American University

Ahen Kim enters his third season as head coach of American University volleyball in 2025. He has led the Eagles to back-to-back 20-win campaigns, while guiding three players to major Patriot League awards and six to All-Patriot League selections. Carrying a legacy of success at AU, Kim has spent eight years in the program as both an assistant and head coach. 

AU finished third in the Patriot League after a 10-6 showing in conference play in 2024, which included a seven-match win-streak from October 5 to November 1. The Eagles ran through Lehigh, Army (twice), Holy Cross, Colgate, and Lafayette in the heart of Patriot League play. Outside hitter Zedo Yilmaz had an outstanding freshman season, earning AU’s first Patriot League Rookie of the Year award since 2019. She ranked second in the conference with 3.91 points per set, while leading the Eagles in service aces with 37. Developing under Kim, Yilmaz set a new program record with six Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors.

In his first season at the helm of the program in 2023, Kim led the Eagles to their best season in four years. On their way to 20 wins, American won seven of its final eight regular season matches before winning another two in the Patriot League Tournament and advancing to the title match at Colgate. Kim coached 2023 Patriot League Player of the Year and AVCA Honorable Mention All-American Zeynep Uzen, as well as 2023 Patriot League Setter of the Year Esma Sipahi. In December following the season, Kim was named one of Volleyball Magazine's Coaching Hotshots Under 40.

Kim returned to American ahead of the 2023 season, continuing the legacy he started as an assistant to his mentor and friend, the legendary Barry Goldberg. From 2012 to 2017, Kim was a part of five Patriot League titles and AU’s historic run to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2013. American defeated Georgia and No. 14 Duke to reach the regional semifinals. In 2015, the team beat No. 22 Kentucky to advance to the NCAA Second Round.

Over Kim’s six seasons as an assistant, he coached and recruited three AVCA Honorable Mention All-Americans, six AVCA All-Region performers, and three Patriot League Players of the Year. He oversaw the development of 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 earned his first head coaching job at Brown University in 2018, and he quickly turned around a struggling program over five seasons. He led the Bears to 13 wins in just his second season, marking the most victories in the program since 2001. In 2021, he was named the Ivy League’s Coach of the Year after leading the Bears to their first 20-win season and NCAA Tournament berth in 23 years. They went 11-1 in conference play and Cierra Jenkins took home the Ivy League Player of the Year award, also earning 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. 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.
 
Prior to his time at 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 Ahen 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.)