University of Southern California Men's Volleyball

JEFF NYGAARD—a three-time Olympian in indoor and beach volleyball and a two-time collegiate MVP while playing on a pair of NCAA championship teams—Is in his 11th season (2026) as the head coach of the USC men’s volleyball team. He also served the five previous seasons as a Trojan assistant (2011-15). Nygaard holds a head coaching record at USC of 123-136. In 2025, the Trojans went 21-7, finished second in the MPSF regular season (8-4), and were awarded the second seed into the conference tournament. There, USC finished as runner-up to Pepperdine, which hosted the championship in Malibu, Calif. USC opened the year with a nine-match win streak for its best start to a season since 1991 (28-0) and won 10 matches in a row (Feb. 26-April 3) for the program's longest win streak since 2012 (18 in a row). It was Nygaard’s second 20-win season (20th in program history). USC led the MPSF for many weeks in all statistical categories but aces and finished the season as the NCAA leader in blocks (2.86 bps) with 16 matches in double-digits. The Trojans set a new school record for hitting percentage in a match (.691 vs. Dominican, Feb. 8) and hit better than .300 in 19 matches (plus-.400 in 10 contests). Under Nygaard in 2024, the Trojans went 13-15 in the regular season, finished sixth in the MPSF standings (3-9), and were 13th in the final AVCA Coaches Poll. In the postseason, USC advanced to the MPSF tournament semifinal where it fell to league runner-up UCLA. The Trojans earned six wins

Education: University of Utah - Bachelor of Science 1996 University of Utah – Master's in Physical Therapy 1999 Board of Certification Number: 049902419 PT (CA) License: 25014 NPI Number: 1184706368 Certifications: Owens Recovery Science Blood Flow Restriction, PNF Level I & II Certified, NASM Performance Enhancement Specialist & Corrective Exercise Specialist, ASTYM Certified. Sport Responsibility: Men's Volleyball

GARY SATO—an assistant coach on three U.S. Olympic teams—Is in his 11th year (2026) as an assistant coach with the USC men’s volleyball team. Sato was an assistant with the U.S. Men’s National team from 1984 to 1988, in 1992, and from 2009 to 2012, including squads that won gold medals at the 1988 Olympics, bronze at the 1992 Games and placed fifth in 2012. He also assisted with U.S. men’s teams that won the 1986 FIVB World Championship and the 1987 Pan American Games and captured a silver medal at the 2012 FIVB World League. Sato served as the head coach for the U.S. men’s squad that won gold at the 1985 FIVB World Cup, where he was named the tourney’s Most Valuable Coach. He spent 2013 as the head coach of the Japan men’s national team. Sato also was the head coach for the U.S. Beach National silver-medalist men’s team and the women’s team at the 2007 Pan Am Games, as well as for Team Paul Mitchell in the Bud Light Pro Beach Volleyball League. He was the head coach of the U.S. Boys’ Youth National team that won silver at the 2010 NORCECA Boys’ Youth Continental Championship. In collegiate volleyball, Sato served as the head coach of Pepperdine’s women’s team for four years (1979-82) where he led the Waves into the postseason three times. His 1979 squad finished ninth in the national rankings. He also was an assistant coach with Pepperdine’s men’s teams that won NCAA championships in 1978 and 2005. Sato was the head coach for the Santa Monica Beach Volleyball Club, the techn

Isabella “Izzy” Quintero joined USC as an assistant sports performance coach in the fall of 2025. In her role, she works with the men’s and women’s volleyball programs, the cross country team, and serves as the internship coordinator. Quintero previously served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Fresno State where she initially began as a coaching assistant and internship coordinator for the Bulldogs in 2021. There, she was responsible for the design and implementation of sports performance programs for the women’s basketball and women's volleyball teams. Prior to Fresno State, Quintero spent a year and a half at Jacksonville State as a graduate assistant. There, she coached men’s and women's golf, women's track and field, women's volleyball, baseball, and assisted with football and men’s and women's basketball. Quintero began her career in sports performance as an intern with UCLA football performance in 2018. As an undergraduate student, Quintero interned at Fresno State in the strength and conditioning department in 2016 and 2017. She also worked as a personal trainer in the Fresno and Clovis area. Quintero received her bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Fresno State in 2018 and received a master’s degree in human performance from Jacksonville State. She is certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (CSCS).

Jimmy Kim is in his first season (2025-26) as the technical coordinator for USC’s men’s and women’s volleyball programs. Kim served as technical coordinator for the U.S. senior men’s national team in the summer of 2025 during its run in the Volleyball Nations League. Prior to his involvement with USAV, Kim served as technical coordinator at South Carolina and helped the Gamecocks to a 16-12 overall record and an appearance in the 2024 NCAA tournament. Prior to his time at South Carolina, Kim held the same position at UC Irvine. He joined the Anteaters’ women’s program in 2022 and later added the same duties with UCI’s men’s program in 2023. Kim received a bachelor’s degree in economics from UCI—where he served as co-president of the Sports Business Association—in the spring of 2023. Outside of volleyball, Kim served as a training camp intern for the Los Angeles Rams in the summer of 2023. A native of Southern California, Kim attended Gahr High School in Cerritos, Calif.

PAUL MARTINEZ is in his third season (2026) as an assistant coach with the Trojans. In his role, Martinez is responsible for the Trojan defense and servers and handles the program’s scheduling and logistical processes. Martinez first joined the program in the fall of 2021 and served as the team’s volunteer assistant coach for the 2022 and ’23 seasons. In his first season with the program, USC went 22-7 overall with an 8-4 record in MPSF matches and advanced to the MPSF tournament semifinal. Martinez has several years of coaching experience at the high school and club levels. He also serves as the 17s White head coach at the Balboa Bay Volleyball Club, one of the premier boys’ volleyball clubs in the country. In 2021, he helped coach the Balboa Bay 15s to gold medals at the Junior Olympics. That year, his club also finished first for the SoCal Cup. In the summer of 2023, he helped coach Balboa Bay to silver medals at the SoCal Cup Showcase. From 2017 to 2020, Martinez served as the varsity boys assistant coach at Servite High School in Anaheim, Calif. Martinez graduated from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif., and was a head coach for the Braves’ freshmen and JV boys’ teams at his alma mater from 2008-15. Martinez holds a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology from Long Beach State (2015) and received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Chapman University in 2019.

RORY PRAGER is in his fourth season (2026) as the Trojans’ associate head coach; his seventh year at USC. Prager served as a USC assistant coach for three seasons (2020-22) and has experience coaching at the international, club, and high school levels. With Prager on staff in 2025, the Trojans were 21-7 overall and finished with an 8-4 mark in the MPSF. USC advanced to the league championship match where it fell to Pepperdine. In 2024, the Trojans went 13-15 in the regular season, finished sixth in the MPSF standings (3-9), and were 13th in the final AVCA Coaches Poll. In the postseason, USC advanced to the MPSF tournament semifinal where it fell to league runner-up UCLA. The Trojans earned six wins over ranked opponents. In the summer of 2023, Prager served as an assistant coach for the USAV U21 Junior National Team and helped lead the team to a silver medal at the Pan Am Cup in Cuba, and an appearance at the World Championships in Bahrain. In 2022, he was an assistant coach for Team USA and helped guide the team to bronze medals at both the Pan Am Cup Final 6 Tournament in Mexico and the Pan Am Volleyball Cup in Canada. Prager is a four-time assistant coach for the National Team Development Program (NTDP) summer, winter, and fall training series. Prager’s Manhattan Beach Surf Volleyball Club claimed bronze medals at the 2021 USA Junior National Championships. Previously, he served as a coach with the Balboa Bay Volleyball Club for three years (2017-19) where he led the 17-2