Division II Coach of the Year

BRIAN IMPERIALE, UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA

• It has been a memorable first season as the Tampa head coach for Imperiale, who took over for the legendary Chris Catanach in 2025.
• He has led the Spartans to a perfect season heading into the 2025 NCAA DII quarterfinals, and nine of the wins have come against ranked teams.
• The team emerged from the tough South Region last weekend to advance to Elite Eight
• Imperiale’s offense has been the country’s most efficient, as its hitting percentage of .303 leads DII this season.
• The Spartans enter the Division II Elite Eight having dropped only 18 sets across 31 matches.
• This is his first AVCA Coach of the Year honor, although he was the AVCA DII Assistant Coach of the Year in 2023.

 

 

Division II Assistant Coach of the Year

FLAVIA VIRGILI, POINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY

• It has been an exciting season for Virgili and Point Loma volleyball, which has reached new heights in 2025.
• The Sea Lions hosted and won the West Region last weekend, which earned them the school’s first-ever appearance in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Championship.
• She has helped the team rise as high as No. 2 in the AVCA Division II Poll, which is the highest rank in program history.
• This year’s squad won the title at the prestigious Colorado Premier Challenge in September by beating four ranked teams.
• Virgili becomes Point Loma’s first AVCA national Assistant Coach of the Year recipient.

 

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
2025: Brian Imperiale, University of Tampa

 

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
2025: Flavia Virgili, Point Loma University