VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS from United States

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary American Volleyball Players of all time. This list of famous American Volleyball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of American Volleyball Players.

1. Karch Kiraly (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 54.58, Karch Kiraly is the most famous American Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 39 different languages on wikipedia.

Charles Frederick "Karch" Kiraly ( KARCH kirr-EYE; born November 3, 1960) is an American volleyball player, coach, and broadcast announcer. He was a central part of the U.S National Team that won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games. He went on to win the gold medal again at the 1996 Olympic Games, the first Olympic competition to feature beach volleyball. He is the only player (man or woman) to have won Olympic medals of any color in both the indoor and beach volleyball categories. He played college volleyball for the UCLA Bruins, where his teams won three national championships under head coach Al Scates. Kiraly is widely regarded as the greatest male volleyball player of all time. Kiraly is currently the head coach of the United States women's national volleyball team leading them to their first-ever gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and thereby completing the "triple crown" of coaching an Olympic gold medal-winning team as well as personally winning gold medals in both indoor and beach volleyball.

2. Kerri Walsh Jennings (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 43.33, Kerri Walsh Jennings is the 2nd most famous American Volleyball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Kerri Lee Walsh Jennings (born August 15, 1978) is an American professional beach volleyball player, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and a one-time Olympic bronze medalist. She is the beach volleyball leader in career victories as of 2016 having won 135 international and domestic tournaments. Walsh Jennings and teammate Misty May-Treanor were the gold medalists in beach volleyball at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. They also won the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007. The pair set various records throughout their partnership, including a win streak of 112 consecutive matches (19 consecutive tournament titles) in 2007–2008, breaking their own previous record of 89 consecutive match wins. They have been called "the greatest beach volleyball team of all time."

3. Clayton Stanley (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 38.38, Clayton Stanley is the 3rd most famous American Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Clayton Iona "Clay" Stanley (born January 20, 1978) is an American former volleyball player, who was a member of United States men's national volleyball team, a participant of the Olympic Games (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012), Olympic Champion 2008, NORCECA Champion 2005, and multimedalist of the World League. In October 2021, he was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame, along with Logan Tom and Todd Rogers.

4. Lloy Ball (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 36.96, Lloy Ball is the 4th most famous American Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Lloy James Ball (born February 17, 1972) is an American former volleyball player, who was a member of American national team from 1993 to 2008. Ball is a four-time Olympian, and a gold medalist of Beijing 2008. He is also a gold medalist of the 2007 NORCECA Championship and 2008 World League, silver medalist of the 1995 Pan American Games, bronze medalist of the 1994 FIVB World Championship, and 2015 inductee to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.

5. Matt Anderson (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 36.11, Matt Anderson is the 5th most famous American Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Matthew John Anderson (born April 18, 1987) is an American professional volleyball player and member of the United States men's national volleyball team. He is a two-time Olympic medalist, having won bronze medals at the 2016 and 2024 Summer Olympics, and was part of the gold-winning teams at the 2014 World League and 2015 World Cup. With the Russian volleyball club Zenit Kazan, he has won numerous CEV Champions League titles.

6. Micah Christenson (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 35.99, Micah Christenson is the 6th most famous American Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Micah Makanamaikalani Christenson ( KRISS-chən-sən; May 8, 1993) is an American professional volleyball player who plays as a setter for Zenit Kazan and the U.S. national team. He was a bronze medalist at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, Paris 2024 and the 2018 World Championship; the 2014 World League, 2015 World Cup and 2023 World Cup winner.

7. David Smith (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 34.36, David Smith is the 7th most famous American Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

David Smith (born May 15, 1985) is an American professional volleyball player who plays as a middle blocker for ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle and the U.S. national team. Smith was a bronze medalist at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, Paris 2024 and the 2018 World Championship; the 2015 World Cup winner and a three–time Champions League winner (2021, 2022, 2023) with ZAKSA.

8. Erik Shoji (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 32.65, Erik Shoji is the 8th most famous American Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Erik Thomas Shoji (born August 24, 1989) is an American professional volleyball player who plays as a libero for ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle and the U.S. national team. Shoji was a bronze medalist at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, Paris 2024 and the 2018 World Championship; the 2014 World League and 2015 World Cup winner, and a two–time Champions League winner (2022, 2023) with ZAKSA.

9. Kelsey Robinson (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 31.35, Kelsey Robinson is the 9th most famous American Volleyball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Kelsey Marie Robinson Cook (born June 25, 1992) is an American indoor volleyball player of the United States women's national volleyball team. Robinson won gold with the national team at the 2014 World Championship, the Rimini Volleyball Nations League, and the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, and bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

10. Kimberly Hill (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 30.81, Kimberly Hill is the 10th most famous American Volleyball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Kimberly Hill (born November 30, 1989) is an American former professional volleyball player who played as an outside hitter for the United States women's national volleyball team. Hill won gold with the national team at the 2014 World Championship and the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, and bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.