National Collegiate Coach of the Year
MATT WERLE, GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY
- Werle’s ninth season as the head men’s volleyball coach at Grand Canyon has been a memorable one.
- In addition to earning his first National Coach of the Year honor, Werle was a first-time choice as MPSF Coach of the Year.
- His 2024 squad set a program record for wins (24 so far) and earned GCU’s first-ever No.1 ranking in the national poll.
- The Lopes are back in the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship after making their first-ever appearance last year.
- Three of Werle’s players picked up first-team All-America honors this season, which marked the first time any Lopes have been AVCA first-team picks.
- In mid-April, he earned his 150th win as GCU’s head coach.
- Werle becomes the first person to win both the AVCA MVB Coach of the Year award (2024-National Collegiate with Grand Canyon) and AVCA MVB Player of the Year award (2007-Division III with Juniata).
bio information current as of April 30, 2024
National Collegiate Assistant Coach of the Year
NICK MACRAE, LONG BEACH STATE UNIVERSITY
- This is MacRae’s first time of earning the AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year award.
- He helped Long Beach State win both the Big West regular season and tournament championships.
- The 2024 team has spent nine weeks atop the AVCA/NVA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball poll and had four players named first- or second-team All-Americans.
- Now in his 12th season with The Beach, MacRae serves as the program’s primary recruiting contact, and he assists with volleyball trainings and film check-ins.
- During his time, Long Beach State has made seven NCAA Championship appearances—including this season—and won two national titles (2018 and 2019).
bio information current as of April 30, 2024
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
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