Brad Keenan

Birthdate: August 10, 1981

Hometown: Westminster, Calif.

Resides: Costa Mesa, Calif.

Height: 6’ 8"

College: Pepperdine

Twitter: twitter.com/Bradkeenan6

 

 

BEST FINISH / WINNINGS

Domestic: 2^nd (9 times) $311,612.50

International: 4^th $56,125.00

Overall: 2^nd (9 times) $367,737.50

 

 

BIOGRAPHY

Pepperdine alum Brad Keenan joined the beach volleyball circuit in 2006, partnering with former college teammate, John Mayer, for his inaugural season on the AVP Tour. The duo played in qualifiers in their first five tournaments and after failing to make the main draw in the first two, they placed 25th and 17th before a record-tying performance at Hermosa Beach. Keenan and Mayer won all three of their qualifier matches and then went on to finish third, tying a record for the highest AVP finish by a team competing in the qualifier. For Keenan, that finish secured his place in the main draw for the remainder of the season. After partnering with Paul Baxter for one event, Keenan and Mayer reunited and had a best of ninth, which they took in Seaside Heights and Chicago. Keenan was among the tour leaders in several categories in 2006, including third in aces per set (.72), eighth in blocks per set (1.61) and sixth in kill percentage (.596). Keenan’s impressive play that year earned him AVP Rookie of the Year honors.

In 2007, Keenan was selected as the AVP’s Most Improved Player as he and partner, John Hyden, finished the season fourth on the Tour where they advanced to five semifinals, four of which were NBC events. Keenan ended the year third in kills per set (7.47), fifth in aces per set (.64), sixth in blocks per set (1.61) and kill percentage (.570).

Keenan continued his partnership with Hyden for the 2008 season where the pair started off with three consecutive top-five finishes including taking second at Huntington Beach, falling to Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser in the finals. Over the season, the duo played in 18 AVP events and finished in the top nine in 16 of them. The pair advanced to the finals in three events, falling to Rogers and Dalhausser in each one. Keenan ended the season as the fifth-ranked player on the Tour.

In 2009, Keenan started a new partnership with Nick Lucena and the duo advanced to the semifinals in their first outing in Panama City. In the 13 AVP events the pair competed in, they advanced to the semifinals six times, including four in a row after returning from international play. Keenan was second on the Tour in aces per set (.80) and fifth in blocks per set (1.46). Internationally, Keenan and Lucena made the main draw in three of their five tournaments and had a best of 9th in Brasilia.

In 2010, Keenan began a new partnership with Casey Jennings. Together they competed in six AVP events and 10 international tournaments. Domestically, the duo had a best finish of third at Hermosa Beach, losing to Rogers and Dalhausser in the finals. Internationally, Keenan and Jennings placed ninth in their first two events in Brasilia and Shanghai before taking 17th and 13th in their next two. They then bounced back to have their best finish of the year in Moscow, taking home 4th after being the No. 17 seed. It was the first semifinal appearance for Keenan in an FIVB event.

Keenan then reunited with John Mayer for the 2012 season where they competed in both AVP events. The duo started as the No. 4 seed in Cincinnati and rolled off two straight victories before falling to John Hyden and Sean Scott. The pair then bounced back to defeat Olympians Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal to secure a place in the semifinals. Keenan and Mayer came up short to Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena to finish the tournament in third place.

The following weekend, the pair competed in the AVP Championships in Santa Barbara, winning four in a row to advance to the final against Gibb and Rosenthal. In a thrilling match, it was Gibb and Rosie who came out on top again, as Keenan and Mayer finished the season as the second-ranked team on the Tour.

Keenan was a four-time All-American at Pepperdine University. He was a second-team selection in 2000 and 2001 and a first-team choice in 2002 and 2003. In 2002, he was chosen as the AVCA Player of the Year. As a senior, he led the nation in blocks while also ranking among the leaders in kills and aces. He graduated with a degree in accounting. Keenan, who resides in Costa Mesa, Calif., married fellow AVP beach volleyball player and Olympic silver medalist, April Ross, in 2010.