STEVE Kerr’s latest rebuilding job won’t involve Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, LeBron James, or a basketball for that matter. It will involve a volleyball, an expansion franchise and one of the Philippines’ finest sporting exports.
The Golden State Warriors head coach has entered another sporting venture as one of the co-owners of San Francisco Signal, the newest franchise in League One Volleyball (LOVB) that recently signed former Philippine team star Jaja Santiago (Sachi Minowa).
READ: Jaja joins expansion team San Francisco Signal in US league
For a coach whose career has been defined by building championship teams, the challenge is strikingly familiar.
Only this time, it comes in a different sport.
Kerr, a nine-time NBA champion with four titles as Warriors coach and five more as a player, is among the prominent investors behind the Bay Area club, which will make its debut in January 2027 as one of LOVB’s three expansion teams.
His involvement signals the level of belief behind a league determined to elevate women’s professional volleyball in the United States.
It is also a natural fit as Kerr had already developed a connection to volleyball through daughter Maddy, who starred for the University of California, Berkeley. Watching her collegiate career gave him a firsthand appreciation for the sport and ultimately led his family to invest in LOVB’s long-term vision.
Sporting heavyweights in charge
That vision extends well beyond Kerr as San Francisco’s ownership group also features American soccer legend Julie Foudy, ESPN broadcaster Holly Rowe, Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull and South Korean volleyball icon Kim Yeon Koung, whose decorated international career has inspired generations across Asia.
The ambition is just as evident on the roster as Minowa headlines an inaugural squad that includes Olympic gold medalist Kelsey Cook, Chinese national team libero MJ Wang, French Olympian Halimatou Bah, Thai national team setter Pornpun Guedpard, and several current and former United States national team standouts.
It is hardly the typical expansion roster as the Signal surrounded its first season with championship pedigrees from the front office down to the court.
Kerr has spent years proving that culture can shape championships.
As San Francisco Signal prepares to write the first chapter in its history, Minowa will be among the first players tasked with bringing that philosophy onto the volleyball court.
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