Utah State Athletics announces coaching additions
Utah State Athletics and Vice President and Director of Athletics Cameron Walker announced two changes to its coaching staff on Jan. 3, one within the volleyball program and one within the football program. Keith Smith was named the new head coach of USU Women’s Volleyball, while Robert Anae was named the offensive coordinator for football head coach Bronco Mendenhall.
Smith will join the Aggies as the new head coach after former head coach Rob Neilson left to be the new head coach at BYU in late December. Anae will fill the vacancy left by former offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven, who was hired by the University of Utah to fill the same role.
Keith Smith
Smith comes to Logan with extensive experience in both college and national-level volleyball. Smith most recently served as an assistant coach for Texas Christian University in 2025, where the Horned Frogs posted a 21-11 record and an NCAA tournament appearance.
Prior to his time in Fort Worth, Smith spent three years at Auburn as an assistant coach, helping lead the Tigers to back-to-back 20-win seasons and back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2022 and 2023 for the first time in program history.
Smith has also spent time coaching national teams, most recently coaching the women’s U21 national team at the 2025 NORCECA Pan American Cup prior to the 2025 season. Smith led the team to a gold medal, sweeping all five matches they played.
“I’m excited to welcome Keith to Utah State as our new head volleyball coach,” Walker said in a press release on Saturday. “He’s a proven recruiter with a strong track record of developing players. From the start of the hiring process, his professionalism and expertise were evident, and his attributes and vision aligned with those of our volleyball student-athletes, making him the ideal choice to advance Utah State volleyball. His background with USA Volleyball will be invaluable as the program works to reach the next level.”
Smith joins the program after a record-setting year under Neilson, where the Aggies posted an undefeated conference record and a first-round win over Tennessee in the NCAA tournament.
“My goal is not to rebuild the program but to retool it for long-term, sustainable success that keeps it on an upward trajectory,” Smith said in the same press release. “I’m excited to bring a highly competitive staff to Logan and develop a roster that will chase championships in the new Pac-12 and wins in the NCAA tournament.”
Robert Anae
Anae will again join Mendenhall as an offensive coordinator starting in the 2026 season. Anae and Mendenhall have coached together for 15 years between BYU and Virginia prior to their now linking at Utah State. Anae has 36 years of college football coaching experience, including 18 years as an offensive coordinator, and has spent time at BYU, Virginia, North Carolina State, Syracuse, Arizona, Texas Tech, UNLV, Boise State, Ricks College and Hawai’i.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Robert Anae as our offensive coordinator at Utah State,” Mendenhall said in a press release on Jan. 3. “Robert and I share a long history together, and the success we’ve had side by side speaks for itself. His ability to develop quarterbacks is as good as anyone in college football. Robert understands how to build an offense that is smart, adaptable and player driven. He is the perfect fit for our program, our staff and the direction we are taking Aggie Football.”
Anae will take over the playcalling for one of the Mountain West Conference’s top units in 2025 as they look to continue their success into the 2026 season, the Aggies’ inaugural season in the new-look PAC-12.
Skyler Ridley
On Monday, Jan. 5, Mendenhall announced the addition of new wide receivers coach Skyler Ridley to the staff. Ridley joins the Aggies after spending the last 10 years on staff at Weber State, coaching the wide receivers since 2022.
During his time as wide receivers coach in Ogden, Ridley coached two all-conference wide receivers in Jacob Sharp and Ty MacPherson. MacPherson finished the season as the first 1,000-yard receiver for Weber State in 15 years.
“Skyler Ridley is an elite in-state recruiter with deep relationships throughout Utah, and that will be invaluable as we continue to build our program the right way,” Mendenhall said in the press release of the announcement. “He brings a strong special teams background, a clear vision for developing wide receivers and most importantly, outstanding character. Skyler aligns perfectly with our culture, our standards and how we want to represent Utah State Football.”
Ridley will take over coaching a historically successful position group for Utah State that produced NFL products such as Jalen Royals and Deven Thompkins in recent seasons as well as All-Mountain West First Team receiver Braden Pegan in 2025.