in the classroom, Ring and his players kept a clear focus on giving back to the community. The Tritons held regular volleyball clinics with Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County over the years. Ring himself traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, on May 28, 2016, to put on a volleyball clinic for region coaches at the CETYS Universidad campus there. Click here for photos.

Ring earned two degrees from UC San Diego, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry in 1996, followed by a master's in Chemistry in 1998. A California native, he grew up in Oregon and played prep volleyball at Sheldon High School in Eugene.

Ring and his wife, Nicole, welcomed their first child, son Nathan, in June of 2014. They reside in La Jolla.