Eric Ragan '12 was named volleyball coach at Grinnell College in the spring of 2017.
Ragan got his coaching career at Grinnell off to a stellar start. The Pioneers posted a 16-9 mark in 2017, the most wins for the program since 2002, and qualified for the Midwest Conference Tournament for just the fourth time in history.
He continued that momentum into 2018, leading the Pioneers to a repeat trip to the MWC Tourney while being named the league's Coach of the Year. The Pioneers broke the school record for MWC wins with seven and their overall victory total of 17 ranked fourth all-time at Grinnell.
Things got even better in 2019, as the Pioneers earned their first-ever NCAA Division III National Tournament berth while setting a school record for wins with a 26-5 mark. Additionally, they claimed their first-ever MWC Tournament title. After the 2020 season was cancelled due to CoVID, Ragan's squad came back in 2021 to go 7-1 in league play. He and his staff were named MWC Coaching Staff of the Year.
Ragan has plenty of volleyball coaching and administrative experience, serving as Director of Volleyball Operations at Loyola Marymount University in California prior to coming to Grinnell.
At Loyola Marymount, Ragan contributed to practice design, game plans and strategies, plus facilitated statistical analysis for the team. Prior to that, Ragan served as assistant volleyball coach at Bucknell University from 2014-16 where he helped the team double its win total and earn its best conference record in a decade.
Ragan also served as volunteer assistant coach at Loyola University in Chicago from 2013-14 and Grinnell during the 2012 season.
Additionally, he is co-founder and Director of Volleyball of Train Ugly, coordinating week-long volleyball and basketball camps for over 500 athletes and their club and school coaches.
Ragan majored in history at Grinnell and completed his master's degree this year. While at Grinnell he enjoyed success with the Pioneers' track and field team, earning All-Midwest Conference honors in the 400-meter hurdles, serving as team captain and collecting Academic All-Conference recognition.
