Zheng Xiang - Staff Directory - Michigan State University Athletics

Staff Directory

Zheng Xiang

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
Phone:
353-1756

Michigan State head volleyball coach Leah Johnson announced the hire of Zheng Xiang as an assistant coach on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

Xiang arrived in East Lansing after spending the last nine years at Rice University (2014-22), where he was associate head coach for the last four seasons.

Xiang was pivotal in Rice's ascent to becoming one of the top programs in the country, helping the Owls to a 199-69 (.742) overall record with a 105-21 (.833) mark in Conference USA action throughout his nine seasons. Rice finished 2022 ranked No. 19 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll with a 27-4 record and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Under Xiang, Rice advanced to the NCAA Tournament in five consecutive seasons (2018-22), winning one C-USA regular season title (2018), two C-USA West Division titles (2020, 2021) and two C-USA tournament titles (2018, 2022). Rice advanced to the NCAA Round of 32 in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

As Rice's defensive coordinator, Xiang coached the C-USA Libero of the Year this past season. Rice's middle blockers earned two honorable mention All-American honors and nine All-Region recognitions in his nine seasons. Student-athletes achieved numerous accolades with Xiang's assistance, earning 39 All-C-USA honors, 22 AVCA All-Region merits and 11 AVCA All-America kudos.

Before Rice, Xiang served as a volunteer assistant coach at Texas A&M for one season (2013) in which the Aggies reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Xiang was an assistant coach at Texas at San Antonio for five seasons (2008-12) prior to his year in College Station. UTSA went 96-63 (.604) during his tenure.

Xiang is an experienced recruiter having served as the recruiting coordinator during his stops at Rice and UTSA. At Rice, Xiang put together four recruiting classes ranked in the Top 55 and one in the Top 50 as ranked by PrepVolleyball.

Originally from Chicago, Xiang earned his bachelor's degree in business from Indiana in 2000 and an MBA in marketing from Texas' McCombs School of Business in 2006. Xiang was a member of Indiana's club team from 1997-2000 and was the squad's captain his final season. He also played two years at Texas, where he earned first-team All-Southern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association honors in 2006.