Men's Volleyball
Keller, Brad
Brad Keller
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Alma Mater:
- Loyola Marymount, '02
- Year at UCLA:
- 1st in 2019
Brad Keller, a former outside hitter at Loyola Marymount, is set to begin his seventh season at UCLA under head coach John Speraw. With a reputation for building championship-caliber teams, Keller has spent the last 13 seasons on the collegiate level, including helping to lead both the Bruins (2018) and USC (2009) to the NCAA men's volleyball title match. He has coached 20-plus All-America players during that tenure, including UCLA first-teammers Daenan Gyimah and Micah Ma'a last season.
In all seven seasons at UCLA, Keller has rounded up some of the best recruiting classes in the nation. Those efforts resulted in the Bruins vaulting into the top spot in the national rankings during the 2012, 2014 and 2016 regular season, playing in the NCAA title match in 2018 and returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006 in the 2016 season.
This past November, UCLA inked seven outstanding players for the 2020 season which make up a class which includes five VolleyballMag.com players and is once again listed among the nation's best. In November of 2018, the Bruins added OH/Opp Sam Burgi, OH Ian Eschenberg, S Cole Johnson, Opp. Kevin Kobrine, MB Daniel Matheney and L/OH Cole Pender. In 2017, Keller helped to bring in a class which was rated as the nation's best by VolleyballMag.com and included Colin Bailey, Grant Maleski, Garland Peed, Ian Parish, Adam Parks, Alex Parks and J.R. Norris - five of whom earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) HS All-America honors and/or VolleyballMag.com Fab 50 recognition.
The Bruins were also credited with signing the nation’s top class in 2013 — a group of eight student-athletes, each of whom earned Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 honors — and again in 2014. Two of those recruits, Mitch Stahl (2016 2nd team AVCA All-A) and Jackson Bantle, went on to earn 2014 All-MPSF Freshman team honors. The November 2013 class included Volleyball Magazine’s top-two ranked players in Jake Arnitz (2016 2nd team AVCA All-A; 2016 1st-team All-MPSF) and Christian Hessenauer. All of the newcomers were included in the nation’s Fab 50 recruits as listed by Volleyball Magazine. JT Hatch, from that 2013 November class, went on to be named the 2015 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Freshman of the Year.
The 2014 November class featured setter/hitter Micah Ma’a, who was selected as a 2016 and 2018 first-team AVCA All-American. In November of 2015, the Bruins inked a class which included top Canadian player, Daenan “Kofi” Gyimah (first-team AVCA All-American in 2018), Sam Kobrine and Sam Jones.
During the summer months, Keller has been active the past several years as a coach with the U.S. Youth National team. This past summer, Keller was head coach of the U.S. Boys' Youth National Team which captured the silver medal in the 2018 NORCECA U19 Continental Championships and qualified for the 2019 FIVB U19 World Championships. In the summer of 2016, Keller served as the Associate Head Coach in charge of defense for the U.S. Youth National team that earned a second-place finish and secured a bid for the 2017 U19 World Championships. He helped guide the Youth National Team at the 2015 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship to a seventh-place finish which equaled its best result ever. Ma’a was on that team, while his current Bruin teammates Dylan Missry and Kobrine were members of the training squad. In the summer of 2014, he was on the coaching staff of the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team which defeated Cuba, 25-23, 25-21, 25-20 to win the NORCECA Boys’ Under-19 Continental Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Team USA finished the tournament 4-0 and 12-0 in sets. In 2010, he was an assistant coach with the USA Volleyball Men’s Junior National Team, guiding it to its first gold medal in USA Volleyball history. That fall, Keller helped prepare the U.S. Men’s National Team for the 2010 FIVB World Championship as an advance scout, developing reports for use during World League competition.
Prior to his appointment at UCLA, Keller served as an assistant coach at UConn, working for the 2011 women’s volleyball team. Before moving to Storrs, Conn., Keller helped guide the UC Irvine men’s team, along with head coach John Speraw, to an 18-11 regular season record, a No. 3 national ranking and a sixth-place national finish in 2011. In 2010, his first season at UCI, the Anteaters finished eighth nationally.
Before his stint at UC Irvine, Keller served as an assistant men’s volleyball coach at USC from 2007-10. He teamed with current UCLA assistant John Hawks in 2007 and 2008 to land a couple of the nation’s top recruiting classes. As the offensive coordinator during 2009, Keller helped guide the Trojans to the NCAA Final by upsetting No. 4 Stanford, top-ranked UCI and second-ranked Pepperdine in the MPSF Tournament. The Trojans ended the year ranked second nationally in kills and assists as well as fifth in hitting percentage and lost 15-12 in the fifth set of the NCAA championship match to Irvine. Both the 2011 and 2012 Trojan teams spent multiple weeks ranked as the nation’s top team in the AVCA poll. In four seasons with the Trojans, he coached two All-Americans as well as six All-MPSF honorees. Included in some of Keller’s USC recruiting classes were the 2011 (Murphy Troy) and 2012 (Tony Ciarelli) AVCA Men’s National Players of the Year. Another recruit, Micah Christensen, was named the 2012 AVCA National Newcomer of the Year and has gone on to become the setter for the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Keller founded the Bay to Bay Volleyball Club in San Jose, Calif., a youth boys’ volleyball club created to serve the needs of the South Bay community. He served as the chief director from 2001-06 and was heavily involved in all aspects of the organization. Bay to Bay has produced more than 75 varsity collegiate athletes.
As a student-athlete, Keller played two seasons at Loyola Marymount where he graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and a minor in Marketing.
In all seven seasons at UCLA, Keller has rounded up some of the best recruiting classes in the nation. Those efforts resulted in the Bruins vaulting into the top spot in the national rankings during the 2012, 2014 and 2016 regular season, playing in the NCAA title match in 2018 and returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006 in the 2016 season.
This past November, UCLA inked seven outstanding players for the 2020 season which make up a class which includes five VolleyballMag.com players and is once again listed among the nation's best. In November of 2018, the Bruins added OH/Opp Sam Burgi, OH Ian Eschenberg, S Cole Johnson, Opp. Kevin Kobrine, MB Daniel Matheney and L/OH Cole Pender. In 2017, Keller helped to bring in a class which was rated as the nation's best by VolleyballMag.com and included Colin Bailey, Grant Maleski, Garland Peed, Ian Parish, Adam Parks, Alex Parks and J.R. Norris - five of whom earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) HS All-America honors and/or VolleyballMag.com Fab 50 recognition.
The Bruins were also credited with signing the nation’s top class in 2013 — a group of eight student-athletes, each of whom earned Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 honors — and again in 2014. Two of those recruits, Mitch Stahl (2016 2nd team AVCA All-A) and Jackson Bantle, went on to earn 2014 All-MPSF Freshman team honors. The November 2013 class included Volleyball Magazine’s top-two ranked players in Jake Arnitz (2016 2nd team AVCA All-A; 2016 1st-team All-MPSF) and Christian Hessenauer. All of the newcomers were included in the nation’s Fab 50 recruits as listed by Volleyball Magazine. JT Hatch, from that 2013 November class, went on to be named the 2015 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Freshman of the Year.
The 2014 November class featured setter/hitter Micah Ma’a, who was selected as a 2016 and 2018 first-team AVCA All-American. In November of 2015, the Bruins inked a class which included top Canadian player, Daenan “Kofi” Gyimah (first-team AVCA All-American in 2018), Sam Kobrine and Sam Jones.
During the summer months, Keller has been active the past several years as a coach with the U.S. Youth National team. This past summer, Keller was head coach of the U.S. Boys' Youth National Team which captured the silver medal in the 2018 NORCECA U19 Continental Championships and qualified for the 2019 FIVB U19 World Championships. In the summer of 2016, Keller served as the Associate Head Coach in charge of defense for the U.S. Youth National team that earned a second-place finish and secured a bid for the 2017 U19 World Championships. He helped guide the Youth National Team at the 2015 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship to a seventh-place finish which equaled its best result ever. Ma’a was on that team, while his current Bruin teammates Dylan Missry and Kobrine were members of the training squad. In the summer of 2014, he was on the coaching staff of the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team which defeated Cuba, 25-23, 25-21, 25-20 to win the NORCECA Boys’ Under-19 Continental Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Team USA finished the tournament 4-0 and 12-0 in sets. In 2010, he was an assistant coach with the USA Volleyball Men’s Junior National Team, guiding it to its first gold medal in USA Volleyball history. That fall, Keller helped prepare the U.S. Men’s National Team for the 2010 FIVB World Championship as an advance scout, developing reports for use during World League competition.
Prior to his appointment at UCLA, Keller served as an assistant coach at UConn, working for the 2011 women’s volleyball team. Before moving to Storrs, Conn., Keller helped guide the UC Irvine men’s team, along with head coach John Speraw, to an 18-11 regular season record, a No. 3 national ranking and a sixth-place national finish in 2011. In 2010, his first season at UCI, the Anteaters finished eighth nationally.
Before his stint at UC Irvine, Keller served as an assistant men’s volleyball coach at USC from 2007-10. He teamed with current UCLA assistant John Hawks in 2007 and 2008 to land a couple of the nation’s top recruiting classes. As the offensive coordinator during 2009, Keller helped guide the Trojans to the NCAA Final by upsetting No. 4 Stanford, top-ranked UCI and second-ranked Pepperdine in the MPSF Tournament. The Trojans ended the year ranked second nationally in kills and assists as well as fifth in hitting percentage and lost 15-12 in the fifth set of the NCAA championship match to Irvine. Both the 2011 and 2012 Trojan teams spent multiple weeks ranked as the nation’s top team in the AVCA poll. In four seasons with the Trojans, he coached two All-Americans as well as six All-MPSF honorees. Included in some of Keller’s USC recruiting classes were the 2011 (Murphy Troy) and 2012 (Tony Ciarelli) AVCA Men’s National Players of the Year. Another recruit, Micah Christensen, was named the 2012 AVCA National Newcomer of the Year and has gone on to become the setter for the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Keller founded the Bay to Bay Volleyball Club in San Jose, Calif., a youth boys’ volleyball club created to serve the needs of the South Bay community. He served as the chief director from 2001-06 and was heavily involved in all aspects of the organization. Bay to Bay has produced more than 75 varsity collegiate athletes.
As a student-athlete, Keller played two seasons at Loyola Marymount where he graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and a minor in Marketing.
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