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A former two-time National Player of the Year recipient and Olympic gold medalist will join the Pepperdine coaching staff.
Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy announced Thursday that he hired his former player Sean Rooney to be an assistant coach for the upcoming season.
“When I [was] recruiting Sean as a player, it was easy to see that he saw the game real well,” Dunphy said in a statement. “He went on to achieve a lot and played at the highest level of our game. I’m confident that he will do well in his next phase of his volleyball career.”
Rooney remains among the top five in Pepperdine’s program history with more than 2,000 career kills. The outside attacker also was named the 2002 National Freshman of the Year and the National Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005.
Along with his national accolades, Rooney in his senior season led the Waves to their most recent NCAA championship and was selected as the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
“Throughout my career at Pepperdine I learned about commitment, respect and grit,” Rooney said in a statement. “For the past decade I have been circling the globe and competing for the same pursuit of excellence. I am excited to learn from Marv and to work hard for the Waves.”
Rooney after graduating from Pepperdine helped the U.S. Men’s National Team win the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. In addition, he was named the USA Volleyball Men’s Indoor Player of the Year in 2009.
Pepperdine finished last season in third place in the MPSF and for the second consecutive year narrowly missed an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Waves, though, for the upcoming season will have to replace a majority of their starters, including three All-Americans.