Keegan Cook

R. Keegan Cook[1] (born July 9, 1985) is an American volleyball coach.

Keegan Cook
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamMinnesota
ConferenceBig Ten
Record0–0 (–)
Annual salary$425,000.00
Biographical details
Born (1985-07-09) July 9, 1985
Pleasanton, California, U.S.
Alma materSaint Mary's (CA)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2005–2012Saint Mary's (assistant)
2013–2014Washington (assistant)
2014–2015Washington (beach)
2015–2022Washington (indoor)
2023–presentMinnesota
Head coaching record
Overall198–56 (.780)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
4x Pac-12 (2015, 2016, 2020, 2021)
Awards
  • Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2020)
  • 3x AVCA Pacific North Region Coach of the Year (2015, 2020, 2021)

He began his coaching career at his alma mater, Saint Mary's, where he was on the staff in various assistant coaching roles for eight years (2005–2012). He served as an assistant coach for the University of Washington in 2013 and 2014 before assuming the head coaching role from 2015–2022.

On December 12, 2022, Cook was named the eighth head coach at the University of Minnesota, to begin in the 2023 season, succeeding former coach Hugh McCutcheon.

Personal life

Cook is a native of Pleasanton, California. In 2007, he graduated from Saint Mary's with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics with a minor in religious studies. He has done work for statistical analysis as a Volleyball Information Supervisor (VIS) for the FIVB.[2] In January 2022, he was named as the president of the board of directors for the American Volleyball Coaches Association, a position he will serve through the end of 2023.[1]

He is married to Sarah Ammerman, a former professional volleyball he met while on a foreign tour in 2017, and they have a son, born in 2021.[2][3]

Coaching career

High school club

Cook was the head coach of the NorCal Volleyball Club for ten years. His teams qualified for the Junior Olympic Championships over his last five years and his 16-Under team won the 2008 Junior Olympic gold medal.[2]

Saint Mary's (CA)

Cook began his collegiate coaching career while still a student at Saint Mary's, starting as a volunteer student assistant coach in 2005 and working his way up to the top assistant coach. Cook helped the team to its first West Coast Conference title in 2009 and advanced to the NCAA tournament three times, including a second round appearance in 2012.[2]

Washington
Further information: Washington Huskies women's volleyball

Cook was an assistant coach at Washington in 2013 and 2014 under Jim McLaughlin before being named the head coach in 2015. In his eight seasons at Washington, he led the team to four Pac-12 conference titles and one final four appearance in 2020.[2]

In addition to coaching indoor volleyball at Washington, he also was the head coach for the beach team in 2014 and 2015, going 8–0 during the first full season in 2015.[4]

Under Cook, twelve players earned a combined 18 All-American Award and 37 all-Pac 12 selections, with 2 players earning a combined 3 Pac-12 Player of the Year honor. He was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2020 and the AVCA Pacific North Region Coach of the Year in 2015, 2020, and 2021.[5]

Minnesota
Further information: Minnesota Golden Gophers women's volleyball

On December 12, 2022, Cook was named the eighth head coach at Minnesota, succeeding Hugh McCutcheon who stepped down from the role at the conclusion of the 2022 season.[6]

USA national teams

In addition to collegiate coaching, he has also worked with USA Volleyball. In 2016, he was the head coach for the U.S. Collegiate Women's National Team for its tour of China, and in the summer of 2018 Cook led the U.S. Junior Women's National Team to compete in the NORCECA Championships in Mexico. He was named the head coach for the U.S. Girl's Youth National Team at the NORCECA Continental Championships in 2020, before the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic In the summer of 2022, he was an assistant coach for the U.S. Girl's U19 Team that won the gold medal at the Pan American Cup.[2]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Washington Huskies (Pac-12) (2015–2022)
2015 Washington 31–318–2T–1stNCAA regional final
2016 Washington 29–516–41stNCAA regional final
2017 Washington 25–814–62ndNCAA second round
2018 Washington 20–1310–106thNCAA regional semifinal
2019 Washington 27–715–52ndNCAA regional final
2020 Washington 20–417–31stNCAA final four
2021 Washington 26–517–31stNCAA regional semifinal
2022 Washington 20–1112–8T–5thNCAA first round
Washington: 198–56 (.780)119–41 (.744)
Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big Ten) (2023–present)
2023 Minnesota
Minnesota: 0–0 (–)0–0 (–)
Total:198–56 (.780)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References
  1. "R. KEEGAN COOK IS THE NEW AVCA BOARD PRESIDENT". AVCA.org. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  2. "Washington Bio". gohuskies.com. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  3. "The 'unbelievably fulfilling' tale of Keegan Cook's volleyball career". uwtyeeclub.com. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  4. "UW Huskies beach volleyball record" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  5. "Minnesota Bio". Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  6. "Keegan Cook Named Head Volleyball Coach at Minnesota". Retrieved 2022-12-13.
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