Thanh Pham, head volleyball coach at the University of St. Thomas, spoke with the Minnesota Star Tribune about his remarkable journey from refugee infant to longtime Tommies coach and how he has built the program into a Summit League contender. Pham reflected on his path from Augsburg assistant to national champion at St. Thomas and discussed the team’s rise through the Division I transition as the Tommies enter the 2026 Summit League tournament as the No. 3 seed.
From the article:
Cole Tallman had resigned as the St. Thomas volleyball coach after the 2002 season and athletic director Steve Fritz was looking for a replacement. He also had another decade remaining as the Tommies’ very successful coach in men’s basketball, so he was willing to take suggestions from within the Twin Cities and the MIAC.
“A number of the volleyball people told me, ‘Take a look at a young guy who was at Augsburg,’” Fritz said Saturday. “That was Thanh (Pham). You meet him and very soon you’re saying, ‘Great person; hard worker.’” ...
When you start off as an infant escaping the Fall of Saigon, Pham’s entry into volleyball coaching might not qualify as dramatic, but it certainly was circuitous.
He had played some volleyball with informal clubs, although wrestling was what got him to Augsburg in the mid-1990s. ...
As with many students at the true-urban private school, Pham needed a job and he found it on campus: working as an assistant for Marilyn Florian, the Augsburg volleyball coach.
“Coach Florian gave me a start with volleyball,” Pham said. “I will be forever grateful to her.”
That led to the required experience to apply at St. Thomas, which led to 17 seasons in the MIAC and Division III with much success. Included was a 40-1 record and a national championship in 2012.
