Two Gophers volleyball assistants depart, one joins the fold

The Gophers have hired Pedro Mendes as an assistant coach.

Gophers volleyball coach Keegan Cook announced on Wednesday that assistant coaches Eric Barber and Kylin Munoz have made the decision to move on from their positions. Meanwhile, Minnesota has hired Pedro Mendes to fill one of the positions, and the U will hire one more assistant to finalized its coaching staff this spring.

Minnesota made its eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023 and four Gophers players were named All-Big Ten under Barber and Munoz's tutelage.

“We have made the difficult decision to move closer to family at this time,” Barber and Munoz said in a joint statement. “Minnesota will always be a special place because of the wonderful people we have grown to love.”

Mendes, meanwhile, is a former volunteer assistant coach for the Gophers and most recently spent the 2023 season as a full-time assistant at Northwestern.

“My family and I are extremely excited to be headed back to Minnesota,” Mendes said in a statement. “Gopher volleyball has a special place in our hearts, and I can’t wait to come in and help the program reach its full potential in the pursuit to win a national championship.”

Prior to working at Minnesota as a volunteer assistant in 2022 and as a full-time assistant at Northwestern in 2023, Mendes was the head coach at Hylte/Halmstad Volley in Sweden, where he led the team to its first national and cup championship in 2021.

“Passionate professional and sincere are just a few of the words I would use to describe the coach we are getting in Pedro Mendes,” Cook said in a statement. “Since my first introduction and in every subsequent conversation, I have been impressed with his consistency and his character. In today’s day and age of college athletics, who surrounds, counsels and supports our student-athletes is the most important decision we make. We’re getting it right today with Pedro Mendes.” 

Gophers volleyball coach Keegan Cook / Gopher Athletics