O'DONNELL UP CLOSE

PERSONAL

Name: Kolby O'Donnell
Born: March 25, 1983
Hometown: Latrobe, Pennsylvania
High School: Greater Latrobe Senior High School, Latrobe, Pennsylvania
College Education: Lees-McRae College, Bachelor of Science, Sport Management, 2006

PLAYING CAREER

2002-06: Lees-McRae

COACHING CAREER

2006-08: Radford University (assistant coach/recruiting coordinator)
2008-12: Appalachian State (associate head coach/recruiting coordinator)
2012-13: Miami (assistant coach/recruiting coordinator)
2013-17: UC Santa Barbara (assistant coach/recruiting coordinator)
2017-18: Louisville (assistant coach/recruiting coordinator)
2018-: Texas A&M (associate head coach/recruiting coordinator)

BY THE NUMBERS

4 NCAA Tournament Appearances
4 Top 30 Ranked Recruiting Classes (2012, 2015, 2016, 2019)

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Kolby O’Donnell enters his fifth season with Texas A&M volleyball in 2022, serving as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator.

O’Donnell’s third year in Aggieland saw the Maroon & White log a .500 record in a grueling all-SEC schedule split between the fall and spring. The Aggies also set a program record in the AVCA Coaches Poll, landing the No. 6 ranking in the preseason. Under O’Donnell’s direction, senior setter Camille Conner earned a Senior CLASS Award nomination for her stellar leadership on the court coupled with her impressive community service record.

In his first two years in College Station, O’Donnell has aided in the development of three AVCA All-Americans, multiple AVCA All-South region honorees, and numerous All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman selections. In the 2019 season, he assisted head coach Laura “Bird” Kuhn in her campaign to become the 2019 SEC Coach of the Year while guiding the Aggies to a 23-8 season record.

O’Donnell came to A&M after spending the 2017 season at Louisville, where he made an immediate impact and helped the Cardinals not only double their number of wins from the previous season, but also helped guide them to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship and a return to the NCAA Tournament.

Louisville was coming off a 12-18 season, including a 7-13 ACC record, before O’Donnell joined the Cardinals’ coaching staff prior to the 2017 season. O’Donnell helped spearhead the program’s impressive turnaround, which included an 11-match winning streak to close out the regular season to clinch a share of the ACC championship with an 18-2 record. Louisville, the only ACC team to complete the season undefeated at home, finished 24-7 after falling to Northern Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Championship.

Individually, Louisville first-year head coach Dani Busboom Kelly was named the AVCA East Region Coach of the Year. In addition, the Cardinals’ junior setter Wilma Rivera and junior libero Molly Sauer were named ACC setter and defensive player of the year, respectively. Rivera also collected honorable mention All-America distinction from the American Volleyball Coaches Association, and she was joined on the All-ACC first team by teammate Melanie McHenry, a sophomore outside hitter.

Before joining the Louisville staff, O'Donnell spent four seasons at UC Santa Barbara, serving as the top assistant coach for head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch, who made him her first hire when she took over the program in 2013. In addition to serving as the defensive coordinator, O’Donnell was UCSB’s recruiting coordinator and played a pivotal role in securing three top-30 recruiting classes over four years. The Gauchos’ 2015 recruiting class was ranked No. 18, marking the highest ranking in program history.

O'Donnell, who mainly worked with the outside hitters, opposites, liberos, and middle blockers, helped guide UCSB to a Big West Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance in his first year with the team. Lantagne Welch was named the 2013 Big West Conference Coach of the Year, and outside hitter Ali Spindt was named freshman of the year. Senior outside hitter Leah Sully and freshman middle blocker Phoebe Grunt also collected all-conference honors as the Gauchos (18-11, 13-3 BWC) won their first conference title since 2005 and advanced to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2009.

In 2014, O’Donnell helped junior outside hitter Ali Barbeau capture All-Big West first-team accolades, and freshman outside hitter Chanel Hoffman and Spindt, who switched to the libero position due to an injury, both earned honorable mention.

Junior middle blocker Phoebe Grunt earned all-conference recognition and libero Emilia Petrachi was selected to the All-Freshman Team following the 2015 season, and in 2016 freshman outside hitter Lindsey Ruddins was named Big West Freshman of the Year and garnered conference first-team honors. In addition, Hoffman and senior middle blocker Elizabeth Sheffield received honorable mention, and freshman middle blocker Rowan Ennis was selected to the league’s all-freshman team as the Gauchos added nine wins to their total from the previous season to close out the year at 17-12, 8-8.

O'Donnell had also served as an assistant for Lantagne Welch in 2012 at the University of Miami, where he helped the Hurricanes to a 25-6 overall record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In one of the program's most notable seasons in school history, Lantagne Welch and O'Donnell directed Miami to a program-record 17 conference wins to finish within one match of an ACC championship.

Miami dominated the 2012 conference awards with six Hurricanes named to the All-ACC Team and Lantagne Welch collecting ACC Coach of the Year accolades. Five players garnered AVCA All-East Region accolades, and Lantagne Welch was honored as the region coach of the year. Furthermore, Emani Sims, a sophomore middle blocker, became the second AVCA All-American in program history, earning third-team honors after hitting .328 and averaging 1.39 blocks and 2.48 kills per set.

Preceding his stint at Miami, O'Donnell was on the staff at Appalachian State, serving as assistant coach from 2008-10 and associate head coach in 2011-12. O'Donnell also served as recruiting coordinator for the Mountaineers.

His first coaching stop was at Radford University, where he was an assistant from 2006-08.

O'Donnell had a successful playing career, captaining the Lees-McRae College Bobcats for two of his four years and leading them to a 66-26 record. The middle hitter from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, graduated from Lees-McRae College in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science degree in sports management.

He and his wife, Taukia, have three sons, Remington (Remy), Jameson and Huxley.

August 2022