IRVINE, Calif. – The Concordia University Irvine athletics department is excited to announce the hiring of Jon Girten as the next men's volleyball head coach of the Golden Eagles.

Girten brings 16 years of extensive volleyball coaching experience with him to Irvine and has lots of ties to the Southwest region of the country.

He spent the past year as an assistant coach at D1 opponent Grand Canyon University, competing in the same conference as Concordia in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). Before that, Girten was the lead assistant at UC San Diego, where he helped the Tritons have sustained success over the course of seven seasons. He also returned to his roots and served as the leader of Mt. Carmel High School volleyball for over a decade, while helping players sharpen their skills through the Arizona Fear Volleyball Club, as well as the Seaside Volleyball and Wave Volleyball Clubs throughout the San Diego area.

"After a really extensive search, we are thrilled with the caliber of candidates that we had and none rose higher to the top than Jon Girten," said Crystal Rosenthal, CUI Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics. "He has an exceptional track record and in all areas he checks every box. He is an outstanding coach, an outstanding mentor and leader, and a great Christian man to lead our program. We are excited for the future of men's volleyball and we are in very capable hands."

"This opportunity to lead the men's volleyball program at Concordia is an incredible blessing, and there are so many reasons why this is such an amazing opportunity," said Girten.  "Obviously, you absolutely cannot beat the location. The campus is beautiful, and there are so many exciting things happening that will impact the university and athletic department's future. I am all about creating a positive holistic experience for our student-athletes, and Concordia has all of the tools to do that because of its academic excellence, faith-based values, and the school's dedication to building a first-class athletic environment."
 
"The men's volleyball program gets to compete in one of the premier volleyball conferences in the country in the MPSF, and being located in a hotbed for the sport really presents a tremendous opportunity to do some amazing things here."

During his time with GCU, Girten helped the Lopes develop four All-MPSF conference selections and also maintain Top 10 AVCA national rankings throughout the campaign.

GCU went 18-10 this past season despite seeing its head coach Matt Werle depart midseason for an opportunity to be an assistant with the Kansas Jayhawks.  Girten and Bryan Dell'Amico together helped the 'Lopes finish the 2025 season, basically sharing interim head coaching duties to serve their student-athletes.  In late April, GCU announced the discontinuation of its varsity men's volleyball program and that it would only be offered as a club sport starting with the 2025-26 school year.

Prior to joining GCU, Girten was the lead assistant at UC San Diego alongside head coach and CUI volleyball alum Brad Rostratter. From 2020 to 2024, he served as the UCSD associate head coach and also spent a few months as the program's interim head coach. In all, he spent seven seasons in La Jolla, helping guide the Tritons to as high as No. 6 in the AVCA national rankings. He helped produce five All-Big West Conference honorees in 2023. Girten also helped UCSD navigate the seasons impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the school's transition from Division II to Division I both athletically and administratively.

"Jon is an amazing person that has a great balance of passion, work, and joy within how he goes about each day in the gym and in the office," said Rostratter. "Pairing that with his character will prove to have a positive impact on the Concordia community.

Before coaching at the collegiate level, Girten spent a considerable amount of time at his alma mater with the volleyball program at Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego for 11 seasons from 2007-17. He started as the junior varsity and assistant varsity coach, helping Mt. Carmel earn three CIF titles from 2008-10. His teams won three Palomar League titles in a row from 2015-17 when he was head coach. Mt. Carmel also won CIF Division I Championships twice, including in 2016 when Girten was named Mt. Carmel's Coach of the Year.
 
In addition, Girten has been highly involved in the Club Volleyball scene, helping young athletes polish their skills. He coached top level teams in the 17 and 18 age ranges at both Seaside Volleyball Club (2011-2020) and the Wave Volleyball Club (2020-24) before moving to Arizona. During his short stint there, he dove right in with the Arizona Fear Volleyball Club, who emerged as 17U Arizona Region Champions and had three Top-5 finishes at major national tournaments.

"His ability to connect with alumni, current team members, and recruits was a clear strength of his and showed with how much he cares about every individual that he gets to work alongside," added Rostratter. "With a coaching style that continually evolves, he will promote an environment of competitiveness, paired with quality volleyball skills and growth."
 
"I cannot wait to first start building relationships with the team and incoming players, connecting with alumni, and learning all about what the university has to offer through the amazing staff at Concordia," added Girten. "I have already gotten to experience a bit of the tight-knit community at Concordia through the interview process, and I just want to dive right in!"
 
"I am really looking forward to establishing a positive and competitive culture within the volleyball program," continued Girten. "My hope is that everyone that associates themselves with Concordia men's volleyball, whether that be alumni, students, faculty, or the volleyball community as a whole; enjoys and respects the way that we go about everything."

Concordia men's volleyball won the 2013 NAIA National Championship and recently honored that special group on campus when members of that historic squad were inducted as part of the 2025 Kenneth A. Walker Hall of Fame Class.

Concordia men's volleyball won 10 games this past season and started the campaign 4-1 at home. The Golden Eagles also won their first MPSF Tournament game since 2018 this spring, defeating Vanguard 3-1 before getting swept by (ironically) Grand Canyon.

Concordia University Irvine is a NCAA DII school and competes at that level in 20 sports, with the exception of women's lacrosse which is a club team. Men's volleyball is unique in how all NCAA Division I and Division II programs in that particular sport currently compete for the same national championship. For nearly a decade now, Concordia has been a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) since completing the transition up from NAIA to NCAA DII as a university and athletics department.