Division II Coach of the Year

TIA BRANDEL-WILHELM, FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY

• The veteran coach has led her team to a 34-0 record entering the NCAA Championship quarterfinals.
• Her squad won both the GLIAC regular-season title and the school’s 10th tournament championship in the past 11 seasons.
• She led the Bulldogs to their first Division II Midwest Regional championship since 2013.
• This is the first time Brandel-Wilhelm has earned National Coach of the Year honors.
• She is in her 29th season as head coach at Ferris State.

 

Division II Assistant Coach of the Year

KOLBY KANETAKE, CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY

• He is in his fifth year at Chaminade, assisting in all aspects of running the program including practices, scouting reports, recruiting, scholarship allocation and academic success.
• He helped the 2024 team go 28-5, including a perfect 20-0 mark in PacWest Conference play.
• The Silverswords reached No. 4 in the AVCA Division II poll, which is the school’s highest-ever rank.
• He was a 2021-22 AVCA 30 Under 30 recipient.
• He is a former All-America libero at the University of Hawai’i.

 

AVCA NCAA DIVISION II COACHES OF THE YEAR

1982: Sue Gozansky, UC-Riverside
1983: Janice Kruger, University of Nebraska-Omaha
1984: Walt Ker, Cal State-Northridge
1985: Samye Johnson, Mississippi University
1986: Janice Kruger, University of Nebraska-Omaha
1987: Peggy Martin, Central Missouri State
1988: Cathy Olson, North Dakota State
1989: Debby Colberg, Cal-State Sacramento
1990: Kim Hudson, West Texas State
1991: Chris Catanach, University of Tampa
1992: Jeff Mozzochi, Portland State University
1993: Jim Moore, Northern Michigan University
1994: Mary Kaminski, Michigan Tech University
1995: Leonid Yelin, Barry University
1996: Rose Shires, University of Nebraska-Omaha
1997: Debbie Hendricks, West Texas A&M
1998: Zaundra Bina, North Dakota State
1999: Wilfred Navalta, BYU-Hawai’i
2000: Reyden “Tita” Ahuna, Hawai’I Pacific University
2001: Duncan McFarland, UC-San Diego
2002: Qi Wang, Truman State University
2003: Matt Peck, University of North Alabama
2004: Jim Boos, University of Minnesota-Duluth
2005: Deanne Scanlon, Grand Valley State University
2006: Chris Catanach, University of Tampa
2007: Brady Starkey, Concordia University-St. Paul
2008: Kim Cherniss, Cal State University San Bernardino
2009: Jody Butera, University of Indianapolis
2010: Brady Starkey, Concordia University-St. Paul
2011: Brady Starkey, Concordia University-St. Paul
2012: Wilfred Navalta, BYU-Hawai’i
2013: Shelton Collier, Wingate University
2014: Chris Catanach, University of Tampa
2015: Bob White, Palm Beach Atlantic University
2016: Chris Green, University of Alaska Anchorage
2017: Kevin DesLauriers, Molloy College
2018: Chris Catanach, University of Tampa
2019: Tracy Rietzke, Rockhurst University
2021: Chris Catanach, University of Tampa
2022: Kendra Potts, West Texas A&M University
2023: Scott Kneifl, Wayne State College (NE)
2024: Tia Brandel-Wilhelm, Ferris State University

 

AVCA NCAA DIVISION II ASSISTANT COACHES OF THE YEAR

2009: Danny Scott, Cal State University San Bernardino
2010: Stephanie Gravel, Hillsdale College
2011: Jeff Lamm, University of Tampa
2012: Christyn May, University of Minnesota Duluth
2013: Heather Roberts, Colorado School of Mines
2014: Heather Roberts, Colorado School of Mines
2015: Bouaketh Chanthavisouk, Gannon University
2016: Sheldon Carvalho, University of Alaska Anchorage
2017: Chris Keen, Florida Southern College
2018: Lauren Ramatowski, Washburn University
2019: Danny Scott, Cal State University San Bernardino
2021: Haley Kindall, University of West Florida
2022: Casey Shingler, West Texas A&M University
2023: Brian Imperiale, University of Tampa
2024: Kolby Kanetake, Chaminade University