University of Minnesota Athletics
Meet the Coaches
Head Coach Keegan Cook was hired in December of 2022 to become the eighth full-time head volleyball coach at the University of Minnesota. In year one of his tenure at Minnesota, he led the Gophers to a 17-13 (12-8 Big Ten) record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. After defeating Utah State in the first round, the Gophers fell to No. 12 Creighton in the Round of 32. Four players were named All-Big Ten in 2023 under his watch, including reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Taylor Landfair and Kylie Murr (first team). Opposite Lydia Grote and setter Melani Shaffmater were both named Second Team All-Big Ten. Prior to Minnesota, Cook was the head coach at Washington for eight seasons, leading the team to eight NCAA Tournaments, six Sweet 16's, four Elite Eight's and one Final Four. A three-time AVCA Region Coach of the Year (2015, 2020-21, 2021), Cook led UW to four Pac-12 Regular Season Championships, coaching 37 All-Pac 12 selections, 18 AVCA All-Americans, one Pac-12 Player of the Year and two Pac-12 Setters of the Year. He led the Huskies to the 2020-21 Final Four, the same year he earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors.
Nellie Coleman enters her first season as an assistant coach/general manager for the Golden Gophers. The position is the first of its kind in NCAA Volleyball and serves to help Minnesota volleyball transition into the modern era of collegiate athletics. A former member of the U.S. National Team (2008-13), Coleman also played professionally for five years (2009-14). She was a three-time First Team AVCA All-American as a setter at UCLA from 2005-09. Coleman earned her first coaching experience as an assistant at Portland University from 2014-16. She then spent the 2017 season as a director of operations at Arizona State. She had a five-year stint on the U.S. Women’s National Team. With Team USA, Coleman helped the team earn a bronze medal at the 2011 Pan American Cup, a silver at the Montreux Volley Masters in 2010, a gold at the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix and a silver at the 2009 Final Four Intercontinental Cup. “I am excited to work alongside Keegan and the rest of the staff to continue empowering these student-athletes and contributing to the legacy within Gopher Athletics,” she said. “I’m thankful to Mark Coyle, Julie Manning, Keegan Cook and the rest of the athletic department for giving me this opportunity.”
Pedro Mendes was hired in January of 2024 as an assistant coach at Minnesota. He previously worked as a volunteer assistant with the program in 2022, helping the team reach the NCAA's Sweet 16. He served as an assistant coach at Northwestern in 2023. In 2022, Mendes played a key role in helping the Gophers finish 22-9 (15-5 Big Ten). He helped coach six All-Big Ten honorees in 2022, including the Big Ten Player of the Year, three First Team All-Big Ten selections and two Big Ten All-Freshman Team honorees. Working mainly with the middle blockers, Mendes helped the Gophers finish No. 4 nationally in 2022 with 2.92 blocks per set. He'll work with the middles once again in 2024. Prior to working at Minnesota in 2022, Mendes was the head coach at Hylte/Halmstad Volley (Sweden) where he led the team to its first national and cup championship ever in 2021. The team repeated as champions in 2022. Mendes worked as an assistant coach for Eczasibasi Vitra Istanbul (Turkey), one of the top women's volleyball clubs in the world. He started his volleyball playing career when he was 10 years old and played until his last professional season at the age of 30. He played in Brazil, France, Germany, Israel, Sweden and Switzerland during his career.
Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd was hired as an assistant coach for Minnesota volleyball on Jan. 20, 2024. Jones Schoonderwoerd spent the 2023 season at California as the team’s interim head coach after taking over two weeks before the regular season started. She was hired as assistant coach before the former head coach stepped down in July of 2023. Under her leadership, Cal earned its first winning record since 2019 (and its second in a decade), finishing the year at 16-15 (5-15 Pac-12) with an undefeated 11-0 non-conference record. In college, she played for four years at Washington under Gophers head coach Keegan Cook, earning an AVCA All-American nod as well as three All-Pac-12 honors. She helped the program appear in two Elite Eights. She played her graduate season at Cal Poly (beach volleyball), where she was later named an All-American. She led the team to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and became just the second player in NCAA history to earn All-American distinction in both indoor and beach volleyball. Post-graduation, she played for three years on the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) beach volleyball tour, earning a Rookie of the Year nomination in 2019, while also playing on Team USA in the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) world beach volleyball tour.
