Kent Steffes

{{Short description|American volleyball player}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}

{{Infobox volleyball biography

| name = Kent Steffes

| image =

| caption =

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| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|June 23, 1968}}

| birth_place = Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.

| height = 6'4"

| college = Stanford University, UCLA

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| teammates =

| medaltemplates-expand = yes

| medaltemplates-title = Medal record

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalSport | Men's beach volleyball }}

{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}

{{MedalCompetition | Olympic Games }}

{{MedalGold | 1996 Atlanta | Beach }}

{{MedalCompetition | World Championships }}

{{MedalGold | 1993 Rio de Janeiro | Beach }}

{{MedalBronze | 1997 Los Angeles | Beach }} }}

Kent Steffes (born June 23, 1968) is an American former professional beach volleyball player.{{Cite web |url=http://www.bvbinfo.com/player.asp?ID=125 |website=Beach Volleyball Database |title=Kent Steffes |access-date=July 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518140349/http://www.bvbinfo.com/player.asp?ID=125 |archive-date=May 18, 2023 |url-status=live }}

Steffes received his AAA beach rating while still attending Palisades High School. He was named the 1986 National High School Player of the Year.{{Cite magazine |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1992/06/22/banker-of-the-beach-new-pro-volleyball-star-kent-steffes-plays-as-if-hes-foreclosing-on-a-mortgage |magazine=Sports Illustrated |title=Banker of the Beach |last=Lidz |first=Franz |location=New York City |publisher=Time |date=June 22, 1992 |access-date=July 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127150207/https://vault.si.com/vault/1992/06/22/banker-of-the-beach-new-pro-volleyball-star-kent-steffes-plays-as-if-hes-foreclosing-on-a-mortgage |archive-date=January 27, 2022 |url-status=live }} He enrolled at Stanford University and played for one season before transferring to UCLA, where he graduated with a degree in economics.{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-08-26-sp-31541-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |title=A Winning Prototype : Beach Volleyball Star Kent Steffes Dominates Along With Kiraly, and His Harder, Smarter Approach Is Catching On |last=Garcia |first=Irene |date=August 26, 1994 |access-date=July 24, 2023 }} {{subscription required}} While a Bruin he joined the AVP Tour full-time in 1988.

Steffes earned the AVP No. 1 ranking at age 22, the youngest player to do so in the history of the sport. Steffes and his partner Karch Kiraly won the inaugural beach volleyball gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/29/sports/atlanta-day-10-beach-volleyball-golden-sand-for-kiraly-and-steffes.html |last=Clarey |first=Christopher |date=July 29, 1996 |newspaper=The New York Times |page=C9 |title=Atlanta Day 10 -- Beach Volleyball; Golden Sand for Kiraly and Steffes |access-date=September 8, 2024 }} {{subscription required}} That same year, he was selected as the MVP of the AVP.

In his career, Steffes teamed with numerous partners to win 110 events, and has the highest winning percentage in the history of the sport (48.6%).{{cite web |title=Phil Dalhausser’s AVP Dominance Over the Years |last1=Smith |first1=Kim |last2=Strauss |first2=Doug |date=May 17, 2022 |url=https://avp.com/news/phil-dalhaussers-avp-dominance-over-the-years |website=Association of Volleyball Professionals |access-date=July 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204220735/https://avp.com/news/phil-dalhaussers-avp-dominance-over-the-years/ |archive-date=December 4, 2022 |url-status=live }} By the time Steffes retired in 1999, he had won over $2,500,000 in prizes.

In 2004, Steffes was inducted into the California Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame. In 2020, Steffes was inducted into the USA Volleyball Hall of Fame as an All-Time Great Male Beach Player.{{cite web |title=Scott, McPeak Headline USAV Hall of Fame Class |last=Kaufmann |first=Bill |date=February 3, 2020 |website=North Country Region Volleyball |url=https://www.ncrusav.org/news_article/show/1078541 |access-date=July 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724102530/https://www.ncrusav.org/news_article/show/1078541 |archive-date=July 24, 2023 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Kent Steffes |url=https://usavolleyball.org/hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame-induction/kent-steffes/ |access-date=July 24, 2023 |website=USAVolleyball |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609235807/https://usavolleyball.org/hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame-induction/kent-steffes/ |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |url-status=live }}