KEITH ANDERSON | ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH
Keith Anderson joined the Bobcat family in January of 2020 and will be responsible for coaching the middle blockers and defensive strategy.
In his second season in San Marcos, Anderson was instrumental in helping the Bobcats reach their fifth consecutive Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship match after earning the top seed out of the league’s west division following a 14-2 mark in conference action.
Anderson coached senior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott, who finished the fall 2021 season ranked in the top six among Sun Belt Conference student-athletes in blocks per set. Scott was one of just six student-athletes in the conference to be credited with 100-or-more blocks as she had 107 in 108 sets played. Playing under Anderson, Scott became Texas State’s career leader in block assists as she concluded her five-year playing career with 378. Scott, in two seasons playing under Anderson, was credited with 221 career total blocks. Her two-year total of 39 career solo blocks playing under Anderson were the most of any two-year span for Scott.
Offensively, Scott (9th, .295) and fellow middle blocker Tessa Marshall (3rd, .323) concluded the fall 2021 season both finished the season ranked among the top 10 in the Sun Belt Conference in hitting percentage en route to the Bobcats finishing with a 20-12 mark on the campaign.
Three Texas State senior student-athletes were credited with their 1000th career digs under Anderson’s guidance as Emily DeWalt, Kayla Granado and Brooke Johnson all reached the plateau during the 2021 seasons. DeWalt became the first to surpass milestone as she accomplished the feat in March 2021, whereas Granado and Johnson gave the Bobcats three active 1,000-career dig student-athletes after earning their historic dig during the fall 2021 season.
By season's end, Anderson helped Texas State finish third in the Sun Belt Conference with 1,745 total digs and sixth in the league with 232.5 total blocks. The Bobcats, for the fall 2021 season, averaged 2.11 blocks per set and 15.86 digs per set.
In his first season with the Bobcats, Anderson helped the team achieve a 31-9 overall record, including a 15-1 Sun Belt Conference mark. Texas State secured the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they picked up the program’s second victory all-time in the tournament with a 3-1 win over Utah Valley.
In addition to the 31 wins to lead the NCAA, Anderson’s coaching helped the Bobcats lead the nation with 286.5 total blocks and 2,293 total digs. Middle blocker Tyeranee Scott led that charge with 114 total blocks and 22 solo blocks. She also led the team with a .347 hitting percentage behind 2.54 kills per set. Scott was tabbed All-Sun Belt Conference First Team and was named the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Scott was also a AVCA Southwest Region Honorable Mention selection. Middle blocker Jillian Slaughter totaled 105 blocks and was one of three Bobcats in the top 15 of the NCAA in total blocks. Anderson also mentored libero Kayla Granado who led the nation with 548 digs, a marked that tied No. 2 in the program’s record book for most digs in a single season.
Prior to joining the Bobcats Anderson had a three-year stint at the University of Delaware as an assistant coach. In 2019 the Blue Hens reached the semi-finals of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) conference tournament for the first time in three years. Under Anderson, libero Andie Hanus was named the CAA Defensive Specialist of the Year with 5.04 digs per set in conference play. In addition to his team defensive responsibilities, Anderson was also in charge of training middle blockers. In 2019 freshman middle blocker Ayala Plummer finished second in the CAA with a .396 hitting percentage which was the highest single season hitting percentage by any Delaware player since joining the CAA in 2001. In 2018 the Blue Hens led the CAA with 17.58 digs per set, a mark that ranked No. 22 nationally. That year, libero Andie Hanus finished with 5.17 digs per set and a No. 33 national finish.
Before his time at Delaware, Anderson spent two seasons at UT Arlington from 2015-16 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. During his tenure, the Mavericks had a 36-26 overall record, including a 20-12 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. UTA won 19 matches, including 10 in conference play in his first season. Over his two years in Arlington, Anderson oversaw team defense and was responsible for the team’s middle blockers and liberos. In the 2015 campaign, UTA finished 2nd in the Sun Belt with 2.38 blocks per set. That season Anderson helped freshman middle blocker, Zhanelle Geathers, attain top 5 Sun Belt finishes in both blocks per set (5th) and hitting percentage (3rd). In his last season with the Mavericks, libero Taylor Murata set a program record for digs by a freshman (556). In that same season, UTA again finished 2nd in the Sun belt in blocks per set, upping that number to 2.42 from the previous season. Freshman middle blocker Madison McConnell finished 5th in the conference with 1.15 blocks per set. The 2016 squad managed to register 2,057 total team digs, good for 21st nationally. The 2016 season saw the Mavericks win 17 matches and finish 4th in the Sun Belt Conference.
In 2014 Anderson was a volunteer assistant at Rice University where the team finished 23-10 (11-5, C-USA) and fell to Western Kentucky 3-2 in the Conference USA title match. Anderson helped guide an Owls defense that led the conference in digs per set (16.0) and they finished inside the top 100 in the nation in total digs (1,915), digs per set, and opponent hitting percentage (.178).
Anderson, a Winthrop Harbor, Illinois native, graduated in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in sports management and a minor in coaching and psychology from Texas A&M University. Anderson played on the men's club volleyball team and helped the Aggies win a national title in 2010 and earned All-Tournament Libero and All-Tournament First Team honors. He was also a three-time SIVA All-Conference selection, two-time SIVA Libero of the Year and helped the team win four SIVA Conference Championships. During his time in undergrad, Anderson was a four-year practice player for the women's team at A&M and was there during the same time as Plugge.