Tom Black

Position: Head Coach Experience: Fourth Season Alma Mater: UC San Diego '96

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Tom Black enters his fourth season as LMU's head coach in 2013 after being hired on January 19th, 2010.

Black is coming off his most successful campaign as LMU head coach, guiding LMU to the 2012 NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. The Lions finished the year with an 18-13 overall record and an 8-8 mark in the WCC (sixth) to earn an at-large bid. A testament to the strength of the West Coast Conference, LMU was one of six WCC teams to make the tournament. Four of Black's players earned All-WCC honors at the conclusion of the year, including Betsi Metter who took home her second WCC Defensive Player of the Year selection and an honorable mention bid. Black also guided Kathleen Luft to a first team All-WCC selection after the outside hitter led the conference with 474 kills at a rate of 4.16 per set.

Working with some of the top athletes in the country, Black has been active with the US Women's National Team for the past four years, culminating in his selection as an assistant coach with the team in March of 2013. Black will continue in his head coach role at LMU while serving on the Team USA staff for the first two years of the Olympic quadrennial before taking a sabbatical at LMU for the 2015 season. Prior to being named as an assistant within the program, Black spent three consecutive summers as a consultant coach as the National Team prepared for the 2012 London Games. Under his title, Black primarily assisted in the training sessions at the American Sports Center, working alongside the likes of Hugh McCutcheon, Karch Kiraly and Paula Weishoff.

Black's sophomore campaign at LMU in 2011 saw the Lions finish 14-16 overall and sixth in the West Coast Conference at 7-9. Metter highlighted a trio of Lions lauded as part of the All-West Coast Conference selections in Black's second year, earning Defensive Player of the Year accolades and a spot on the All-WCC honorable mention team.

In his inaugural season, Black guided his 2010 roster of Lions to an even 15-15 mark and a fourth-place finish in the West Coast Conference after being selected to finish eighth in the 2010 preseason coaches' poll. Black saw two of his athletes garner All-Conference recognition at the conclusion of the season.

Including a 115-29 record at Division II UC San Diego, Black has accumulated a 162-73 (.689) record as a head coach in women's volleyball.

Before coming to LMU, Black served five seasons at the helm of the UC San Diego women's volleyball program. In all, Black coached four UCSD players to All-America selections, including a trio in 2009. Moreover, the 2006 Tachikara/AVCA D-II Pacific Region Coach of the Year watched 20 of his student-athletes garner California Collegiate Athletic Association All-Conference recognition, capped by five selections in 2009. Over his five years, Black posted a career record of 115-29, good for a .799 winning percentage, and saw his teams ranked in the AVCA Top-25 of every week for his final four seasons.

Black's 2009 Triton squad finished with an overall record of 29-3 and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation en route to a spot in the NCAA West Region semifinals. The Tritons' 2009 trip to the postseason marked the fourth consecutive visit over Black's five-year tenure at UC San Diego, while the No. 7 final national ranking was the second top-10 finish for Black at UCSD. Black also saw three of his student-athletes earn AVCA All-America recognition in his final year, including Sylvia Schmidt, who took home a CCAA Player of the Year award, the second such recipient under Black's guidance.

In 2008, the Tritons handed their rival, then-No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino, its first loss of the year and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. UCSD won over 20 games for the 25th time in school history that year, while Black guided Rebecca Bailey to the school's all-time career kills mark and her second consecutive All-American bid.

In 2007, the Tritons knocked off the No. 2 team in the country on the road and advanced to the NCAA Pacific Region Semifinals. Also, the 2007 Tritons had an All-American and four student-athletes on the CCAA All-Conference squad.

Just one year after taking the reins at UC San Diego, Black directed the Tritons back to the postseason in 2006, finishing the year with a 26-3 overall record, a NCAA Elite Eight appearance, a NCAA Pacific Regional Championship and a final national ranking of No. 5. For his efforts, Black was named the 2006 Tachikara/AVCA D-II Pacific Region Coach of the Year and CCAA Co-Coach of the Year. That season also produced the first of two CCAA Players of the Year under Black's guidance, as Nicole Courtney earned the honor.

In 2005, Black took over as head coach for the UCSD women's volleyball program with six new starters, leading the team to victories over two ranked opponents as part of a 19-8 record on the season. UCSD had three players named to the All-CCAA team and one student-athlete earned AVCA Pacific Region honors.

Before coming to UCSD for his inaugural year, Black spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the men's volleyball program at USC. Prior to his stint with the Trojans, he spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons as the men's head coach at Pierce Junior College in Woodland Hills, Calif. He also was an assistant in 2003 with the Pierce women's team. His men's squads won the 2002 and 2003 California state junior college crowns, finishing 15-3 in 2002 and 17-2 in 2003.

Black began his coaching career as an assistant boys' coach at Royal High in Simi Valley, Calif., serving two seasons from 1997-98. The 1997 Royal team was a CIF Division I finalist. He then spent three years, from 1999-01, as the head boys' coach at Thousand Oaks High School, where he also taught English and history.

On the club circuit, Black served four years as the co-director of the Santa Monica Beach Club team. He was the head coach of SMBC's boys' 18s team in 2003, 2004 and 2005 after serving as an assistant in 2002 with the 18s team that won the bronze medal at the Junior Olympics. He also was the head coach of SMBC's girls' 17s team in 2005.

As a player, Black was a four-year varsity letterman for the UCSD men's volleyball program from 1993-96, setting numerous hitting records and earning All-MPSF honorable mention notice as a senior in 1996. He was Volleyball Magazine's Small College Player of the Year in 1996, while also earning Small College All-America honors that same year.

Black received his bachelor's degree in political science from UCSD in 1996. A California native, Black prepped at Crespi High in Encino, Calif., where he made the All-CIF third team as a senior in 1991.