Jaden Whitmarsh joined San Diego volleyball in October 2025 as an assistant coach.
Whitmarsh arrives at Alcala Park following an exceptional collegiate career at UCLA and current competition on both the AVP and FIVB professional tours. A San Diego native and former standout at WAVE, she earned NCAA All-Tournament Team honors twice (2021 and 2023), appeared on the Pac-12 Championship All-Tournament Team multiple times, and was named Pac-12 Pair of the Week during her time with the Bruins. She completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology, a Master’s Degree in Transformative Coaching & Leadership, and a Certificate Extension Program in Marketing from UCLA.
“I'm thrilled to welcome Jaden to our coaching staff,” said Derek Olson, San Diego beach volleyball head coach. “She is born and raised in San Diego and embodies the characteristics that I would want our student-athletes to have. I’ve known of her since her days as a junior athlete at WAVE and have always admired her approach to the game. She has put in a lot of hard work, and it has taken her really far in this sport. She has won a national championship in college beach volleyball and currently plays professionally both domestically and internationally. She is a recent graduate with a master’s degree in coaching and has deep ties to this community. I am so lucky and blessed to be able to call her a colleague.”
Athletic excellence runs in Whitmarsh’s family. Her late father, Mike, played basketball at the University of San Diego before becoming one of the world’s top beach volleyball athletes, earning a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Her stepfather, Mark Sweeney, played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball, and her mother, Cindy, is a renowned fitness and nutrition expert.
