WASHINGTON – With a legacy of success including five NCAA Tournament appearances in six years at American University, Ahen Kim now returns to Washington, D.C. to lead a program where he has deep ties. Kim, the 2021 Ivy League Coach of the Year, takes over as head coach of AU volleyball following his mentor and friend, the legendary Barry Goldberg.

“We feel very fortunate to once again have Ahen on our coaching staff,” said Director of Athletics and Recreation Dr. Billy Walker. “He’s a spectacular coach, consistently demonstrating his ability to lead his student-athletes to win on the court, in the community and in the classroom. He will seamlessly transition back into our department where he is already highly respected. He’s a coach who is meticulous in his planning and gifted in his ability to connect with his student-athletes… he clearly learned from the best. We are excited to welcome Ahen and Amy into our AU family.”

Kim was an assistant for Goldberg from 2012-17 before leaving to take the head coaching spot at Brown University. In his five seasons in Providence, he quickly turned around a struggling program. In 2021, Kim was named the Ivy League’s Coach of the Year after leading the Bears to their first Ivy League title since 2001, first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998 and first 20-win season in 23 years. Following the 2022 season, he left Brown to coach a professional team in South Korea. When the AU job opened, Kim welcomed the opportunity to return to the AU community.

During his years at American, Kim helped lead the Eagles to five straight Patriot League titles and was on the bench for AU’s NCAA Sweet Sixteen run in 2013 as well as the NCAA First Round victory in 2015. In 2013, American defeated Georgia and No. 14 Duke to reach the regional semifinals, and in 2015 the team beat No. 22 Kentucky to advance to the NCAA Second Round.

Over Kim’s six seasons, 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 mentored three Patriot League Scholar-Athletes of the Year, three CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, and one CoSIDA Academic All-American.

Kim became the fifth head coach in the 41-year history of the Brown volleyball program in 2017, taking over for Diane Short who retired from coaching after leading the Bears for 25 years. In his first year, Kim guided Brown to an 11-13 overall record, marking its most wins since the 2014 season. In just his second season, Kim had Brown up to 13 wins, its most since 2001, and a fourth-place finish in the Ivy League standings.

Following the team’s return from COVID, Kim completed the turnaround with a 20-6 overall record, an 11-1 Ivy League record and the Ivy League Player of the Year in Cierra Jenkins, who also earned honorable mention All-America honors. 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. 

In Kim’s final season at Brown in 2022, the Bears once again advanced to the Ivy League championship match, but fell to Yale and concluded the season at 15-10 overall.

Prior to his time 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. 

In 2022, Kim married Amy Pauly, a former standout volleyball player at Alabama who was an assistant and associate head coach at the University of Southern California from 2020 until 2023 before recently being announced as the head coach of the Orlando Pro Volleyball Federation. 
 
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 (2018-22)
American University, Head Coach (2023-pres.)