Kent Steffes

Kent Steffes (born June 23, 1968 in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is a former professional beach volleyball player.

Kent Steffes
Personal information
BornJune 23, 1968 (1968-06-23) (age 52)
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
Beach volleyball information
Teammate
Karch Kiraly
Medal record
Men's beach volleyball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
1996 Atlanta Beach
World Championships
1997 Los Angeles Beach

Steffes received his AAA beach rating while still attending Palisades High School. He was named the 1986 National High School Player of the Year and was the nation's most highly recruited high school senior. In 1987, he won the World Championships in San Diego with his partner Forrest Smith. He enrolled at Stanford University and played for one season before transferring to UCLA where he graduated with a degree in Economics. While a Bruin he joined the AVP Tour full-time in 1988. Steffes eventually teamed with Karch Kiraly, on the professional beach circuit. The two formed one of the beach's most successful partnerships. Steffes earned the AVP No. 1 ranking at age 22, the youngest player ever to do so. Along with doubles teammate Kiraly, they won the gold medal in beach volleyball at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the first to win the gold medal in this event. During the 1990's Steffes teamed with numerous partners to win over 110 events dominating the competition in the decade of the 90's.

Steffes graduated from UCLA in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in economics. That same year he was a member of the AVP Board of Directors, and served as Secretary. In 2000 he enrolled in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford, where he graduated in 2002.

Steffes has two children, Katharine Jackson Steffes, born in 2004 (age 15–16) followed two years later by Conrad William Steffes, born 2006 (age 13–14).

Awards and honors
  • AVP Best Up-and-Coming Player 1989
  • AVP Comeback Player of the Year 1996
  • AVP Most Valuable Player 1996
  • AVP Special Achievement 1996
  • Greatest Beach Volleyball player in the 1990s
  • Youngest number one player in the history of AVP (21)
  • Record most wins in a season (19)
  • Record most consecutive wins (13) (record shared with Kiraly, Jim Menges and Greg Lee)
  • "Most dominant player of the 1990s"
  • Highest winning percentage in history of the sport (.482)


Kent Steffes Hall of Fame Biography

USA Volleyball All-Time Great Male Beach Player

Kent Steffes started playing indoor volleyball at the age of 12 before transitioning to beach volleyball where he advanced to become one of the most decorated players of all time.

Kent’s talent emerged when a group of parents in Pacific Palisades, California started a club team. He played in many USA Volleyball Junior National Championship competitions, while also playing beach events during the summer. As the No. 1 recruit out of high school, Kent accepted a scholarship to Stanford University where he played freshman year before making the decision to go professional. That decision resulted in travelling the world and producing one of the most successful careers on the beach.

Kent won his first AVP Tour Open in 1989 and was named AVP Best Up-and-Coming Player that same year. By age 21, Kent became the youngest Number-One-Player in the history of the AVP. He’d go on to win with numerous partners, capturing World Championships, World Cups, Manhattan Beach Open titles, and setting records such as: most wins in a single season, most consecutive wins, and highest winning percentage of all time.

In the early 1990’s, Kent partnered with Karch Kiraly and together they won 63 of 75 tournaments during one stretch. But it wasn’t just winning, it was how they won. In one tournament, the pair yielded just 11 total points. Together they introduced the world to Beach Volleyball at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, bringing the first gold medals in the sport back to the USA.

In 1997, Kent partnered with Jose Loiola, continuing his dominance of the decade. Kent retired in 1999 having amassed 110 tournament wins, $2.5 million in prize money, and the honor of being named Greatest Beach Volleyball player of the 1990’s.


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References


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