Cole Murray will enter his second year as an assistant coach at Cal in 2025, working mainly with the pin hitters and defensive specialists.
Under Murray’s guidance, outside hitter Xuemeng (Maggie) Li earned the first ACC Offensive Player of the Week award for the 2024 season and went on to rank top-five in the conference in total kills (463), kills per set (4.06), total points (512.0) and points per set (4.49); the first two were the most by any Cal player since 2011. Murray also coached two defensive standouts in Gianna Bartalo, who posted the eighth-most digs (468) by any Golden Bear in history, and Sophia Johnson, who ranked among the nation’s top receivers for two-straight weeks in November.
A native of Irvine, Calif., Murray was an assistant coach at Campbell for the 2023 season, helping lead the Fighting Camels to the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) semifinals after the team finished third in the regular season. The year prior, he acted as volunteer assistant coach at Pepperdine, helping the Waves to an at-large NCAA bid. In total, Murray has aided in the development of nine All-Conference honorees (three at Campbell, six at Pepperdine), including the 2022 WCC Freshman of the Year. Before his foray into collegiate coaching, he also coached girls volleyball at Saddleback Volleyball Club, girls volleyball at Northwood High School and boys volleyball at Orange Coast Volleyball Club.
Murray started his collegiate career at Irvine Valley College (2014-15), helping lead the Lasers to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State semifinals and earning both All-Tournament and Second Team All-Pacific Coast Conference nods as a rookie. In his second year, he led the team in kills, kills per set and service aces on the way to First Team All-PCC recognition; Murray then transferred to Loyola Chicago, making the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) semifinals in each of his final two years with the Ramblers.
Murray graduated from Loyola Chicago in 2017 with a degree in communications studies, later earning his master’s degree in coaching and exercise science from Concordia University Irvine.
