National Collegiate Coach of the Year

NICKIE SANLIN, McKENDREE UNIVERSITY

• Sanlin, who started the McKendree men’s program in 2014, led the Bearcats to a number of firsts in 2025.
• In addition to being a first-time AVCA Coach of the Year selection, she was named the 2025 MIVA Coach of the Year after leading her team to the program’s first MIVA regular-season title.
• Her 2025 squad set school records for victories in a season (20) and longest winning streak (12 matches).
• Three of Sanlin’s players earned AVCA All-America honors in 2025, and second-team pick Nate Flayter becomes the first player in program history to be a first- or second-team All-American.
• The Bearcats have been ranked in the National Collegiate AVCA Poll 13 times so far in 2025, which is the most weeks they’ve been ranked in a season.
• In mid-April, she earned her 125th win as McKendree’s head men’s coach.

bio information current as of May 5, 2025

 

National Collegiate Assistant Coach of the Year

BRYAN DELL’AMICO, GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY

• Following the departure of GCU Head Coach Matt Werle the first week of February, Dell’Amico took over as the team’s new coach.
• He handled all aspects of leading the program, from training to game planning to recruiting the rest of the season, and helped Grand Canyon finish with an 18-10 record.
• That victory total included 10 wins over teams ranked in the AVCA Poll and was highlighted by late-season upsets of No. 6 BYU and No. 2 UCLA.
• During his four seasons at Grand Canyon, the program reached a number of milestones, including making two NCAA Championship appearances (2023 and 2024), earning its first-ever No. 1 rank in the AVCA Poll (Feb. 26, 2024), setting a program-wins mark (26 in 2024) , and having three players earn AVCA first-team All-American honors (2024).

bio information current as of May 5, 2025

 

AVCA NATIONAL COLLEGIATE COACHES OF THE YEAR

1991: Ray Ratelle, Long Beach State University
1992: Ruben Nieves, Stanford University
1993: Al Scates, UCLA
1994: Tom Peterson, Penn State University
1995: Don Shondell, Ball State University
1996: Don Shondell, Ball State University
1997: Ruben Nieves, Stanford University
1998: Al Scates, UCLA
1999: Carl McGown, Brigham Young University
2000: Peter Hanson, Ohio State University
2001: Carl McGown, Brigham Young University
2002: Mike Wilton, University of Hawai‘i
2003: Dave Deuser, Lewis University
2004: Alan Knipe, Long Beach State
2005: Marv Dunphy, Pepperdine University
2006: John Speraw, UC Irvine
2007: Arnie Ball, IPFW
2008: Mark Pavlik, Penn State University
2009: Bill Ferguson, University of Southern California
2010: John Kosty, Stanford University
2011: Peter Hanson, Ohio State University
2012: Bill Ferguson, University of Southern California
2013: Chris McGown, BYU
2014: Shane Davis, Loyola University Chicago
2015: Dan Friend, Lewis University
2016: Peter Hanson, Ohio State University
2017: Alan Knipe, Long Beach State University
2018: Alan Knipe, Long Beach State University
2019: Charlie Wade, University of Hawai‘i
2020: Rick McLaughlin, UC Santa Barbara
2021: Rick McLaughlin, UC Santa Barbara
2022: Donan Cruz, Ball State University
2023: John Speraw, UCLA
2024: Matt Werle, Grand Canyon University
2025: Nicki Sanlin, McKendree University

AVCA NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ASSISTANT COACHES OF THE YEAR

2010: Matt Martin, Loyola University Chicago
2011: David Kniffin, UC Irvine
2012: Brian Rofer, UCLA
2013: Kevin Furnish, Ball State University
2014: Mark Hulse, Loyola University Chicago
2015: Matt McCarthy, Lewis University
2016: Cullen Irons, UC Santa Barbara
2017: Tyler Hildebrand, Long Beach State University
2018: Nick MacRae, Long Beach State University
2019: Josh Walker, University of Hawai‘i
2020: Milan Zarkovic, University of Hawai‘i
2021: Bryan Johnwick, Lewis University
2022: John Hawks, UCLA
2023: Milan Zarkovic, University of Hawai‘i
2024: Nick MacRae, Long Beach State University
2025: Bryan Dell’Amico, Grand Canyon University