CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson volleyball team will welcome Dan O’Keefe to its coaching staff, head coach Jackie Simpson Kirr announced Friday. O’Keefe will serve as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Tigers.
“I am thrilled to have Dan join our staff,” said Kirr. “He is an excellent recruiter and has the drive to help Clemson continue to climb the powerhouse the ACC has become. Dan’s enthusiasm and care for the individual growth of the student-athletes he works with will have a positive impact on our program immediately.”
O’Keefe spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach at Wright State, helping lead the Raiders to a 79-30 record during his tenure. In his first year at WSU, the team made its first Horizon League Tournament appearance in a decade. The Raiders made the Horizon League Tournament every year during O’Keefe’s four seasons and posted 21 All-Horizon League selections over that span.
With O’Keefe as an assistant, Wright State made waves throughout the athletic department and NCAA Volleyball. In only his second season, the Raiders won the program’s first Horizon League Regular Season title and earned the athletic department’s first ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament finishing with a final RPI of 46.
In 2020, WSU won both the Horizon League regular season, posting a perfect 14-0 record, and the Horizon League tournament title. Wright State garnered its second-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and earned the first NCAA Tournament win in Horizon League Conference history defeating Samford in a three-set sweep. The Raiders finished the year being named a Top 50 Program by the AVCA and had received votes for seven weeks in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll.
In his final season at Wright State, O’Keefe helped guide libero Jenna Story to her third Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year award and her third consecutive All-Northeast Region Honorable Mention nod. He also led the program’s recruiting efforts, assisted with practice planning and implementation, assisted with yearly fundraising efforts and alumni engagement and more.
O’Keefe added, “I could not be more excited or grateful to be joining the Clemson volleyball staff! I want to thank Jackie Simpson Kirr, Taylor Unroe, Natalie Honnen and Graham Neff for this opportunity. I also want to thank all the incredible mentors that have helped shape my career. I am looking forward to working with the student-athletes, staff and administration at Clemson and cannot wait to begin the search for future Clemson volleyball student-athletes!”
Prior to his time at Wright State, O’Keefe was a volunteer assistant at Dayton for the 2017 campaign after graduating from Saint Xavier University. He coached six Atlantic 10 All-Conference players during his time at Dayton, including the Setter of the Year and Player of the Year. Senior middle blocker Amber Erhahon was also named a member of the AVCA Honorable Mention All-America Team after finishing the 2017 season ranked fourth nationally with a .422 hitting percentage and 54th nationally with 1.22 blocks per set. Her .413 career hitting percentage is a Dayton program record. The Flyers finished the 2017 season with an overall record of 23-8, with a conference record of 13-1.
O’Keefe has been an active coach in the club, high school, and local volleyball community in Chicago since 2014. During his time at Michio Chicago Volleyball Academy, he helped lead the Michio 17 National Team to a fifth-place finish at the USAV Girls Junior National Championship (17 Open) in 2015, followed by a ninth-place finish at AAUs (16 Open) with the Michio 16 National Team in 2016.
Before his coaching career began, O’Keefe was an outside hitter on the men’s volleyball team at Saint Xavier. He garnered Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Second Team honors and was a two-time SXU Student-Athlete Gold Medal winner. He was elected a team captain prior to the 2015 season and was named to the CCAC All-Academic Team each of his four years.
O’Keefe, a native of Chicago, graduated from SXU with a Bachelor of Business Administration with concentrations in marketing and management.
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