California State University, Northridge (CSUN) Acting Director of Athletics Mary Beth Walker has announced the appointment of Jeff Hall as head coach of the CSUN Beach Volleyball program. A respected builder of championship-caliber programs with a proven track record of developing All-America student-athletes, Hall becomes the fifth head coach in the 12-year history of CSUN Beach Volleyball.
Southeastern Louisiana University has appointed Hannah Volpi as the new head coach for its beach volleyball team, pending approval by the University of Louisiana System’s Board of Supervisors. Volpi takes over from Amy Blanke, having a strong background as both a player and assistant coach.
Derek Olson was recently named as the beach head coach at the University of San Diego. Olson was previously the head coach at the University of Washington. Olson got his start in San Diego as the beach director and indoor head coach for Coast Volleyball Club. His wife, Steph, played collegiately at UC San Diego.
With Olson leaving UW, Washington Director of Athletics Pat Chun announced Steve McFadden, in his fourth season, will serve as the Interim Head Coach for the entirety of the 2025-26 season. McFadden has helped lead the Beach Dawgs to year-end Top-20 national rankings in each of his three seasons in Seattle. He was the assistant coach on the 2024 team that broke through to the first NCAA tournament in program history, as UW earned the 13-seed at NCAAs and became the northernmost team ever to qualify for NCAAs.
Stephen F. Austin State University’s new women’s beach volleyball coach Gretchen Hand was officially hired on Aug. 22. The hire comes after SFA cut beach volleyball as a sport but recently moved to reintroduce beach volleyball, citing a recent change in NCAA policy. “We believe Gretchen is a tremendous fit for SFA and we are fortunate to land a coach with her pedigree,” SFA Director of Athletics Michael McBroom said. “She has the ability to hit the ground running and will have us competing for Southland Conference championships in the near future.”
