University of Minnesota Athletics
McCutcheon Named National Coach of the Year
12/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) has announced that University of Minnesota head coach Hugh McCutcheon has been selected as the 2015 AVCA Division I Coach of the Year. McCutcheon becomes the first Golden Gopher head coach to receive the AVCA award in school history.
McCutcheon, who was named the 2015 Big Ten Coach of the Year and the AVCA North Region Coach of the Year, is in his fourth season with the Golden Gophers and in that span, has already amassed a 105-31 coaching record. The Golden Gophers went 18-2 in league action and enter the NCAA National Semifinals at 30-4 overall. Minnesota won an school-record 15 straight matches during conference play from Sept. 30 to Nov. 21, which included seven wins against ranked teams. Predicted to finish fifth in the conference this year after a 9-11 season in 2014, the Golden Gophers instead won their first Big Ten title since 2002.
McCutcheon and the Gophers earned a No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Championships this year, the highest seed in program history. The Gophers are making their fourth NCAA Championship appearance and first since 2009. Under McCutcheon's tutelage, four Golden Gophers were named AVCA All-Americans, the most in a single year for the Golden Gopher program.
Senior Daly Santana was named the Big Ten Player of the Year, Minnesota's first since 2003. Samantha Seliger-Swenson was named Big Ten and AVCA North Region Freshman of the Year, while Hannah Tapp garnered unanimous All-Big Ten honors. Paige Tapp was also named an Academic All-American in 2015.
Since joining the Minnesota program in 2012, McCutcheon has coached a total of seven individuals to nine All-America honors and a total of eight All-Big Ten honors.
The AVCA formally presented the award at the 2015 Jostens Coaches Honors Luncheon in Omaha, Neb., earlier today. The luncheon was held in conjunction with the 2015 AVCA Annual Convention and the NCAA Championships.
