USC Volleyball Sees Another Sad Departure After Seniors Ally Batenhorst and Mia Tuaniga’s Farewell

2024 marked the final season for USC volleyball star seniors Ally Batenhorst and Mia Tuaniga. While Batenhorst had only joined the Trojans for senior year, that’s all it took for the ex-Nebraska player to make her mark. Meanwhile, Tuaniga was integral to the team for four years, breaking the previous career assists record at USC with 4529 assists. Now, the team has lost another member of the 2024 staff.

USC’s assistant head coach Tyler Hildebrand, who helped lead the team to the second round of the 2024 NCAA Championships, has left the Trojans. Like Ally Batenhorst, coach Hildebrand joined the university this year, on February 13. However, the assistant coach is now moving on to bigger opportunities, as he’ll be dropping the ‘assistant’ from the rest of his designation.

The USC volleyball assistant head coach will now be at the helm of the Saint Mary’s College volleyball program. “Thank you, Coach Tyler! We wish you the best of luck in your new role at @smc_volleyball,” the official Trojans handle wrote about Hildebrand in their farewell post. The man he worked for the vast majority of 2024 also praised Tyler Hildebrand.

“I strongly believe that Tyler is going to make a mark as a generational volleyball coach. He is so highly sought after for a reason. Though our time at USC with him was short, his impact both on and off the court were evident in the strides our program took this season,” head coach Brad Keller said about working with Hildebrand.

USC volleyball indeed had a better season with Keller and Hildebrand. The Trojans ended their season with 22-10, compared to 19-13 last year, and made significant improvement in their away game results with an 8-6 record, compared to 5-11 last year. St. Mary’s Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics also sang praises of their new volleyball head coach.

“Tyler is a tremendous fit for Saint Mary’s College and he has an unprecedented resume that will help bolster the program for many years to come,” said VC Mike Matoso. The former assistant head coach also opened up about his opportunity to lead the Gaels.

The rapid rise of the USC volleyball assistant head coach

Tyler Hildebrand has had no issue interchanging between head and assistant head coach roles, depending on the caliber of the team. The coach spent a productive five years as part of the Nebraska Huskers staff, helping NU reach the regional finals in 2017, 2020, and 2021. Hildebrand then spent two years as the head coach of his alma mater, Long Beach State.

The LBSU alumni helped improve the school’s volleyball program, posting a winning record in his two seasons before moving to USC volleyball. Now the coach is heading to another program that needs some uplifting. SMC finished the 2024 season with a losing record of 10-17. However, Hildebrand hopes to change in the upcoming season.

“I am thrilled to join Saint Mary’s College as the head coach of the women’s volleyball program. This is an incredible opportunity for me and my family to be part of a historic and beautiful university and build a program with great potential,” the coach said after joining the Gaels. However, the higher-ups at SMC aren’t the only ones who are excited to see what Hildebrand brings.

While Ally Batenhorst, Mia Tuaniga, and now Hildebrand’s departure is far from the ideal scenario, Brad Keller is happy for the coach. “I look forward to seeing where he takes the Gaels and am excited for what the future holds for Tyler and his family,” said the USC volleyball head coach. However, we have to wait and see just how well Tyler Hildebrand fits into his new role.