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Women's Volleyball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- 401-935-8827
- Joined Brown:
- January 2018
- Alma Mater:
- Franklin & Marshall College '07
Ahen Kim just finished his third season as the head coach of the Brown University volleyball program and led the Bears to their first Ivy League Championship since 2001 and first NCAA Tournament berth since 1998.
In 2021, Kim was named Ivy League Coach of the Year after leading the Bears to a 20-win season, the first since 1998. Brown also went 13-1 in Ivy League play, the most wins in league play in program history. Kim guided Cierra Jenkins to Ivy League Player of the Year as well as Honorable Mention All-America. Kim also led a program that saw Victoria Vo named Defensive Player of the Year, Beau Vanderlaan named Rookie of the Year and Sophia Miller and Kate Sheire named First Team All-Ivy. Under Kim's leadership, Brown became just the second team in Ivy League history to sweep the four yearly awards and the first team in league history to have five players named First Team All-Ivy.
Kim, who helped lead American University to five straight Patriot League titles and three NCAA tournament wins from 2013-17 as an assistant coach, took over the Brown program January 2018.
In 2019, Kim guided Brown to its most wins (13) and first winning campaign (13-10) since 2001. The Bears came in fourth place in the Ivy standings, finishing in the top half of the league for the first time since 2014. Kim mentored three All-Ivy selections, including Sophia Miller ’23 – the Bears’ first Ivy League Rookie of the Year since 1998 and first First Team All-Ivy choice since 2013. Brown’s 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19.
In his first year with the team in 2018, Kim guided Brown to an 11-13 overall record, marking its most wins since the 2014 season (12-14). The Bears went 7-3 in non-conference play, compiling their most non-league wins since 2008 (8-4). He coached a pair of All-Ivy performers including Sabrina Stillwell ’19 who concluded her career ranked eighth all-time at Brown with 1,027 career kills.
An assistant coach with the Eagles from 2012-17, Kim helped the program win five consecutive Patriot League championships and make five straight trips to the NCAA Championship. In 2013, American defeated Georgia and No. 14 Duke in the NCAA tournament to reach the regional semifinals, and in 2015 the team beat No. 22 Kentucky to advance to the NCAA second round.
Kim became the fifth head coach in the 41-year history of the Brown volleyball program and will take over from Diane Short, who retired from coaching at the end of the 2017 season after leading the Bears for 25 years.
During Kim’s six seasons at American, the Eagles posted a 162-42 overall record and an 83-8 mark in Patriot League contests. The program achieved a ranking of No. 19 in the final AVCA Coaches Poll of 2013 and finished the 2015 season with a perfect 18-0 record in Patriot League play.
While at American, Kim coached and recruited three AVCA Honorable Mention All-Americans, six AVCA All-Region performers, and three Patriot League Players of the Year. He has guided five Patriot League Tournament MVPs, 15 First Team All-Patriot League selections, and 17 Patriot League All-Tournament honorees. Off the court, he has mentored three Patriot League Scholar-Athletes of the Year, three CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, and one CoSIDA Academic All-American.
Prior to American, Kim served as an assistant coach at Houston Baptist University during the 2011 season, as an assistant coach at George Washington University in 2010, and as an assistant coach at the Catholic University of America in 2009. He also coached with Metro Volleyball Club in Washington, D.C., from 2013-17, acting as the head coach of the U17 team.
A 2007 graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, he earned bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and American Government.
The Kim File
Collegiate Coaching Career
Catholic University of America, Assistant Coach (2009)
George Washington University, Assistant Coach (2010)
Houston Baptist University, Assistant Coach (2011)
American University, Assistant Coach (2012-17)
Brown University, Head Coach (2018-present)
AVCA All-American (1): Cierra Jenkins (Honorable Mention, 2021)
AVCA East All-Region (1): Cierra Jenkins (Honorable Mention, 2021)
Ivy League Coach of the Year: 2021
Ivy League Player of the Year (1): Cierra Jenkins (2021)
Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year (1): Victoria Vo (2021)
Ivy League Rookie of the Year (2): Sophia Miller (2019), Beau Vanderlaan (2021)
All-Ivy (10): Eliza Grover (2018, 2019), Sophia Miller (2019, 2021), Sabrina Stillwell (2018), Kaitlyn Wong (2019), Cierra Jenkins (2021), Kate Sheire (2021), Beau Vanderlaan (2021), Victoria Vo (2021)
Academic All-Ivy (3): Eliza Grover (2019), Kaitlyn Wong (2020)
| Kim's Head Coaching Record | |||
| Year | Overall | Ivy | Ivy Finish |
| 2018 | 11-13 | 4-10 | T-Sixth |
| 2019 | 13-10 | 5-7 | Fourth |
| 2020 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2021 | 20-6 | 13-1 | First (NCAA Tournament First Round) |
| Totals | 44-29 | 22-18 | |
