Will Craft was hired as an assistant coach for the Pepperdine men’s volleyball team in July 2023.
He brought with him a wealth of playing and coaching experience at both the professional and collegiate levels, having most recently served as the head men’s volleyball coach at Dominican University, an NCAA Division III institution competing in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. He was named NACC Coach of the Year this past season.
Prior to coaching at Dominican, Craft was a graduate assistant for the Carthage College men’s volleyball program, helping the Firebirds to an NCAA DIII Championship crown in 2022. He primarily focused on team culture, while developing scouting and practice plans and breaking down film.
Before hitting the sidelines as a coach, Craft played professionally as an outside hitter. Most recently, he was with SVG Lüneberg in Germany, helping the squad to a bronze medal at the German Bundesliga during his time. Prior to that, he played for Nordenskov UIF Volley in Denmark where he served as a team captain and led the team to a silver medal at the Danish Volley Ligaen and a bronze at the Danish Cup. His first professional experience out of college in 2017 was with Saaremaa Võrkpalliklubi in Estonia.
Craft was an AVCA All-American for Carthage, located in Kenosha, Wis., where he helped the squad to a deep run in the 2016 NCAA Division III Championships including a quarterfinal appearance. Along with his All-American honor, he was named to the All-MCVL first team and was a member of both the MCVL All-Academic squad and Carthage Dean’s List for two seasons.
Originally from Crete, Ill., Craft attended Chicago Heights-Marian Catholic for high school, playing both volleyball and soccer.
