Longhorns Hire Stein Metzger as Beach Volleyball Coach

Looking toward the future with their newly-added varsity sport, the Texas Longhorns have named Stein Metzger as head coach of their beach program.

Volleyball is a rapidly growing sport, especially for the Texas Longhorns, both on the court and on the sand. With the 2023 D-I Volleyball National Championship title under its belt and the announcement of adding beach volleyball to its list of D-I sports in August 2022, Texas was missing one key aspect - a head coach for its newly induced sport.

"Volleyball is very important at Texas," Texas Volleyball head coach Jerritt Elliott said. " ... I look forward to seeing all of our indoor volleyball fans fully support our Texas beach program on their path to being the best in the country."

Per Vice President and Athletics Director Chris Del Conte on Tuesday, two-time NCAA Championship head coach with the UCLA Bruins and two-time National Coach of the Year, Stein Metzger, was named the head man of the Texas beach volleyball program on Tuesday.

“We’re absolutely thrilled that Coach Metzger will be joining our illustrious group of elite coaches here at Texas,” Del Conte said. “He built a beach program from the ground up at UCLA, has had extraordinary success, won many championships in short order and is so highly respected in his sport...He’s also a coach who is relationship-driven, cultivates a great team culture and takes a holistic approach with his student-athletes."

Although the Texas Volleyball associate head coach, Erik Sullivan, took the title of head coach for the 2023 inaugural season consisting of the indoor players, the coaching torch will now be passed to Metzger.

Being an olympic/pro volleyball player himself, Metzger understands how to build an elite and competitive team. A two-time All-American as a UCLA athlete, Metzger has led the Bruins beach volleyball program since 2013. Under his guidance, UCLA snatched back-to-back NCAA titles in 2018 and 2019. Metzger finished his time at UCLA with an overall record of 266-61.

“I’m excited by the unique opportunity to lead Texas Athletics’ newest sport,” Metzger said. “The Longhorns Volleyball fanbase is second to none, and I’m determined to help create a competitive beach volleyball program that is worthy of their passion. ... My passion is to mentor and teach championship caliber people and to see them fulfill their dreams."

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You can follow Tori Garcia on Twitter @ToriCGarcia

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