The 2024 season is Kyle Anema’s first with the Navy volleyball program. He has been a member of the coaching staff since prior to the start of the 2024 spring campaign.
Anema spent the 2023 fall season as an assistant coach at North Alabama. The Lions posted an overall record of 17-12 and tied for fifth place in the ASUN with a conference record of 9-7. The respective victory totals recorded by North Alabama that fall were program highs over the six seasons it has competed on the Division I level. Additionally, the Lions advanced to the ASUN Tournament for the first time.
The native of Southern California (La Mirada) graduated from Valley Christian High School in 2017 and redshirted during the 2017-18 academic year at Long Beach City College before taking to the court at the school in the 2018-19 season. The Vikings posted a 19-3 record in 2019 (men’s volleyball is a spring sport) and won the California Community College Athletic Association state championship. Individually, Anema led LBCC in total kills (259) and aces (41) and was named the MVP of the CCCAA Tournament.
Anema then spent the ensuing four seasons at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Calif. He became the first NAIA player and sixth across all competition levels to be recognized as a First-Team All-American in each of his four seasons. The two-time (2021, ‘22) conference player of the year left Vanguard as the program’s record holder with 1,241 career kills.
The Lions posted an overall record of 59-24 in his four seasons, a career that was capped by their winning the NAIA National Championship in 2023 with a 20-5 record. Anema was named the MVP of the 2023 NAIA National Championship. Vanguard also compiled a 27-6 Golden State Athletic Conference record during his career and won a trio of regular season titles in 2021, ‘22 and ‘23.
In addition to his indoor career, he also was named to the 2021 U.S. Collegiate Beach National Team.
Anema began his coaching career during his collegiate playing days as an assistant coach at Balboa Bay Volleyball Club. He coached with six different teams (four boys, two girls) at the club from 2019-23 and guided two to Junior National Gold Medals in 2021 and ‘23.
Anema graduated from Vanguard in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology, health and human performance and has begun work toward a master’s degree in leadership studies.
