Former All-American at UCLA, Kristee Porter has been named the Robert E. Lee high school volleyball coach and will be formally introduced at the Lee Varsity Gymnasium in Tyler, Tx. Monday at 10 a.m
Porter spent the last two seasons as the head coach at Henderson State University where she led the Reddies to a 13-16 overall records (8-8 in conference play). Their performance earned them their first-ever appearance in the Great American Conference Tournament and first postseason appearance since 2010.
Before working at Henderson State, Porter had accolades as the head coach at Navarro College, assistant coach at the University of Colorado, and the Director of Operations for Factory Athletes/Under Armour in Baltimore.
Porter already has a history in Tyler, graduating from John Tyler High School in 1998. She was all-state volleyball back in high school, and is largely considered to be one of the most decorated athletes to come out of Tyler ISD. She’s currently a member of the inaugural class of the Tyler ISD Athletic Hall of Fame.
“She wanted to come back to the Tyler area and just the top itself and the success they [Lee] have had I think was enticing to her,” said Tyler ISD athletic director Greg Priest. “The opportunity to come back to Tyler was a big factor.”
After graduation from John Tyler High School, Porter went on to compete at UCLA where she was not only a three-time All American in volleyball, but a two-time national champion in triple and long jump.
Following her collegiate career, Porter went on to play internationally for teams in Spain and Puerto Rico for eight years. She was also a member of the USA National Volleyball Team from 1998 to 2003.
While her playing career is certainly illustrious, Priest is focusing on her coaching, “she’s had a good coaching career and she’s had a great playing career. Anytime you have a chance to get someone like that, it was definitely someone we wanted to get.”
Porter earned a masters’ degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University.
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