Dain Blanton

Dain Blanton is a trailblazing figure in beach volleyball, both as a player and a coach. He won Olympic gold in 2000with partner Eric Fonoimoana, becoming the first U.S. male beach volleyball Olympian to compete in two Olympic Games after also representing the United States in Athens 2004. Blanton earned a bronze medal at the 1997 FIVB Beach World Championships, and on the AVP Tour, he collected eight first-place finishes and 36 podiums, including making history as the first African-American male to win a major beach volleyball event at the 1997 AVP Hermosa Grand Slam. He also secured two FIVB World Tour gold medals during his professional career, which concluded in 2010.

Blanton was an All-American at Pepperdine, helping the Waves capture the 1992 NCAA indoor national championship as a sophomore. Since 2020, he has been the head coach of USC women’s beach volleyball, guiding the Trojans to four consecutive NCAA titles (2021–2024)—the first team in NCAA history to achieve this feat—while also winning two Pac-12 championships. Under his leadership, USC has maintained an extraordinary .877 overall record, including a 17-0 NCAA championship tournament record, and produced multiple AVCA All-Americans and conference Player/Pair of the Year honorees.

In addition to coaching, Blanton is a seasoned broadcaster, covering Olympic beach volleyball for NBC in 2021 and 2024, as well as other major sporting events for ESPN, ABC, FOX Sports, and the Olympic Channel. He is deeply committed to the growth of the sport, mentoring youth through his Getting to Gold nonprofit and founding Dain’s Day at the Beach, which introduces urban youth to volleyball.

Blanton was inducted into the USA Volleyball Hall of Fame (2024), the CBVA Hall of Fame (2016), the Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame (2020), and the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame (2008). Born on November 28, 1971, he resides in Santa Monica, California, with his partner Maeve McCaffrey and their son, Caid Quentin.