CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia volleyball head coach Shannon Wells announced the hiring of Travis Magorien as an assistant coach on Thursday (Dec. 14). Magorien comes to UVA from West Virginia, where he served as assistant coach during the 2023 season. He will oversee Virginia’s setters as well as coordinate the offense.
Prior to West Virginia, Magorien spent two years with Oklahoma’s volleyball program, where he played an integral role in landing the Sooners’ top-10 2022 recruiting class.
Magorien served as an associate head coach and recruiting coordinator with James Madison before joining the Sooners. During his time in Harrisonburg, the Dukes went 49-18 and 22-7 in the CAA.
Before joining JMU, Magorien spent the 2017 season as a volunteer assistant coach at Kentucky, acting as the primary setter coach and offensive coordinator, helping guide the Wildcats to the program’s first NCAA Elite Eight appearance and a 29-4 overall record.
A native of Agoura Hills, Calif., Magorien graduated in 2015 from Cal State Northridge, where he served as a four-year captain on the men’s volleyball team. The former setter ranks seventh all-time in CSUN program history with 2,911 assists. Following graduation, he served as the primary setter coach for his alma mater, spending the 2015-16 season with the women’s program and 2016-17 season with the men’s squad.
At UVA, Magorien replaces Kris Grunwald, who stepped away from the program earlier this month.
“It was very difficult to say goodbye to Kris [Grunwald] and it shows the type of person he is to make the decision he had to due to a family matter,” Wells said. “We will miss him tremendously at UVA. He helped us build an amazing foundation and was my rock throughout my first years as a head coach. There are no words to express my gratitude to him.
“With the staff change, it allowed me to think through the next five years of this program and what is needed to take the next steps in the ACC. I had a very short list and Travis quickly stood out as the perfect piece. I’ve had a very close eye on him throughout his career and he has continued to impress me with his knowledge, understanding and training of the setter position and how to score points on the offensive side of the ball. He loves the game, loves to learn, loves to be in the gym, is a great recruiter and believes in the development of the whole student-athlete. His experience at the Power Five level will have a major impact…