Paco Labrador has been named women’s head coach at the U.S. Naval Academy, replacing Larry Bock, who retired in March with more career wins than any coach in NCAA volleyball history.
Labrador arrives in Annapolis with an 86.5% winning percentage, which ranks 3rd all-time among NCAA volleyball coaches across all divisions. During his 15 seasons at Division III Wittenberg. Labrador guided the Tigers to the 2011 NCAA title, as well as two additional trips to the national championship match in 2015 and 2017.
According to Navy’s director of athletics, Chet Gladchuk, “Paco is a proven winner on and off the court, and a family man exuding leadership and character who fits our every criteria for success. We enthusiastically welcome the Labradors to Annapolis for what we expect to be a long and productive tenure.”
Navy will face its first big test under their new head coach immediately as they open the 2018 regular season on August 24-25 at the Penn State Invitational in University Park, where they will face Eastern Kentucky, UMBC and the host Nittany Lions.
VIDEO: LARRY BOCK RETIREMENT VIDEO
PRESS RELEASE
Courtesy of Navy Athletics
ANNAPOLIS, Md. —- Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk announced today the hiring of Paco Labrador as the new head women’s volleyball coach at Navy.
Labrador guided Wittenberg (NCAA Division III) to the 2011 NCAA title, two additional trips to the national championship match (2015, 2017) and a 455-71 record over his 15 seasons at the school. His career winning percentage of 86.5 percent ranks second among active coaches across all NCAA divisions and third overall in college volleyball history.
Included among Wittenberg’s successes over the last decade and a half are the Tigers winning at least 25 matches in 14 seasons with a minimum of 30 victories coming in seven years, compiling a 162-2 record (98.8%) in the North Coast Athletic Conference’s regular season and posting a 35-1 record (97.2%) in winning 14 NCAC Tournaments. Wittenberg also appeared in 15 NCAA Tournaments, was ranked among the top-10 teams in the final national ranking 13 times and attained a ranking of no lower than third on six occasions. This span includes the Tigers being the nation’s top-ranked team in 2011 and the No. 2 team in the country in both 2015 and `17.
“Coach Labrador’s accomplishments and hiring reflect a sustained commitment to our midshipmen,” said Gladchuk. “They should be trained and learn from the finest coaches and educators in the sport. Former head coach Larry Bock constructed a championship environment at Navy and we have every expectation through Paco to sustain our ambitions and that momentum. Paco is a proven winner on and off the court, and a family man exuding leadership and character who fits our every criteria for success. We enthusiastically welcome the Labrador’s to Annapolis for what we expect to be a long and productive tenure.”
“I would like to thank Chet Gladchuk for the opportunity and privilege to the lead these exceptional women,” said Labrador. “I would also like to thank all of the Navy coaches and administrators who took time to share with me the rich history of the Naval Academy and the athletics department. I am humbled to have the opportunity to continue the tremendous work the volleyball team and staff have invested to develop Midshipmen morally, mentally and physically. I have the utmost respect for Larry Bock and the culture, skills and staff he has developed. My top priority is to do justice to his work and continue the unparalleled momentum gained from last fall’s historic season.”
Labrador was tabbed as the 2011 American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III National Coach of the Year, received a pair of AVCA Great Lakes Region Division III Coach-of-the-Year accolades and was an eight-time recipient of the NCAC Coach-of-the-Year laurel.
His players earned 32 All-America awards, 38 all-region honors, 10 NCAC Player-of-the-Year nods, 61 all-conference certificates, one NCAA Elite 90 Award and five College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America accolades.
A 1995 graduate of Hiram College (Hiram, Ohio) with bachelor degrees in both psychology and exercise / sport science, Labrador began his coaching career as a student assistant coach for the school’s women’s volleyball team. He also founded Hiram’s men’s club volleyball team while attending the school. He then served as a volunteer coach at Miami (Ohio) for two years (1995 and `96 seasons) while he worked toward and attained a Master of Science in Sports Studies at the school. Labrador would go on to be a volunteer assistant coach with the Maryland women’s team during the 1997-98 academic year before returning to Miami University in August 1999 as a full-time member of the program’s coaching staff. He would remain at the Oxford, Ohio, school for four seasons until accepting the head coach position at Wittenberg in May 2003.
Labrador was inducted into the Miami (Ohio) Cradle of Coaches Association, which honors graduates of the school who went on to attain coaching success (Ara Parseghian, Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes and John Harbaugh are among the other honored coaches), in 2016. Paco and his wife, Jill, are the parents of two daughters, Olivia and Isabel.
Wittenberg Year-by-Year Under Labrador
- 2003 – 28-7 / 8-0 NCAC (1st) / NCAC Tournament Champions (3-0) / NCAA Regional Finalist (1-1) / 10th Final Ranking
- 2004 – 35-3 / 8-0 NCAC (1st) / NCAC Tournament Champions (2-0) / NCAA Quarterfinalist (2-1) / 3rd Final Ranking
- 2005 – 34-5 / 7-1 NCAC (2nd) / NCAC Tournament Champions (2-0) / NCAA Semifinalist (4-1) / 3rd Final Ranking
- 2006 – 35-8 / 16-0 NCAC (1st) / NCAC Tournament Finalist (1-1) / NCAA Semifinalist (4-1) / 4th Final Ranking
- 2007 – 38-1 / 14-0 NCAC (1st) / NCAC Tournament Champions (2-0) / NCAA Semifinalist (4-1) / 3rd Final Ranking
- 2008 – 33-3 / 16-0 NCAC (1st) / NCAC Tournament Champions (2-0) / NCAA Second Round (1-1) / 7th Final Ranking
- 2009 – 24-8 / 16-0 NCAC (1st) / NCAC Tournament Champions (2-0) / NCAA First Round (0-1) / 14th Final Ranking
- 2010 – 32-3 / 13-1 NCAC (T-1st) / NCAC Tournament Champions (2-0) / NCAA Regional Finalist (2-1) / 6th Final Ranking
- 2011 – 37-3 / 16-0 NCAC (1st) / NCAC Tournament Champions (2-0) / NCAA Champions (6-0) / 1st Final Ranking
- 2012 – 27-5 / 8-0 NCAC (1st) / NCAC Tournament Champions (3-0) / NCAA Regional Finalist (2-1) / 5th Final Ranking
- 2013 – 25-9 / 8-0 NCAC (1st) / NCAC Tournament Champions (3-0) / NCAA Regional Finalist (2-1) / 8th Final Ranking
- 2014 – 29-4 / 8-0 NCAC (1st) / NCAC Tournament Champions (3-0) / NCAA Regional Finalist (2-1) / 5th Final Ranking
- 2015 – 29-3 / 8-0 NCAC (1st) / NCAC Tournament Champions (3-0) / NCAA Finalist (5-1) / 2nd Final Ranking
- 2016 – 22-6 / 8-0 NCAC (1st) / NCAC Tournament Champions (3-0) / NCAA Second Round (1-1) / 13th Final Ranking
- 2017 – 27-3 / 8-0 NCAC (1st) / NCAC Tournament Champions (2-0) / NCAA Finalist (5-1) / 2nd Final Ranking
Totals – 455-71 (86.5%) / 162-2 NCAC (98.8%) / 35-1 NCAC Tournament (97.2%) / 41-14 NCAA Tournament (74.5%)
- 2011 AVCA Division III Coach of the Year
- 2 AVCA Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year Awards (2004, `07)
- 8 NCAC Coach of the Year Awards (2006, `07, `10, `11, `13, `14, `15, `17)
- 1 NCAA Elite 90 Award Winner Selection
- 32 AVCA All-American Selections
- 38 All-Great Lakes Region Selections
- 2 All-Great Lakes Region Freshmen of the Year Selections
- 10 NCAC Players of the Year Selections
- 5 NCAC Newcomers of the Year Selections
- 4 NCAC Libero of the Year Selections
- 13 NCAC Tournament MVP Selections
- 61 All-NCAC Selections
- 5 CoSIDA Academic All-America Selections
Highest Head Coach Winning Percentage in NCAA History, all divisions (through end of 2017 season)
- 91.1% Brady Starkey, Concordia St. Paul (II), 15 Seasons, ACTIVE, 499-4987.3%
- Teri Clemens, Washington – St. Louis (III), 15 Seasons, 529-77
- 86.5% Paco Labrador, Wittenberg (III), 15 Seasons, ACTIVE, 455-71
- 86.3% Russ Rose, Penn State, 39 Seasons, ACTIVE, 1246-198
- 86.3% Don Shaw, Stanford, 16 Seasons, 440-70
- 85.7% Amber Warners, Calvin (III), 17 Seasons, ACTIVE, 508-85
- 85.5% Dave Shoji, Hawaii, 42 Seasons, 1202-204-1
- 84.9% Rick Squires, Nebraska Kearney (II), 25 Seasons, ACTIVE, 810-144
- 85.7% Mary Wise, Florida, 31 Seasons, ACTIVE, 985-164
- 84.2% Jim Boos, Minnesota Duluth (II), 16 Seasons, ACTIVE, 438-82
- 84.1% Chris Catanach, Tampa (II), 34 Seasons, ACTIVE, 1040-196
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