Mansfield Adds Thornton, Teague to Volleyball Coaching Staff

NORMAN — New Oklahoma head volleyball coach Aaron Mansfield announced the addition of Brian Thornton and Meredith Teague to his staff on Thursday. Thornton will serve as an assistant coach and Teague as technical coordinator.

Thornton joins the Sooners after serving as an assistant coach at Loyola Marymount under Mansfield the past two seasons, helping the Lions to a 35-21 (.625) record.

"I have known Brian for about 13 years and trained with him on the U.S. National Team," said Mansfield, who was hired at OU on Dec. 22. "With his Olympic playing experience and coaching experience, we were able to work together for the last two years at LMU and just know each other really well."

This past season, Thornton helped Loyola Marymount to 18-10 overall and 13-5 (third place) conference records, and to the program's 15th NCAA Tournament appearance.

"Brian has an incredible coaching skill set, but nothing has been more impressive than his ability to build relationships with the student-athletes — it's second to none," added Mansfield. "So with his volleyball expertise, his character and work ethic, it was a perfect fit to bring him here to Norman."

Starting in 2017, Thornton also served as the U.S. Men's National Team's assistant coach through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

A graduate of UC Irvine, Thornton ended his collegiate career as UCI's all-time assist leader with 4,662. The two-time All-American was a member of the Anteaters' 2007 national championship team.

After college, Thornton began an extensive playing career with the U.S. Men's National Team, culminating in a trip to the 2012 Olympic Games as the backup setter, where the team finished fifth overall. With the U.S., he also competed in the 2011 and 2012 World League (silver in 2011), 2011 World Cup, 2011 NORCECA Men's Continental Championships (silver), 2009 and 2010 Pan American Cup (gold both times), and the 2007 World University Games (bronze).

"It is hard to encapsulate the genius of Brian Thornton in a single quote," said U.S. Men's National Team and UCLA head men's volleyball coach John Speraw. "As a player, his creativity, ability to motivate others, intuition about teammates and resolve in the competitive environment propelled a man with dead-average athletic abilities all the way to the Olympic Team.

"As a coach, I relied on his insights of interpersonal dynamics, high-level tactical knowledge of offensive systems and levity under stressful conditions. As a friend, I am proud of the coach he has become. Brian is a leader, relationship builder and a teacher of great impact. He will make an immeasurable positive difference in the lives of the women he coaches. The University of Oklahoma is lucky to have him."

Thornton also played professionally, with stints in Spain, France and Poland.

"I'm so incredibly excited to be here in Norman," said Thornton. "It's a premier university with a premier athletics program and it's easy to see why. It's what happens when you combine world-class structures with world-class people.

"I want to thank Aaron Mansfield for bringing me here. He runs the healthiest gym I've ever been a part of and there's no doubt in my mind we can build national-championship caliber teams and do it the right way, which is so important to all of us. I look forward to helping him bring passion, energy and, of course, wins, to McCasland Field House."

Teague follows Mansfield from LMU, her alma mater, where she served on the staff the past two years in multiple roles and had an accomplished career as a player (2017-21).

"Meredith was actually my first recruit at LMU when I got the job," said Mansfield. "She was a four-year starter and joined my staff immediately after she graduated and really hit the ground running."

The Monroe, Wash., native joined the coaching staff ahead of the 2021 fall season, serving as interim assistant coach before assuming roles of technical coordinator and director of operations. Teague also added responsibilities to lead summer camps in 2022.

"Meredith wore a lot of different hats for our program at LMU and gained some really valuable experience," noted Mansfield. "She was a recruiting coordinator in our transition from some assistant coaching roles and ran our camps and clinics. I couldn't be happier that she decided to join us here in Norman."

As a player, Teague helped lead the Lions to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2018 following a WCC All-Freshman Team selection the year prior. Teague was an effective server for LMU and finished her career with 106 aces, near the top-10 in program history.

"I feel extremely blessed to be a part of the Oklahoma volleyball program," said Teague. "I cannot wait to see all that we will build here and the impact that both Aaron and Brian will have on this program; they are an unbeatable duo. I am continually in awe of all that OU has to offer and embodies, and I am so grateful that I get to be a part of it.

"I have had the privilege of getting to be coached by and work for Aaron Mansfield, and I could not be more confident in his ability to build a successful culture and program that also fosters growth and care for each athlete. Fired up to be here and have this opportunity."