South Carolina – Jose Loiola
On May 23rd, the South Carolina Gamecocks announced that they hired a new beach volleyball head coach in Jose Loiola. Loiola played professional beach volleyball including the 2000 Summer Olympics and was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall Of Fame in 2017. After his beach volleyball career, Loiola was an assistant coach at UCLA for the past two seasons. While he was coaching at UCLA, the Bruins had a record of 67-14 with Loiola being awarded the NCAA assistant coach of the year award.
The Gamecocks’ last national championship tournament visit was in 2018 and their last and only conference final visit was in 2024. They finished the 2025 season with a record of 14-17 and back-to-back losses in the CCSA conference tournament.
Oregon – Kristian Kuld
On June 6th, Oregon announced they hired former Long Beach State (LBSU) assistant coach, Kristian Kuld. During Kuld’s tenth season with the Sharks, LBSU finished with a record of 27-12 and lost in the third round of the national championship tournament to LMU. Kuld helped LBSU win their first Big West Championship in 2023.
Oregon is coming off of a tough season finishing with a record of 8-20. The Ducks lost back-to-back games in the MPSF conference tournament exiting in the first round of the consolation bracket.
