PROVO, Utah — BYU men’s volleyball head coach Shawn Olmstead reached 200 career Saturday night in a victory over Fort Valley State at home in the Smith Fieldhouse.
Olmstead is the second BYU men’s volleyball head coach to reach the 200-win plateau. He joins legendary former coach Carl McGown, the program’s winningest coach. McGown racked up 205 total wins in 336 matches. Olmstead has reached 200 wins in 278 matches.
“I’ve been fortunate. I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I think that every day,” Olmstead said after Saturday night's match. “These young men and all the staff over the years have put a little bit of faith and trust not just in me but in the program, the school, the institution. It really has nothing to do with me. It’s all about those people. These guys right now, all the outstanding athletes I’ve had over the years, they’ve made my job kind of easy at times. I’m just unbelievably blessed and grateful I get to come here every day and be a part of their lives. Hopefully I can influence them a little bit and win some volleyball matches in the meantime.”
a special win tonight🫶 pic.twitter.com/tkC8A4JEVx
— BYU Men’s Volleyball (@BYUmvolleyball) February 22, 2026
Shawn Olmstead Bio
Olmstead has been the head coach of the BYU men’s volleyball program since the 2016 season. He has advanced BYU to the national championship match of the NCAA Tournament three times so far in his coaching career: 2016, 2017 and 2021. He also helped BYU to three-straight NCAA Final Four appearances for the first time in program history from 2016-2018.
Olmstead led BYU to three MPSF regular-season titles in his first three season as head coach from 2016-2018 as well. Along with this, he guided BYU to three MPSF Tournament championships in 2016, 2018 and 2021.
He is a four-time MPSF Coach of the Year (2016, 2018, 2020, 2021). Nine athletes that he has coached are All-Americans, with a total of 19 AVCA All-America honors. At the end of the 2020 season, his winning percentage of .784 (105-29) was the highest of any active men’s volleyball coach in the NCAA Division I-II.
Olmstead coached BYU to a winning record for six years in-a-row (2016-2021) at the helm of the program. For the first time since 1996 in BYU Men’s Volleyball history, the Cougars finished with a losing record last season in 2022. When asked about the 2022 season, Olmstead said, “I was proud of our team and the way they stayed the course throughout the entire season. It was a difficult season no doubt as it relates to overall wins and losses. Despite this, the team never hung their heads and never shied away from the task at hand. I’m proud of them for that. The amount of gratitude we have as a coaching staff for them and their heart, can’t be put into words.” Two seasons prior, Olmstead and the Cougars got their magical 2020 season devastatingly cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, Olmstead guided BYU to a 17-1 (6-0 MPSF) record and No. 1 national ranking. He also coached the AVCA National Player Of the Year in 2020 as well, Gabi Garcia Fernandez.
Throughout Olmstead’s career, he’s coached six AVCA First Team All-Americans, namely Gabi Garcia Fernandez (2021, 20), Davide Gardini (2020, 21, 22), Wil Stanley (2020), Brenden Sander (2018, 16), Ben Patch (2016) and Jake Langlois (2017). In his first year with the men’s volleyball team, Olmstead coached the squad to the national championship match of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. He led his team to an outright MPSF regular-season and tournament title while being named the 2016 MPSF Coach of the Year. The Cougars finished with a 27-4 (19-3) record in 2016.
Prior to BYU
- Served two years as assistant coach for women’s volleyball at Utah State
- Put together the second-best recruiting class in the WAC in 2007
- As defensive coach, helped the Aggies rank 25th nationally in blocks per game in 2007
- Served as assistant coach for one year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
- Helped Mustangs to 19-6 record in 2005
- Served as volunteer assistant coach for UVU in 2004
- Coached with IVA High Performance and at various volleyball camps
Years as BYU Women's Volleyball Head Coach
- 2011-2014
- Led BYU to a 30-5 (16-2 WCC) record in 2014 where it won an outright conference title and advanced to the championship match of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history
- Coached three 2014 AVCA All-Americans: Jennifer Hamson, Alexa Gray and Amy Boswell
- Collected his 100th win in four seasons
- Named the AVCA Division I National Coach of the Year in 2014
- Named the 2014 All-Pacific South Region Coach of the Year
- Named the 2014 WCC Co-Coach of the Year
- Led BYU to a 24-7 overall record in 2013, including a second-consecutive round of 16 NCAA tournament finish
- Finished the 2013 season with a 15-3 WCC record that included a 10-0 start to conference play
- His players received an All-American honor, two all-region honors, four All-WCC honors and WCC Freshman of the Year in 2013
- Led the Cougars to their first conference title since 2005, their best record since 1998 at 28-4 and a finish in the round of 16 at the NCAA tournament, the team's first showing at the tournament since 2007, during the 2012 season
- Coached four All-Americans, including AVCA first teamer Jennifer Hamson, in 2012
- Named 2012 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year and 2012 Pacific Region Coach of the Year
- His players received four all-region honors, WCC Player of the Year, WCC Freshman of the Year, WCC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, four All-WCC honors and two WCC All-Freshman honors in 2012
- Led Cougars to 21-9 (10-6 WCC) season in 2011
- Coached players to three all-conference honors, three academic all-conference honors, one all-region accolade and one AVCA All-America citation in 2011
- Helped the team to a third-place finish in BYU’s first season in the West Coast Conference
- Led the Cougars to their first 20-plus win season since 2007 in the 2011 season
- Coached the team to a win against Utah in the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Deseret First Duel