Jacksonville State University Athletics

In looking for someone to carry Jacksonville State Volleyball's championship tradition into Conference USA, the Gamecocks found a head coach with a championship resume.
 
Jax State Athletics Director Greg Seitz announced the hiring of Derek Schroeder on May 6, 2023, bringing a coach that has won five conference titles in previous stops at Samford and Mercer. 
 
He comes to take over the indoor volleyball program for the Gamecocks after serving the past six seasons in the same capacity at Mercer. He replaces Todd Garvey after he stepped down following a five-year stint that brought two Ohio Valley and one ASUN Division title to Jax State.
 
"When looking for a head coach to carry our volleyball program into Conference USA, we couldn't have found a better candidate than Derek," Seitz said. "He has had a great deal of success at each of his prior coaching stops and we're excited to see how he can build upon the success that we became accustomed to that last five years under Todd and his staff."
 
Schroeder brings a 250-179 career record with him to Jax State, including 169 wins in eight seasons at Samford from 2008-15 and 81 more in his six seasons at Mercer from 2017-22. He won back-to-back Southern Conference regular-season titles at Mercer in 2020 and 2021, the first two SoCon championships in program history. At Samford, he won the SoCon North Division title in his first season in 2008 before claiming the SoCon Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2011 and 2014.
 
In his first year at the helm, Jax State struggled in a rebuild year after major roster turnover from the 2022 season saw major contributors depart from the program. The Gamecocks went 5-22 and 3-13 in CUSA action. There were many bright spots throughout the 2023 season including the play of junior Eastern Washington transfer Ellie Garrett and freshman Hana Aiana. Garrett brought home the CUSA Setter of the Week award, while Aiana was named CUSA Freshman of the Week due to their efforts in two conference victories against Sam Houston on Sep. 25.

Garrett went on to lead Jax State with 609 assists on 8,34 assists per set. Garrett and junior veteran Brooklyn Schiffli were tied with 18 services aces to lead the Gamecocks in 2023. Schiffli, who filled in the libero position for the season, led the squad in digs with 234 on 2.66 digs per set. Aiana was fourth on the team in kills with 140 and tallied 59 blocks. Redshirt-junior transfer Kaylee Mosely led the Gamecocks with 194 kills on 2.28 kills per set in her first season at Jax State.

In year two leading the Gamecocks, Schroeder and the team doubled their win total in a season that saw them go 10-21 overall and finish 3-15 in CUSA play. 
 
"Greg Seitz, Greg Bonds and the Jax State administration have been so great and patient through this entire process," Schroeder said. "I plan to repay that patience with a ton of hard work and tenacity to keep Jax State volleyball on the successful path it has been on. Jenna and I are very excited to be a part of Jacksonville State and a part of this community. We hope to have many years of success and happiness here in Jacksonville."
 
Both of Schroeder's head coaching stops prior to Jax State have seen quick success. When he stepped into his first head coaching job at Samford in 2008, the Bulldogs had mustered single-digit wins in three of the four seasons prior to his arrival. He led them to a 28-5 record, the SoCon North Division title and the finals of the SoCon Championship in his first season.
 
He would go on to post seven winning seasons in eight years with the Bulldogs, including five seasons with more than 20 wins. He posted more than 20 wins in four-straight years from 2011-14, including SoCon Championships and trips to the NCAA Tournament in the 2011 and 2014 seasons. He won the SoCon North Division a total of four times at Samford.
 
He coached three different SoCon Players of the Year with the Bulldogs, in addition to one SoCon Freshman of the Year and one SoCon Libero of the Year.
 
Schroeder went to Mercer in 2017, and by 2018 he led the Bears to more wins than in any other SoCon season in program history with 16. He would go on to lead the Bears to the SoCon titles in the 2020-21 spring season and again in the fall season in 2021. 
 
The 2021 season saw three Bears earn All-SoCon honors, including Libero of the Year Megan Smith, while Schroeder was named the SoCon Coach of the Year and had three more All-SoCon players in the spring season.
 
Schroeder got his start in the coaching profession at Furman in 2003, when he began a four-year stint as the Paladins' assistant coach. He spent the 2007 season as an assistant at Saint Louis, leading the Billikens to a 23-7 record before being tabbed as the head coach at Samford.
 
He is a native of Wheatley, Ontario, Canada, and a 1998 graduate of the University of Windsor, where he earned his bachelor's degree in human kinetics.