University of Minnesota Athletics
Women's Golf
Stitz, Jimmy
Jimmy Stitz
- Title:
- Assistant Director of Athletic Performance - Men’s Basketball & Women’s Golf
Jimmy Stitz joined the University of Minnesota Athletic Performance staff in May 2024, bringing with him a wealth of international championship experience and a distinguished track record in collegiate and Olympic sport. As Assistant Director of Athletic Performance, Stitz oversees the men’s basketball program, striving to elevate the Gophers through data-driven training, strategic recovery protocols, and a relentless commitment to athlete development.
Prior to Minnesota, Stitz served as the Director of Olympic Sports at Utah State University. During his three-year tenure with the Aggies, he played a pivotal role in guiding the men’s basketball team to three consecutive postseason appearances, including a Mountain West regular-season championship in 2023 and the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory since 2001. Simultaneously, he was integral to the resurgence of the Utah State women’s volleyball team, helping secure three straight conference titles and back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths—milestones not achieved in over four decades.
Stitz’s impact on elite sport extends well beyond the collegiate level. For nearly a decade, he was a cornerstone of the USA Volleyball Women’s Senior National Team, serving as an athletic performance coach and director of operations. Beginning as a seasonal assistant in 2014 through the prestigious USOPC Mentorship Program, Stitz quickly ascended to lead the team’s performance initiatives ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where Team USA captured the bronze medal. His tenure culminated in historic fashion when the squad clinched America’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in women’s indoor volleyball at the Tokyo Games in 2021, a crowning achievement among seven gold medals, three silvers, and two bronzes he helped secure across major international competitions.
Stitz’s journey into high-performance sport began with internships at the former U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, and through a nationally competitive assistantship awarded by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) in 2013. While completing his master’s degree at Cal State Fullerton, he served as the first-ever head strength and conditioning coach at Charter Oak High School, rapidly expanding the school’s athletic performance footprint from one team to six in just over a year.
A Minnesota native, Stitz holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a minor in athletic training from Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he also launched his coaching career in 2007 as a volunteer assistant working across baseball, basketball, hockey, and football. He later earned his master’s in kinesiology from California State University, Fullerton. Stitz is an NSCA Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach (RSCC) and continues to deepen his own athletic pursuits as a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blue belt.
Away from the gym, Stitz enjoys family life with his wife, whom he married in 2020, and their two children.
Stitz at at Glance
Basketball
Conference Championship: 2023
NCAA Appearances: 2022, 2023
NIT Appearances: 2021
Volleyball
Conference Championship: 2021, 2022, 2023
NCAA Appearances: 2022, 2023
Team USA
Gold Medals: 7x, Including the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan
Silver Medals: 3x, Including the 2019 World Cup
Bronze Medals: 2x, Including the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Prior to Minnesota, Stitz served as the Director of Olympic Sports at Utah State University. During his three-year tenure with the Aggies, he played a pivotal role in guiding the men’s basketball team to three consecutive postseason appearances, including a Mountain West regular-season championship in 2023 and the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory since 2001. Simultaneously, he was integral to the resurgence of the Utah State women’s volleyball team, helping secure three straight conference titles and back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths—milestones not achieved in over four decades.
Stitz’s impact on elite sport extends well beyond the collegiate level. For nearly a decade, he was a cornerstone of the USA Volleyball Women’s Senior National Team, serving as an athletic performance coach and director of operations. Beginning as a seasonal assistant in 2014 through the prestigious USOPC Mentorship Program, Stitz quickly ascended to lead the team’s performance initiatives ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where Team USA captured the bronze medal. His tenure culminated in historic fashion when the squad clinched America’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in women’s indoor volleyball at the Tokyo Games in 2021, a crowning achievement among seven gold medals, three silvers, and two bronzes he helped secure across major international competitions.
Stitz’s journey into high-performance sport began with internships at the former U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, and through a nationally competitive assistantship awarded by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) in 2013. While completing his master’s degree at Cal State Fullerton, he served as the first-ever head strength and conditioning coach at Charter Oak High School, rapidly expanding the school’s athletic performance footprint from one team to six in just over a year.
A Minnesota native, Stitz holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a minor in athletic training from Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he also launched his coaching career in 2007 as a volunteer assistant working across baseball, basketball, hockey, and football. He later earned his master’s in kinesiology from California State University, Fullerton. Stitz is an NSCA Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach (RSCC) and continues to deepen his own athletic pursuits as a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blue belt.
Away from the gym, Stitz enjoys family life with his wife, whom he married in 2020, and their two children.
Stitz at at Glance
Basketball
Conference Championship: 2023
NCAA Appearances: 2022, 2023
NIT Appearances: 2021
Volleyball
Conference Championship: 2021, 2022, 2023
NCAA Appearances: 2022, 2023
Team USA
Gold Medals: 7x, Including the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan
Silver Medals: 3x, Including the 2019 World Cup
Bronze Medals: 2x, Including the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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