AT DORDT
Chad Hanson was named the head men’s volleyball coach April of 2015 and helped lead the program from club status to a varsity sport. He’s coached the Defender men since the 2016 season and is entering his 11th season with the Defender men.
The 2025 team played in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) and finished with a 15-12 overall record and a 9-10 conference mark. The Defenders qualified for the eight-team postseason field and had three players claiming all-HAAC honors (two second-team and one honorable mention).
The 2024 team posted a 9-11 overall record and a second place finish iwith a 7-3 GPAC mark in what was the final season of the league. Three Defenders earned first-team all-GPAC honors, one earned second-team notice and two more claimed honorable mention honors.
The 2023 squad recorded a program best 16-4 record and finished second in the GPAC. The team made it to the post-season tournament championship before its season came to an end . Caleb Kulesza earned CSC Academic All-District honors as well as the program’s first AVCA Honorable Mention All-American award at the conclusion of the season and the Defenders ranked 15th in the NAIA in kills per set. His assistant coach Dillon Dahl also earned the AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year award.
The 2022 team posted eight wins and was runner-up in the GPAC regular season race with a 7-3 mark. The team also posted a 3.53 cumulative grade point average, and, since 2018, has had at least a 3.46 cumulative gpa. The 2022 edition was 8th in the NAIA in digs per set and 13th in service aces per set.
The 2021 team posted a 7-11 record and was 6th in the NAIA in blocks per set and 21st in dig per set. Caleb Kulesza earned first-team all-conference honors after averaging 4.13 kills per set which ranked 9th in the country.
The 2020 team had a 7-9 record before its season ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team averaged 2.13 blocks per set which ranked 13th in the nation and Garret Vander Zee was 7th in the nation in kills per set with a 4.2 average.
Hanson’s 2019 team was sixth in the nation in digs per set and the 2018 team ended the year second in the NAIA in blocks per set.
Each of the Hanson coached men's teams has earned NAIA Scholar-Team honors and all-conference and all-league honors have been earned by 43 athletes under Hanson. There have been 57 NAIA Scholar-Athletes for Dordt men's volleyball since 2017.
COACHING BACKGROUND
Hanson coached the women’s volleyball team at Dordt from 2011-21, and was named NAIA National Coach of the Year in 2017. Prior to his time with the Defenders Hanson was an assistant coach at the University of Georgia from 2008 to 2010. In November of 2010 he was named interim head coach of the program, guiding them to a 4-3 record in the final weeks of the season. Prior to his time in Georgia, Hanson served as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa for four seasons. He has also made coaching stops at the University of Idaho, Washington State, and Colton High School (Washington).
COACHING PHILOSOPHY
While using The Defender Way as our framework, we seek daily to live out our Dordt men’s volleyball Vision and Mission.
Vision: Competing to further the kingdom of Christ
Mission: Loving God and loving our neighbor
This is done through selflessness and humble service in a volleyball community that encourages and exhorts one another toward excellence.
ATHLETIC BACKGROUND
Hanson played for two seasons at the University of California-Irvine before finishing his career at Washington State with the club team. His club team finished in the semifinals at the NIRSA National Division I Championships.
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
B.S. Washington State University
FAMILY
Hanson and his wife Karla have three daughters.
June 23, 2025
