University of California - Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball

Rick McLaughlin was named UC Santa Barbara's head men’s volleyball coach in June 2008. He is only the Gauchos' second head coach since 1978 and the fifth all-time in program history. McLaughlin is a two-time winner of the prestigious AVCA Coach of the Year award, winning it back-to-back in 2020 and 2021. The Gauchos finished the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with a 14-2 record before a 16-5 finish in 2021 including the program's first Big West Championship. Naturally, McLaughlin was also named Big West Coach of the Year in both seasons. In his time at the helm, McLaughlin has coached 15 AVCA All-Americans. Ryan Wilcox earned 2019 AVCA Newcomer of the Year under McLaughlin's guidance, along with two Off the Block national awards; Casey McGarry won the 2021 Lloy Ball Award, given to the nation's best setter, and Dylan Davis won the 2013 National Blocker of the Year award. Additionally, assistant coach and former player Cullen Irons won the AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year award in 2016. He has twice led the Gauchos to conference championships, first in the MPSF in 2011 on the way to an appearance in the National Championship match. In 2021, the Gauchos won their first conference championship as members of the Big West, eventually reaching the National Championship semifinals.  During the Gauchos' MPSF days, 17 different players earned All-MPSF honors with McLaughlin in charge. Beginning 2018, 13 different players have earned All-Big West honors. Internationally, McLaughlin spent ample time during the 2009 offseason with USA Volleyball. First he guided the junior team to the 2009 NORCEA Pan-American Cup championship in Chiapas, Mexico before assisting with the Men’s Senior National Team during their qualifications for the 2010 World Championships. Also, in 2010, McLaughlin guided the Team USA to a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Puerto Rico. Prior to UC Santa Barbara, McLaughlin was head coach at his alma mater Loyola Marymount from 1993-2000, when the school dropped the program. He was named MPSF Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2000, also selected as 2000 ASICS/Volleyball Magazine National Coach of the Year after guiding the Lions to the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament, a first for the program. In the fall of 2001, he joined the staff of his brother Jim - a UCSB alumnus - to help rebuild the women’s program at the University of Washington. Before that, he began his collegiate coaching career under Marv Dunphy at Pepperdine, coaching the 1991 and 1992 seasons and helping the Waves to the 1992 NCAA Championship. McLaughlin’s second stint in Malibu (2002-05) resulted in three Final Four appearances and another national championship in 2005. He spent one year as an assistant on Kathy Gregory’s UC Santa Barbara women’s staff in 2005, a year in which the Gauchos reached the NCAA tournament. In 2006, McLaughlin became head women’s coach at Golden West College, where two successful years culminated in a trip to the state title game in 2007. As a player, McLaughlin was a four-year starting setter at Loyola Marymount. When he completed his career, he ranked among the Lions’ top-10 in career assists (1,691) and service aces (58). At LMU, McLaughlin earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance in 1990. In 1999, he completed his master’s degree in education at Azusa Pacific.

Blaine Nielsen has completed six seasons coaching UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball after the conclusion of the 2025 season, spending the past two years as Associate Head Coach. In 2021, Nielsen and the Gauchos won the Big West Championship, making a run to the NCAA Championship semifinal. Overall, he has helped develop eight AVCA All-Americans and recruited the second-best class in 2023 according to VolleyballMag.com. After spending a few years away from athletics, Nielsen accepted an offer after the 2019 season to join his former head coach, Rick McLaughlin, on the bench. He has previously been a coach for Team USA's beach volleyball program, specifically the duo of Jennifer Fopma and Whitney Pavlik. Nielsen also played professionally overseas in Luxembourg's Professional League from 2012-2013. During his playing days at UC Santa Barbara, the four-year outside-hitter played in 67 matches for the Gauchos collecting a career 282 kills and 170 digs. The former captain was a part of the legendary 2011 team that against all odds fought to make a run to the NCAA Championship in what Karch Kiraly called "one of the greatest runs in the history of collegiate sports." Along the way he would pick up an MPSF Championship and back-to-back wins over then-No. 1 USC. Nielsen graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2012 with a degree in History with an Art History minor. The Corona de Mar native is back in, as he says, "the best place on earth" with his wife, Gaucho alum Erica Nielsen, and their daughter, Poppy.

Devany started his second stint as an assistant coach with the Gauchos in April 2015. He previously served as the second assistant coach on the 2013 Gaucho squad, helping groom then-freshman setter Jonah Seif into an All-American.  He left the program after the 2013 campaign to play professionally overseas. He spent two seasons in Belgium before spending one season in France. For the 2015 season, Devany led the French Ligue Nationale de Volley (LNV) in setting efficiency while starring for Cambrai Volleyball Club. Devany, a UCSB alum, was a three-year starter for the Gauchos, playing from 2008-2011. Over his four-year UCSB career, Devany amassed 4,625 assists, the third most in school history. His junior year campaign of 1,551 assists is a rally scoring program record, while his 1,362 helpers as a senior are the most of any player in collegiate volleyball since the NCAA moved to 25-point games in 2011. Vince was the starting setter for the 2011 squad that advanced to the NCAA Final Four held in University Park, Pa. Devany, a deft ball-handler, recorded 86 assists over two matches in the NCAA tournament, ultimately falling short in a heart-wrenching five-game loss in the championship to Ohio State. As a coach, Devany will share his volleyball acumen with the team's setters, as well as assisting with administrative duties.

Randy DeWeese joined the Gaucho coaching staff prior to the 2024 season. Rounding out a trio of coaches to join their former head coach Rick McLaughlin on the bench, DeWeese played for the program from 2017-2021. As a player, DeWeese spent the first three years of his collegiate career as a setter. In 2020, he moved to opposite and immediately made an impact, winning two Big West Offensive Player of the Week awards and guiding the Gauchos to a 14-2 record before the season shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following year, DeWeese and the Gauchos won their first Big West Championship on the way to the NCAA Championship semifinals. He ended the season as an AVCA First Team All-American after being named to the Second Team in 2020, earning First Team All-Big West honors in both seasons. After his time playing as a Gaucho, DeWeese played professionally in Greece for one season and Germany for two seasons.

Irons was hired as an assistant coach by Rick McLaughlin in August 2013. He was named the 2016 AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year after helping the team to its second 20-win season in the last quarter-century.  His three years with the program since have been some of the most productive in program history, as the Gauchos have accrued a 45-29 record (.608 winning percentage) in that time. "Cullen brings a great level of experience to our staff," said McLaughlin. "Everything he went through during the last three years of his Gaucho career leading up to his team's appearance in the 2011 National Championship match is exactly what our current Gauchos are experiencing in pursuit of our goal of a national title. Sharing his experiences will definitely help our guys stay focused and motivate them to do what it takes." The Hanford, Calif. native had at least 250 kills and 100 digs in all three of his years as a starter for the Gauchos, finishing with career marks of 953 kills, 575 digs, and 174 blocks. His career dig total ranks eighth in program history. He placed second on the team behind Jeff Menzel in kills in both 2010 and 2011. Irons was named to the All-NCAA Tournament Team in 2011 after leading the team in kills and ranking second in blocks and digs over two games at Penn State's Rec Hall as he led the Gauchos to the cusp of a National Championship.

Jonah Seif has been an assistant coach for the UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team for six seasons, a program that he played for from 2013-2016. Seif accepted an offer after the 2019 season to join his former head coach, Rick McLaughlin, on the bench for the Gauchos. In 2023, Seif was named to the AVCA's Thirty Under 30 list, highlighting 30 up-and-coming coaches under 30 years old who are making an impact in the sport of volleyball. Under Seif's guidance, setter Casey McGarry earned AVCA First Team All-American honors in 2020 and 2021. McGarry was also named Off the Block's Lloy Ball Award Winner in 2021, given to the nation's best setter. Also in 2021, the Gauchos won their first Big West Championship on the way to an NCAA Championship semifinal appearance. As a player, Seif is one of the most decorated Gauchos in the history of the program as a three-time AVCA All-American and First-Team All-MPSF selection. He also was named an All-MPSF Honorable Mention and to the All-MPSF Freshman Team in his debut season. He was one of the greatest setters to dawn the blue and gold, ranking fourth all-time in program history with 4,333 career assists for 10.39 assists per set. He ranks third all-time with 118 aces and fifth all-time with 755 digs, as well as being top-10 in block assists and total blocks. Seif had spent the last few years prior to rejoining the Gauchos playing professionally in Poland and Italy, and has spent time with Team USA.

McLaughlin, formerly the mens volleyball coach at Loyola Marymount, an assistant womens coach at UCSB, and the womens coach at Golden West College, was named UCSBs head mens volleyball coach in June of 2008. In 2014, McLaughlin led the Gauchos to a program-record 16 wins from conference play, ending the season with an 18-9 overall record (16-9 in conference). After finishing fourth in the ultra-competitive MPSF standings, UCSB hosted the first home playoff match in McLaughlin's tenure and its first overall since 2007. Despite trailing 14-7 in a do-or-die fourth set, the Gauchos rallied to claim a five-set win over No. 5 UCLA. Despite closing the regular season with a .500 record (15-15) and a seventh place standing in the conference, McLaughlin brought the Gauchos to the brink of a National Championship in 2011. Embarking on what USA volleyball legend Karch Kiraly called "one of the greatest postseason runs in any sport," UCSB won four straight postseason matches including a pair of wins over No. 1 ranked USC and the first victory of the season by an away team at BYU's Smith Fieldhouse to advance to the NCAA Final against Ohio State. The Gauchos would ultimately fall in a five-set heartbreaker. During his time with the Gauchos, McLaughlin has coached four All-Americans, including 2012 National Blocker of the Year Dylan Davis. McLaughlin spent ample time during the 2009 offseason with USA Volleyball- first guiding the junior team to the 2009 NORCEA Pan-American Cup championship in Chiapas, Mexico before assisting with the Mens Senior National Team during their qualifications for the 2010 World Championships.  Also, in 2010, McLaughlin guided the Team USA to a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Puerto Rico. McLaughlin led the LMU program for eight years beginning in 1993 and ending in 2000 when the school dropped the program. He was named MPSF Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2000. Following the 2000 season, he was also selected ASICS/Volleyball Magazine National Coach of the Year after guiding the Lions to the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament, a first for the program. In the fall of 2001, he joined the staff of his brother Jim - a UCSB alumnus - to help rebuild the womens program at the University of Washington. He began his collegiate coaching career under Marv Dunphy at Pepperdine, coaching the 1991 and 1992 seasons and helping the Waves to the 1992 NCAA Championship. McLaughlins second stint in Malibu (2002-05) resulted in three Final Four appearances and the 2005 National Championship. He spent one year as an assistant on Kathy Gregorys UCSB womens staff in 2005, a year in which the Gauchos reached the NCAA tournament. In 2006, McLaughlin became head womens coach at Golden West College, where two successful years culminated in a trip to the state title game in 2007. As a player, McLaughlin was a four-year starting setter at Loyola Marymount. When he completed his career, he ranked among the Lions top-10 in career assists (1,691) and service aces (58). At LMU, McLaughlin earned a bachelors degree in business administration and finance in 1990. In 1999, he completed his masters degree in education at Azusa Pacific.