Press Release courtesy of New Mexico Athletics
The University of New Mexico volleyball program and 12th-year Lobo head coach Jeff Nelson have the announced the addition of Kyle Weindel as the associate head coach for the indoor volleyball team.
Weindel arrives at New Mexico with considerable experience, both as a head coach and as an assistant coach at the highest level of collegiate volleyball. He comes to UNM after a three-year stint as an assistant coach at USC and was previously the head coach at Montana State.
“Kyle will be an outstanding addition to our staff here at UNM,” Nelson said. “He brings extensive experience in all phases of volleyball. I am thrilled he has chosen to join our program.”
“I’ve know Jeff for a while and for the last couple of years he’s talked about an opportunity of me joining the staff and I think that was a good idea,” Weindel added. “They’ve been very successful here and he’s always had good programs and he has a good, young group here. The sky could be the limit as to how good this group could be.”
At USC, Weindel served as the team’s volunteer assistant coach in 2015 and later as a full-time assistant coach for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He helped coach the Trojans to a 33-3 record in 2015 as USC advanced to the NCAA regional final as the top seed in the tournament.
USC received its 27th consecutive NCAA berth and went to a second regional final with Weindel on staff in 2017, where the Trojans fell to national runner-up Florida.
Prior to arriving at USC, Weindel was the head coach at Montana State from 2012-14, where he compiled a 28-60 overall record (17-39 in Big Sky matches).
In 2012, he guided the Bobcats to a 15-14 record and a 9-11 mark in Big Sky play. His first season included a road victory over rival Montana on the final day of the regular season to help MSU clinch a spot in the Big Sky tournament for the first time in seven seasons.
While at Montana State, Weindel coached a pair of Big Sky All-Conference selections in Sarah Horton and Natalee Godfrey as well as 2013 Freshman of the Year Kennadie Clute. His teams also produced seven Big Sky All-Academic choices.
Before Montana State, Weindel was an assistant coach at Ohio University for four seasons (2008-11) and an assistant at Saint Louis for the 2007 season.
In his time at Ohio, Weindel helped guide the squad to three Mid-American Conference titles and three NCAA appearances. The program notched a 95-39 overall record with a 50-13 mark in MAC matches.
Weindel was the architect of the Ohio blocking and defensive schemes, which ranked among the best in the nation, including No. 1 in 2010. The Bobcats ranked No. 1 in defense in MAC matches all four seasons with Weindel.
During his tenure with the Bobcats, Weindel was the program’s camp and video coordinator. He also helped mentor two regular-season MAC MVPs, three MAC tournament MVPs, two AVCA All-Americans and 14 All-Mid-American performers.
In 2011, Weindel was honored with the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) Thirty Under 30 Award, which is given to thirty up-and-coming volleyball coaches under 30 years old in the sport at all levels of the game.
Prior to Ohio, Weindel began his women’s collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Saint Louis in 2007. With the Billikens, he assisted with the daily operations of the program, including training, recruiting, and video analysis.
In 2006, Weindel founded and served as executive director of the Indiana Volleyball Academy. From 2003-07, he served as an assistant coach with the Asics Munciana Volleyball Club Samurai 18 Open team. The club produced 14 high school All-Americans, five AVCA All-Americans, one Volleyball Magazine All-American and three Indiana Players of the Year honors. The club also had five athletes named to Volleyball Magazine’s Fab 50 recruit list.
Weindel has also been involved with USA Volleyball where he has served as an assistant with the Boys’ High Performance Summer Camp.
In 2005, Weindel was an assistant with the Ball State men’s volleyball team and held that position until 2007. As a student-athlete, he was a four-year letterwinner at Ball State and played an integral role on the Cardinals squad that advanced to the 2002 NCAA Final Four. For his efforts, he garnered All-American recognition.
“Jeff was a graduate of Ball State University and so was I,” Weindel said. “Jeff played a couple of years with my collegiate coach and through the alumni network, we became familiar. When I was with Montana State we actually played here in the 2014 season. So there’s always been that dialogue “
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Weindel earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in exercise physiology from Ball State in 2003.
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