Canyon Ceman (born June 29, 1972) is a former

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...

player. He won the silver medal at the 1997 World Championships in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, partnering

Mike Whitmarsh Michael John Whitmarsh (May 18, 1962 – February 17, 2009) was an American male volleyball and basketball player. He won the silver medal in the men's inaugural beach volleyball tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympics, partnering with Mike Dodd. ...

. He was most recently the Senior Director of Talent Development for American professional wrestling company

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

Career

Volleyball

Ceman played volleyball as a

setter The setter is a type of gundog used most often for hunting game such as quail, pheasant, and grouse. In the UK, the four setter breeds, together with the pointers, usually form a subgroup within the gundog group as they share a common fun ...

, and was a collegiate All-American in both 1992 and 1993. He played for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...

in college, and was part of the team that reached the NCAA finals in 1992. The following year, Ceman was named the 1993 National Collegiate Player of the Year. After finishing college, he played on the

Association of Volleyball Professionals The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) is the biggest and longest-running professional beach volleyball tour in the United States. Founded in 1983, the AVP is headquartered in Newport Beach, California. The AVP operates as a 3-tiered ...

(AVP) tour for 15 years, during which time he was ranked in the top 10 in 10 different years.

Executive

After finishing up his playing career, Ceman became the

chief financial officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

of the AVP until it closed in August 2010. In March 2012, Ceman began working as the Senior Director of Talent Development for

. As part of his job, he oversees the developmental program

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

and scouts athletic talent at events including NCAA Wrestling and

World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international Strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decembe ...

competitions. On July 23, 2021, it was reported that Ceman had been released from WWE, ending his nine year tenure with the company.

Personal life

Ceman has an

undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher e ...

from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. He later obtained a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

, specialising in entrepreneurial studies and finance, from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. Ceman is married with two children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ceman, Canyon 1972 births Living people WWE executives Stanford Cardinal men's volleyball players People from Hermosa Beach, California Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California American men's beach volleyball players