TEMPE – Sun Devil Volleyball and head coach JJ Van Niel have hired Shaughn McDonald as the newest assistant coach to round out the staff, coming to Arizona State from Houston.
McDonald has spent time on collegiate staffs at Houston, Saint Francis University (PA), Pitt and South Florida and has previous experience coaching club volleyball.
“As we went through the hiring process, Shaughn jumped out at us for a few reasons,” Van Niel said. “First of all, his passion for and knowledge of the sport was immediately apparent, and we know his work ethic will be an asset for us. He’s a very well-rounded coach, having filled various roles at prior stops. Lastly, he’s just someone we as a staff really felt we connected with easily and think he complements the rest of us well. We are excited to add him to the Sun Devil family!”
McDonald’s most recent stop was at Houston where he joined staff as the Director of Operations and Technical Coordinator in the spring of 2023 and was with the Cougars for the 2024 season, one year of experience in the Big 12 under his belt already. Last season, Houston advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and had one All-American, three all-region and three all-Big 12 players.
Prior to Houston, McDonald was the Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at his alma mater Saint Francis, where he started late 2020 and was there until the spring of 2022. While at Saint Francis, he helped lead the Red Flash to their first postseason appearance in seven years. McDonald coached four of All-Conference honorees, including NEC Player of the Year, Madi Tyus and NEC Rookie of the Year Maggie Hogan.
McDonald returned to his hometown and joined the University of Pittsburgh as the Director of Volleyball Operations in 2020, where he worked closely with the women’s volleyball team with their day-to-day operations. He was previously a volunteer assistant at Pitt for the 2018 season when he helped the program to its second consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference Championship in 2018.
In 2019, McDonald worked at South Florida as the Director of Volleyball Operations, assisting with the daily operations of the volleyball program, scouting and DataVolley operations.
Over the years McDonald has worked in the club volleyball scene with stints at Pittsburgh Elite Volleyball Association, St. Pete Volleyball…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Arizona State University Athletics…