Pepp Talk

Marcelo Ferreira, third-year head coach of the Pepperdine men's tennis team, comes by to tell his story, from growing up in Brazil to playing college tennis to becoming a coach. We also talk about the 2017 Waves, who are the preseason WCC favorites, and how resiliency is a key word for his squad.

With the West Coast Conference basketball season hitting the halfway point, we bring in two key players on the men's and women's squads, Chris Reyes (1:23) and Megan House (14:25), to talk about their injury-plagued teams and to hear their stories of how they got to Pepperdine.

This week's guest is Sam Lagana, an Associate Vice Chancellor at Pepperdine. He leads the fundraising efforts for the Athletics Department, and you also may know him for his work on the microphone at various Pepperdine events. In 2016, he took on an additional job as public address announcer for the Los Angeles Rams, so that's among the topics we discuss.

The Pepperdine women's tennis team is ranked third in the nation at the start of the 2017 spring season, so we bring on third-year head coach Per Nilsson to talk about this year's team and its chances, as well as how he went from a young tennis player in Sweden all the way to head coach of the Waves.

Legendary volleyball coach Marv Dunphy makes his second appearance on the podcast, this time to preview the upcoming season for the 2017 Pepperdine men's volleyball team.

We're celebrating Pepperdine's fall championships this week on the podcast, as we talk to Rylee Baisden of the women's soccer team (1:15) and Marko Asic of the men's water polo team (18:55). Each was the leading scorer on squads that won the West Coast Conference regular season and the first-ever Golden Coast Conference Tournament, respectively, and they each help recap their team's run to the title.

After 32 years of calling Pepperdine men's basketball games, Al Epstein will make his 950th consecutive broadcast later this week. The 2015 Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee joins us on the podcast this week to talk about broadcasting, great moments in Pepperdine history and some of his other fun jobs of the past.

First-year women's basketball assistant coach DeLisha Milton-Jones brings an amazing resume to the position, including more games played than anyone in WNBA history, two WNBA championships and two Olympic gold medals. She tells us about retiring earlier this year and immediately going to work with the Waves, and what she likes about being a mentor to Pepperdine's young players.

Our interview subjects on the podcast this week are Allie Green of Pepperdine women's basketball and Luisa Stefani of women's tennis. Green is the only senior on this year's squad and is about to reach the 1,000-point milestone for her career. Stefani led the Waves to one of their best seasons in school history last year as a freshman and she began 2016-17 ranked second nationally in singles.

Jeremy Major of the Pepperdine men's basketball team is beginning a senior year that could very well be filled with records and milestones. The four-year starting guard has been a key contributor to the team's success the past few seasons and is on the verge of the program's all-time assists record. We discuss his time in Malibu and the legacy he'd like to leave.

Two more of Pepperdine's terrific student-athletes are on the podcast this week. Lamond Murray Jr. (1:21) is the top returning scorer for the men's basketball program, which begins the 2016-17 season this Friday. Hannah Seabert (14:28), who just became the school's all-time leader in goalkeeper saves, has helped lead the women's soccer team to the 2016 West Coast Conference championship and the NCAA Tournament, which starts this weekend.

The head coach of the Pepperdine men's basketball team, Marty Wilson, makes another appearance on the podcast to preview the 2016-17 season. We talk in general terms about the makeup of the team and its strengths, and then we go through the roster to discuss each member of the Waves.

Ryan Weisenberg is heading into his fourth season as the head coach of the Pepperdine women's basketball program. We discuss this year's team -- which opens with a home exhibition this weekend -- his coaching career, what makes Pepperdine special to him and his family, and how he's incorporated his Star Wars fandom into basketball.

On Sunday, October 16, the Pepperdine Athletics Department hosted its annual Hall of Fame ceremony. Just before the start of the event, we taped short interviews with each of the five inductees for this week's podcast. The Pepperdine all-time greats honored this year were Steve Rodriguez of baseball (1:19), Anna Picarelli of women's soccer (9:18), Julie (Rubenstein) Bennett of women's volleyball (17:07), Scott Doerner of men's tennis (21:48) and Michael Putnam of men's golf (28:42). Hear about their time at Pepperdine and what they thought when they got the call about being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Two of Pepperdine's outstanding current student-athletes are interviewed this week. Bri Visalli (1:47) is an all-conference midfielder for the women's soccer team. She is deeply involved in an annual community service project at the beach. Heidi Dyer (20:17) has excelled in both indoor and beach volleyball for the Waves, earning All-American status in the latter this past spring. It wasn't clear she would ever play volleyball again after having back surgery when she was younger.

Dana Jones is one of the very best players in the history of Pepperdine men's basketball, and he was a four-year starter during one of the program's most successful eras in the early 1990s. The 1993 WCC Player of the Year, 1994 WCC Tournament MVP and Pepperdine Hall of Famer tells us about what it was like to play for the Waves back then.

A.J. Puckett had one of the greatest pitching seasons ever by a Pepperdine baseball player this past season, and that helped him become an All-American first team selection and a second-round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals. We talk about his time with the Waves and life in the minor leagues.

Tim Ward and Pepperdine women’s soccer are synonymous, with Tim having been a member of the coaching staff for 23 of the 24 years the program has been in existence, including head coach for the last 19. In this week’s episode, he recalls a lot of his favorite memories with the program (which includes two WCC titles, eight NCAA Tournament appearances and three Sweet 16s) and we discuss his coaching philosophy and music.

Stacy Davis graduated this spring as the Pepperdine men's basketball program's all-time leading scorer. As he waits to start his professional career, we have a conversation about what might come next for him, as well as his thoughts on his tremendous four years in Malibu.

In her three years since leaving Pepperdine, Kim Hill's volleyball career has reached incredible heights. A tryout earned her a coveted spot on the U.S. National Team, and a few months later she was a starter. The next year, she was MVP at the World Championships. And last month she brought home a bronze medal from the Rio Olympics. We talk about her time at Pepperdine and with USA Volleyball.