Men's Volleyball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
John Hawks enters his second season in charge of the UCLA men’s volleyball program in 2026. Hawks, who was an assistant coach for UCLA from 2015-22 was named the third head coach in UCLA men’s volleyball history on Friday, October 11, 2024.
In his first season in charge in 2025, Hawks led the Bruins to a third-straight NCAA title match, coached four All-Americans, and posted his highest win total in a single season as a head coach after pacing UCLA to 22 wins. Under Hawk’s tutelage, Cooper Robinson was named MPSF Player of the Year and a first-team All-American. Andrew Rowan earned his third AVCA first-team All-America honors, Cameron Thorne claimed AVCA First-team All-America accolades, and Zach Rama earned a spot on the AVCA second-team All-America list.
Hawks recorded his first win as head coach of the program on January 10, as the Bruins took down St. Francis in straight sets. He then won his first NCAA Tournament match over Belmont Abbey on May 8, another three-set sweep. He then earned his first NCAA National Collegiate title appearance after leading the Bruins to a 3-1 win over Hawai’i in the semifinals.
Under his leadership, the Bruins had four All-Americans in 2025, five MPSF honorees, and nine Big Ten Spring Academic honor roll members. On the court, Cameron Thorne was also named the Ryan Millar award winner as the nation's best middle attacker, and earned the Dain Blanton Diversity Award.
Hawks also currently serves as the head coach of the U21 USA National Team, and recently won Gold at the NORCECA Qualifiers this past summer in Mexico, earning a bid to the World Championships in China in the summer of 2025.
In Hawks’ two seasons as head coach of Loyola Chicago, he posted a 40- 17 record (.702 winning percentage), earned Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Coach of the Year honors in 2023, and coached six All-Americans.
“I am honored to take on the role of head coach at UCLA, a place that has meant so much to me both personally and professionally,” Hawks said at the time of his hiring. “UCLA stands as the flagship program in the country, with an unmatched tradition of excellence and 21 NCAA Championships. The legacy built here that began with Al Scates, and most recently under the leadership of John Speraw, is something I deeply respect and am eager to build upon. I’d like to express my sincere thanks to Martin Jarmond for his belief in me throughout this process, and to Gavin Crew and the entire search committee for this incredible opportunity. I’m humbled to return to a program of such storied tradition and am committed to upholding its standards of excellence.”
Loyola Chicago finished with a 19-10 overall record and a 12-4 record in MIVA play in 2024. The Ramblers ended the season with the third-highest hitting percentage in the country (.350), swept 12 teams, and enjoyed a seven-match winning streak from Feb. 24 to March 21. Several Loyola players received individual honors in 2024, including MIVA Player of the Year and AVCA First-Team All-American Parker Van Buren and MIVA and AVCA Newcomer of the Year Daniel Fabikovic.
In his first season in charge of the program in 2023, Hawks directed Loyola to a 21-7 (11-3 MIVA) record and a share of the MIVA regular season title, its first since 2018. Six Ramblers were named to All-MIVA teams, the most in the conference, and three earned All-America accolades.
“I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Steve Watson and Holly Strauss- O’Brien at Loyola for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to lead such a remarkable program,” Hawks said. “To my players and staff, you mean the world to me and I want to express my gratitude for giving me everything you had over the last two years. Lastly, none of this would be possible without the love and support of my incredible wife, Julianne, and my two amazing daughters, Giavanna and Gabriella. Their belief in me keeps me grounded and inspired every day. Now, I’m ready to embrace this new challenge and continue pushing the boundaries of what this UCLA team can achieve.”
Prior to joining Loyola Chicago, Hawks spent seven seasons (2015-22) as an assistant coach at UCLA and posted a 134-54 (.713) overall record during that time. Hawks recruited and helped develop five AVCA All-America selections and a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Player of the Year in Miles Partain.
Hawks was honored as the 2022 AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year after he helped lead the Bruins to the top attack percentage in the nation (.374) and a nine-week stay atop the AVCA Coaches Poll. During 2022, the Bruins advanced to the NCAA semifinals and captured the MPSF regular season title for the first time since 1998. Partain became UCLA’s first winner of the MPSF Player of the Year Award since 2000 and was also one of three finalists for the Lloy Ball Award as the nation’s top setter. Also that year, Kevin Kobrine was a finalist for the Bryan Ivie Award as the country’s best opposite, and Merrick McHenry was a finalist for the Ryan Millar Award as the nation’s top middle attacker. Partain, McHenry and Ethan Champlin were first-team All-America selections.
In 2018, UCLA advanced to the national championship match and recorded 26 wins. Daenan Gyimah repeated as the Ryan Millar Award as the nation’s top middle attacker and became a three-time first-team All-American.
While coaching at UCLA, Hawks also served as the head coach of the U.S. National Men’s Volleyball Team in the summer of 2019, leading the team to a second-place finish at the NORCECA Continental Championships. He was also on the U.S. coaching staff for two Pan American Cup gold medals and a bronze medal at the World University Games. Hawks coached three Bruins who went on to become Olympians – Micah Ma’a and Partain in 2024 and Mitch Stahl in 2020.
Hawks also held assistant coach positions at Long Beach State (2009-11), USC (2007-08) and UC Irvine (2003-06). During his time in Long Beach, the Beach made the NCAA tournament each year and had 10 All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation selections and four AVCA All-America picks. During his four seasons at UC Irvine, the Anteaters won 70 matches (more than the program’s first 11 years combined) and qualified for the MPSF tournament three times. He was on the sidelines during the 2006 campaign when UCI spent eight weeks ranked No. 1 in the nation, won the program’s first conference title, led the nation in wins with 27, and reached the national semifinals. Hawks helped to recruit Anteater classes that went on to win two NCAA Championships.
Prior to his first stint at UCLA, Hawks spent four years in Cleveland, Ohio, where he acted as Director of Volleyball for SPIRE Institute, a boarding school designed to blend athletics and academics at the highest level. He also served as head coach at The Academy for Volleyball, where his 17 Open team won the 2015 AAU Girls’ National Championship. He began his college coaching career as an assistant coach at Grossmont College from 1995-97. Hawks played at Grossmont College and San Diego State. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Management from the University of Phoenix.
Hawks and his wife Julianne have two daughters, Giavanna and Gabriella.
