Jen Malcom Named Cal Volleyball Head Coach

Jen Malcom has spent the past five years as an associate head coach, first at Iowa State and then at UCLA.

VB12/9/2023 9:00 AM | By: Cal Athletics

13-Year Coaching Veteran To Lead Bears

BERKELEY – Jen Malcom, a 13-year coaching veteran across four different Power 5 programs, has agreed to become the next head coach of the Cal Volleyball program, Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton announced Saturday.
 
Malcom comes to Berkeley from UCLA, where she served as the Bruins’ associate head coach. Before her stint with the Bruins, Malcom spent seven years at her alma mater, Iowa State – first as assistant coach from 2016-18 and later as associate head coach from 2019-22. The Cyclones posted the program’s first 20-win season in 2022, culminating in the latest of Malcom’s five NCAA Tournament appearances with the Iowa State staff. She also helped lead the Cyclones to a National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) title in 2018. In total, 13 of Malcom’s players earned a combined 20 AVCA All-Region nods, including a Regional Player of the Year and a Regional Freshman of the Year. Seven of her athletes also collected a total of 12 All-Big 12 awards.
 
While at UCLA this past season, Malcom served as the interim head coach for the Bruins for seven matches, leading them to a 4-3 record while head coach Alfee Reft worked with the U.S. National Team. UCLA finished the year at 18-12 (10-10 Pac-12) and three victories over top-25 opponents, two of which were on the road in the final three weekends of the season. Two Bruins each earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Pacific South Region and All-Pac-12 honors.
 
Malcolm replaces interim head coach Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd, who guided the Golden Bears to a record of 16-15 (5-15 Pac-12) in 2023. Cal will head to the ACC next year with an all-time record of 11-8 against its new conference opponents, not including fellow newcomers Stanford and SMU.
 
“We are thrilled to welcome Jen to Cal as our new head volleyball coach,” Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said. “Jen has coached at the highest levels of college volleyball and has a proven record of success as both a student-athlete and a coach. With her 13 years of experience as an assistant coach, along with her ability to relate to and develop student-athletes, I am confident that she is the right…