Brent Hilliard played volleyball at Cal State, Long Beach, where he was a four-time All-American and in 1992 was named NCAA Player of the Year. He led the 49ers to the 1992 NCAA Championship, after they had lost in the 1991 final. Hilliard won international bronze medals at the 1992 Olympics, the 1991 World Cup, and added a silver medal at the 1995 Pan American Games. He played professionally in Europe from 1995-98, with two seasons in Belgium and one in the Netherlands.
Hilliard later became a volleyball coach, starting as head coach at Cuyamaca Junior College in 1999-2000. In 2001 Hilliard became an assistant coach at the University of San Diego, and became interim head coach there in 2006 and was later promoted to associate head coach.
United States