Matt Botsford (Head Coach)

Matthew Botsford completed his third season as head coach of the FGCU women’s volleyball team in 2016.  His teams have combined for an overall 67-28 (.705) record, including a 32-10 (.762) mark in ASUN play. Botsford was named the FGCU volleyball and beach volleyball coach by Director of Athletics Ken Kavanagh on Monday, Feb. 10, 2014.
 
Prior to joining the Green and Blue, Botsford served as an assistant coach at five different collegiate institutions, with a recent stint as the top assistant at Colorado State University.
 
Botsford, who played at Tri-State University (now Trine University) from 1995-98, was the lead assistant at Colorado State from May 2012 to February 2014.  He helped lead the Rams to two-consecutive conference championships with a trip to the NCAA tournament in both 2012 and 2013. In addition to the back-to-back Mountain West Conference titles, the program also recorded a program-best 27 consecutive wins in 2013.
 
During his three seasons on the FGCU bench, Botsford has turned the Eagles into one of the most competitive units in the ASUN Conference with the recruitment of athletes such as ASUN Setter of the Year Maggie Rick and Amanda Carroll, who finished this past season ranked 16th in the nation with 5.1 points per set.
 
In 2016, Botsford's squad produced one of its most successful seasons ever at 27-6, with the win total representing the most in Division I program history and falling two shy of the all-time mark.  The Eagles earned a trip to the ASUN postseason with an 11-3 conference record and downed Jacksonville and Kennesaw State before being edged out by Lipscomb, 3-1 in the championship match.
 
Five Eagles earned individual all-conference nods following the season. Three were tabbed first-Team All-Conference, the most selections in program history. Rick, who was also named ASUN Setter of the Year, and Carroll were unanimous selections, while senior Leigh Pudwill rounded out the Eagles' First-Team picks. Rookies Danielle Serrano and Giovanna Borgiotti earned ASUN All-Freshman honors.
 
Botsford's Eagles eclipsed the 20-win mark in his second season, compiling a 21-11 record in 2015. FGCU finished second in the Atlantic Sun with a 10-4 record.
 
FGCU continued to improve under Botsford, hitting .220 in his second season. Led by ASUN Freshman of the Year Amanda Carroll, the Eagles placed five on the Second Team, including a pair of freshman in Carroll and setter Maggie Rick.
 
In his first season at the helm of the Green and Blue, Botsford led the Eagles to an overall record 19-11 for five more wins than the previous season. He also guided the team to an 11-3 conference record and a second-place standing in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
 
Individually, Botsford’s team earned five all-conference awards. A pair of Eagles earned All-Conference First Team selections in junior Eleonora Kazarian and senior Olivia Mesner, while two more members of the Green and Blue were tabbed to the All-Conference Second Team in seniors Whitney Masters and Gigi Meyer. First-year outside hitter Mackenzie Allen rounded out FGCU's laurels as a member of the All-Freshman Team.  In addition to FGCU's five all-conference members, Meyer was honored as the A-Sun's Setter of the Year and earned Academic All-Conference honors.
 
The five all-conference winners marked the most FGCU had ever been awarded since the Eagles joined the league in 2007. FGCU tied top-ranked Lipscomb University for the most representatives amongst all three all-conference squads this year.
 
Statistically, the Eagles increased their overall attack percentage to .212 in Botsford’s inaugural season while also improving in assists per set and digs per set. The team saw several records set as Mesner become the all-time leader in all block categories and Meyer took over as the all-time leader in assists.
 
Prior to his time at Colorado State, Botsford served as an assistant coach at Notre Dame, Miami, IUPUI and the University of Indianapolis. Furthermore, he served as an interim head coach at his alma mater at the age of 21 and has international and national coaching experience.
 
Botsford, 39, was the lead recruiter at Notre Dame from February 2008 until July 2011, and in 2010 and 2011 his classes were ranked 13th and 15th, respectively, in the nation by media outlets. The Irish advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2009 after winning the Big East title and going undefeated through the conference schedule (14-0). In total, Botsford coached two All-American winners and six All-Big East performers – including the 2010 Big East Freshman of the Year Andrea McHugh – during his time in South Bend.
 
Prior to 3+ years at Notre Dame, Botsford cultivated relationships with players and coaches throughout Florida as he served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Miami for nearly four years from June 2004 to February 2008. He helped solidify two of the highest-ranked recruiting classes in the relatively short history of the program, signing at least one top-100 rated player in each of his final three years and the Hurricanes’ first top-50 recruit.
 
During his time with Miami, Botsford coached two All-Americans and five All-ACC players. In addition, he recruited Lane Carico, who was named the 2011 ACC Player of the Year. Carico supplemented a core group of starters Botsford recruited which led Miami to three straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Botsford got his start in coaching by serving as the interim head coach for both the men’s and women’s volleyball programs at Tri-State from November 1998 through June 1999. He parlayed his experience in those roles into an assistant position at the University of Indianapolis where he was at for one year (June 1999-May 2000). Botsford’s final stop before heading to the University of Miami was as an assistant at IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis) from May 2001 until June 2004, coaching two-time Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year Rebekah Pallikan.
 
Outside of the collegiate landscape, Botsford also has a vast array of experience. In the year between his stints at Notre Dame and Colorado State he was the head coach of Lindesberg Volley as part of Sweden’s Elite Series, leading the club to a first-ever league title and automatic representation in European Cup play. While with Lindesberg Volley from August 2011 through May 2012, Botsford coached four players who went on to play for Sweden’s National Team.
 
The foray into Sweden wasn’t the first for Botsford as he played professionally with the Vingaker Volleyball Club in the country in 2002-03, the final of his three professional stints. In the collegiate offseason he also played from 1998-2003 on beach tours with both the Midwest Professional Volleyball Association (MPVA) and the Extreme Volleyball Professionals (EVP), the latter of which named him the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2000.
 
Botsford was selected as an assistant coach for the 2007 USA Select Program, which trains elite volleyball players in preparation for the U.S. National Team. In his one year as part of the program, Botsford guided his team to a bronze medal in the HP Global Championships as the head coach of the USA Silver team.
 
A 1998 graduate from Tri-State with a degree in Social Studies Education and a minor in General Science, Botsford was a two-year captain who graduated as the program’s all-time leader in kills, digs and blocks and was named an All-American Scholar Athlete as a senior. In 2006, he was inducted into the Tri-State Hall of Fame. Botsford received a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Indianapolis in 2004.
 
Matt and his wife Lindsey reside in Estero and have a beautiful daughter, Harper (1), and son, Cache Nolan (born Dec. 4, 2017).
 
What They’re Saying About Matt
 
“Matt is an excellent hire for FGCU. He’s an incredible person, a hard worker and a great recruiter. He also has ties to the state of Florida while having recruited for Miami for several years which will bode to his advantage.”
 
-Nicole Lantagne Welch, University of California Santa Barbara Head Volleyball Coach & former University of Miami Head Volleyball Coach
 
“Matt is certainly ready to be a head coach. He’s got great presence, great energy and he’s at the time of his life that he can make this move and be very successful.”
 
-Tom Hilbert, Colorado State Head Volleyball Coach
 
“Matt is a very, very strong coach, a good teacher and someone who relates really well with student-athletes. He’s exceptionally organized and will bring a ton of energy and new life into the program. I have tremendous confidence that he will do an outstanding job and make an immediate impact at FGCU.”
 
-Debbie Brown, Notre Dame Head Volleyball Coach

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Danny Mahy (Camp director)

Danny Mahy, a Miami, Fla. native, recently completed his 13th season as a member of the FGCU volleyball coaching staff. After being on the sideline for the 2004 and 2005 seasons, Mahy returned to FGCU in 2008 after two years away from the program. He spent the 2007 season as a member former FGCU coach Dave Nichols' staff at Barry University and brings several years of experience with winning programs to FGCU.
 
Mahy has twice been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) "Thirty Under 30" list. The award, which was created in 2009, honors 30 up-and-coming volleyball coaches each year, who are under the age of 30, for their hard work and dedication to the sport of volleyball.

Last Fall, Mahy helped the Eagles produce one of their most successful seasons ever at 27-6, with the win total representing the most in Division I program history and falling two shy of the all-time mark.  FGCU earned a trip to the ASUN postseason with an 11-3 conference record and downed Jacksonville and Kennesaw State before being edged out by Lipscomb, 3-1 in the championship match.

Five Eagles earned individual all-conference nods following the season. Three were tabbed first-Team All-Conference, the most selections in program history. Maggie Rick, who was also named ASUN Setter of the Year, and Amanda Carroll were unanimous selections, while senior Leigh Pudwill rounded out the Eagles' First-Team picks. Rookies Danielle Serrano and Giovanna Borgiotti earned ASUN All-Freshman honors.

In 2015, Mahy helped FGCU to a 21-11 season and a second place finish in the Atlantic Sun. Individually, the Eagles matched their five All-Conference selections from the year prior, including a Freshman of the Year in Amanda Carroll. 
 
In head coach Matt Botsford’s first season, Mahy assisted as the Eagles produced an overall record 19-11 for five more wins than the previous season. He also helped guide the team to an 11-3 conference record and a second-place standing in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
 
Individually, the team earned a program best five all-conference awards. A pair of Eagles earned All-Conference First Team selections in junior Eleonora Kazarian and senior Olivia Mesner, while two more members of the Green and Blue were tabbed to the All-Conference Second Team in seniors Whitney Masters and Gigi Meyer. First-year outside hitter Mackenzie Allen rounded out FGCU's laurels as a member of the All-Freshman Team.  In addition to FGCU's five all-conference members, Meyer was honored as the A-Sun's Setter of the Year and earned Academic All-Conference honors.
 
The five all-conference winners marked the most FGCU had ever been awarded since the Eagles joined the league in 2007. FGCU tied top-ranked Lipscomb University for the most representatives amongst all three all-conference squads this year.
 
Mahy also helped lead the 2012 edition of the Eagles to a 22-10 record (16-2 A-Sun), their third regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the A-Sun Tournament. During the campaign, FGCU swept 10 conference opponents and won 15 consecutive matchesas head coach Dave Nichols earned his first career A-Sun Coach of the Year honor. The Eagles’ 15-match winning streak is the longest streak in the program’s Division I history and is also the third longest streak in the FGCU record books.
 
Mahy served as an assistant coach at FGCU during the first two years of the program. He helped build the first-year program into a national power in just one season, helping guide the Eagles to the 2004 regional semifinals during their first year of competition. In 2005, the Eagles advanced to the regional finals.
 
Prior to his stint at FGCU, he served as an assistant coach at Miami-Dade CC under Llida Medero. During his tenure with MDCC, the Sharks won the 2002 NJCAA National Championship and finished 2003 as the NJCAA National Runner-up. He also served as an assistant coach to the USA South Volleyball Club from 2003-2005 and a variety of other club teams in South Florida.
 
Mahy spent two years as the assistant varsity girls’ coach at his alma mater, Miami Sunset High, from 2000-2001 and was also head coach of the boys’ JV program at Miami Sunset.
 
In addition to Mahy’s college coaching experience, the Miami native has extensive experience at the club level. Mahy currently serves as the head coach for USA South Volleyball. Under Mahy, USA South has achieved a top-20 national ranking in each of the last five years.  In 2014, his USA South team earned third at the Disney National Qualifier and took third at the AAU Gold National Championships.
 
As a player at Miami Sunset High, Mahy was named team MVP in 1999 and 2001 and led the team to the 2001 Miami-Dade County Championship.