The Collegiate Volleyball Update (CVU.com) is please to announce its selection of Oklahoma coach Santiago Restrepo as the 2006 CVU.com National Coach of the Year.
In only his third season leading the Sooners, Restrepo, the Big 12 Coach of the Year, guided Oklahoma to one of the biggest turnarounds in the NCAA this season. After finishing 7-22 overall and 2-18 in the Big 12 last year, the Sooners found themselves in second place at the end of this season, sporting a 17-3 league mark and 28-6 overall record.
That 28-6 is the best winning percentage in Oklahoma history, while the Big 12 performance is the best mark in school history as the Sooners went on to play in the NCAA Regionals.
The 15-win improvement in league play is also a Big 12 record, and the Sooners, ranked 12th in the final AVCA Coaches Poll, enjoyed their highest-ever mark in that poll, as well as the first ranking in 18 years.
Having the quick success and turning a program around isn't a fluke for Restrepo, though. In 2003 at Southern Miss, before joining Oklahoma, Restrepo compiled a similar record, going 27-6 just two seasons after the Golden Eagles had only won nine matches.
Restrepo was also previously an assistant at Saint Louis for three seasons. Prior to that, he was a four-year standout at East Stroudsburg (Pa.) University, where he went on to eventually coach. He also played one season professionally in France and played on the AVP Beach Tour.
Receiving honorable mention honors are Hofstra coach Lauren Netherby, St. John's Joanne Persico-Smith, Cal Poly's Jon Stevenson and Jolene Nagel of Duke.
The newcomer on the list, Netherby took over The Pride in August after Fran Kalafer's retirement. Still, in only her second season with the program (she served as an assistant last year), Netherby, as interim head coach, kept The Pride on track. Hofstra finished with a 17-1 mark in conference and Netherby was named head coach prior to the CAA tournament. Hofstra battled to a tournament win, earning an NCAA Tournament spot and going on to earn its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, downing Cornell 3-2 in the first round.
In her 13th season, Persico-Smith guided the Red Storm to its best season in program history, winning Big East Coach of the Year honors along the way. Not only did St. John's go 31-5 for its best record ever, the Red Storm had a perfect conference record (14-0), made a first-ever trip to the NCAA Division I tournament, and also won their first tournament match, downing Albany 3-1.
Another conference coach of the year, Stevenson put Cal Poly back atop the Big West for the first time in 22 years. The Mustangs finished at 13-1 in conference play, their best-ever league winning percentage, and the 23 total wins are the most since 1992. Additional, Cal Poly made it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five seasons, downing Michigan 3-1 in the opening round.
The ACC Coach of the Year, Nagel led the Blue Devils to their first conference title since 1995 as they ran away in the league with a 21-1 mark in ACC play — a school record — and Duke amassed a 29-4 record on the year. Nagel has led the program for the past eight years, and guided the Blue Devils to the NCAA Tournament in five of the past seven seasons.
Coach of the Year
Santiago Restrepo, Oklahoma
Honorable Mention
- Lauren Netherby, Hofstra
- Joanne Persico-Smith, St. John's
- Jon Stevenson, Cal Poly
- Jolene Nagel, Duke
The Honorable Mentions are not listed in a specific order and should be referred to as an "Honorable Mention" or one of the "Top Five."
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