COACHES

Ryan Young | Volleyball Head Coach

University of Missouri-St. Louis Director of Athletics Lori Flanagan named Ryan Young as the Tritons’ head volleyball coach on April 7, 2011. Young is no stranger to the program, having spent last season as the assistant coach. He replaces Trent Jones, who took a similar position at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, in February.

“We are excited to have Ryan take over as our head volleyball coach,” said Flanagan. “His hard work and dedication to the program played a vital role in last season’s success, and that experience will help make for a smooth transition. We believe his energy and attention to the development of our student-athletes will allow us to continue the success that UMSL volleyball has seen the last few years. We are extremely confident that this program will remain in good hands under Ryan’s direction.”

Young assisted in the development and execution of the 2010 team, which finished with a 20-9 record, while earning the program’s first berth to the NCAA Division II Tournament since 1995. Additionally, the Tritons spent nine weeks in the AVCA Division II Coaches Poll, debuting September 13 at No. 25, marking the first national ranking for the program since 1993. UMSL reached a high ranking of No. 19 and went 2-3 against teams ranked in the Top 25 during the regular season, including victories over then No. 15 Truman State (3-0) and then No. 8 Lewis (3-0).

“I am very excited to be named the next UMSL head volleyball coach, and I’m thankful to the University for giving me this opportunity,” said Young. “I am looking forward to expanding on the success this program has recently had and am thrilled about the future of Tritons Volleyball. This team is very talented and having already worked with them will help the transition from assistant coach to head coach be a smooth one.”

Prior to his appointment at UMSL, Young also served as a club coach for St. Louis High Performance, where in each of his six seasons as a head coach, he directed his teams to qualify for the Open Division in Junior Olympics. Young also coached his teams to top 10 finishes in the Open Division in 2007 and 2008.

Other coaching experience includes two years as an assistant at St. Louis College of Pharmacy and as an assistant at CBC High School.

The St. Louis native also has an array of playing experience, including four years at Missouri Baptist University (2005-08), where he earned second team all-conference honors. Young also helped lead his team to NAIA third place finishes in 2005 and 2007.

He prepped at CBC High school from 2001-04, earning first team all-metro honors as a senior and second team honors as a junior. Young’s team earned a second place finish in state as a freshman and placed third as a sophomore and senior.

Additionally, Young played five years of club for Missouri Thunder and two years for St. Louis High Performance. He won two bronze medals at the Junior Olympics and took third in the Open Division.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Missouri Baptist.

Bob Crank | Volleyball Assistant Coach

P: 314-516-5643

Bob Crank enters his first season as an assistant coach for Ryan Young and the UMSL volleyball program.

Crank comes to UMSL from Great Lakes Valley Conference foe Maryville University, where he spent eight seasons as the head coach. Under Crank, the Saints made two appearances at the SLIAC (St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) tournament and finished as high as third in the regular season standings three times.

Crank ranked as the winningest and longest tenured coach in Maryville volleyball program history and had a career record of 69-140. He had 10 players that received All-Conference selections a total of 19 times.

Crank first came to Maryville in 2001 as an assistant coach before taking over the reigns in 2002, posting a 10-12 overall record and an 8-6 record in the SLIAC.

Crank, a St. Louis native, earned his Bachelor's of Science degree in Sports Medicine and Sports Management with a minor in coaching from Missouri Baptist University.