USC Men's Volleyball Coaching Staff
Jeff Nygaard | Head Coach
Jeff Nygaard, a 3-time Olympian in indoor and beach volleyball and a 2-time collegiate MVP while playing on a pair of NCAA championship teams, is in his eighth season as the head coach of the USC men’s volleyball team. He served the previous 5 seasons as a Trojan assistant.
Nygaard's 7-year head coaching mark at USC is 79-98.
In 2022, USC went 22-7 overall (its most wins since 2012), the biggest 1-year turnaround in program history. Troy was second in the MPSF at 8-4, its best league finish since 2012. Simon Gallas was All-MPSF first team.
His 2021 Trojans were 5-13 overall (5-12 MPSF), playing without the benefit of much of a fall season due to COVID-19 protocols.
USC was 5-14 overall (1-6 MPSF) in a 2020 campaign that saw the sport shut down nationally due to the coronavirus (Troy's last 6 regular season matches were cancelled).
Gary Sato | Assistant Coach
Gary Sato, an assistant coach on 3 U.S. Olympic teams, is in his eighth year as an assistant coach with the USC men’s volleyball team.
Sato, 68, 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 a gold medal at the 1988 Olympics, a 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. He was 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 men’s (silver medal) and women’s teams at the 2007 Pan Am Games, as well as for Team Paul Mitchell in the Bud Light Pro Beach Volleyball League.
Rory Prager | Associate Head Coach
Rory Prager, who has coached at the club and high school levels, is in his fourth year at USC and is the associate head men’s volleyball coach.
Prager, 33, was a coach with the Balboa Bay Volleyball Club for 3 years (2017-19). He led the 17-2s team as head coach to a first place finish in the USA Division at the 2019 USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championships. Before that, he was an assistant with the 17-1s team that placed fifth in the 2017 and 2018 Open Division at the Junior Nationals.
He also spent 9 years (2011-19) as an assistant coach with the boys team at Servite High in Anaheim (Calif.). During his tenure, numerous Friar players earned college volleyball scholarships and four were named high school All-Americans. Servite won 3 Trinity League titles (2012-15-19) with Prager on the staff, with the 2012 team ranked fifth nationally. He also taught mathematics at Servite for 4 years (2014-19).
Virginia Pham | Men’s Volleyball Director of Operation & Technical Coordinator
Virginia Pham is in her third season (2022) as the technical coordinator for the USC men’s and women’s volleyball programs.
Pham also serves as a performance analyst for USA Volleyball’s Women’s U21 program.
Pham previously served two seasons (2018-19) as the director of operations with the Penn State women’s volleyball team. While there, Pham was also the program’s technical and video coordinator as the Nittany Lions amassed a 53-14 record and made two trips to the NCAA regional championship match.