ALUMNUS ERIC RAGAN IS NAMED GRINNELL COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL COACH

Grinnell College Athletics

GRINNELL, Iowa – Eric Ragan is returning to his roots at Grinnell College.

The 2012 Grinnell College graduate has been named the Pioneers’ new volleyball coach after a nationwide search, Director of Athletics and Recreation Andy Hamilton announced Friday morning. He is the 14th coach in program history.

Ragan has plenty of volleyball coaching and administrative experience, most recently serving as Director of Volleyball Operations at Loyola Marymount University in California.

“We are thrilled to have Eric coming back to Grinnell next fall to lead our volleyball program as head coach,” said Hamilton. “Early on during our search process, Eric emerged as a top candidate because of his background as a multi-sport student-athlete coupled with his expeditious ascent in the college volleyball coaching ranks. I am excited to see his passion for understanding how people learn combined with the way he trains our student-athletes in their sports. In our somewhat unique athletic model where we are looking for the right person to act as faculty/coach, I see Eric as poised to be successful in many areas at Grinnell.”

At Loyola Marymount, Ragan contributed to practice design, game plans and strategies, plus facilitated statistical analysis for the team. Prior to that, Ragan served as assistant volleyball coach at Bucknell University from 2014-16 where he helped the team double its win total and earn its best conference record in a decade.

Ragan also served as volunteer assistant coach at Loyola University in Chicago from 2013-14 and Grinnell during the 2012 season.

Additionally, he is co-founder and Director of Volleyball of Train Ugly, coordinating week-long volleyball and basketball camps for over 500 athletes and their club and school coaches.

Ragan majored in history at Grinnell and completed his master’s degree this year. While at Grinnell he enjoyed success with the Pioneers’ track and field team, earning All-Midwest Conference honors in the 400-meter hurdles, serving as team captain and collecting Academic All-Conference recognition.

“I would like to thank Andy Hamilton, the search committee and the Pioneer athletic department for the opportunity to become the next head volleyball coach at Grinnell College,” said Ragan. “Grinnell is a special place with incredible student-athletes. I’m thrilled to return to campus and am thankful for the chance to foster important learning experiences and growth alongside the women of the Pioneer volleyball program.”