Dain Blanton

Dain Blanton was a beach volleyballer who competed at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, winning gold in 2000, partnered by Eric Fonoimoana. He competed in 2004 alongside Jeff Nygaard. Blanton played volleyball in college at Pepperdine University, leading them to the 1992 NCAA Championships. In professional beach volleyball Blanton won 11 tournaments, including nine AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) championships (four with Nygaard) and two FIVB (Federation of International Volleyball) titles. In 2003, Blanton and Nygaard were the AVP Team of the Year and Blanton was the AVP’s Best Offensive Player.

After his playing career Blanton went into broadcasting, serving as a color commentator on ABC, NBC, ESPN, Fox Sports Net and Universal Sports Network, while covering many sports including the NBA, beach volleyball, Major League baseball, college basketball and college football. He has been an analyst for beach volleyball worldwide, covering the FIVB, AVP, NVL (National Volleyball League), and the José Cuervo Pro Beach Series, as well as serving as a sideline reporter for the NBA Los Angeles Clippers. He has also done some television appearances and was a runner-up on the ABC reality show, “The Bachelor”.

Blanton also started a coaching career, beginning as an assistant coach with the University of Southern California (USC) women’s beach volleyball teams in 2015. As an assistant he helped lead them to NCAA titles in 2016 and 2017, and the AVCA title in 2015. He became the USC head coach in 2019 and led them to NCAA titles in 2021 and 2022.