Ole Miss volleyball coach Kayla Banwarth was announced Wednesday as an assistant coach for the U.S. National Collegiate Team
Banwarth served as an evaluator for the team last month and also a former member of Team USA herself is now on the roster.
The roster consists of 28 current collegiate players, including eight from SEC schools, and will meet for training July 5-12 in Anaheim, Calif. The squad will train and compete alongside the U.S. Women’s National Team as it makes its final preparations for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
A National Champion with alma mater Nebraska, Banwarth began her Team USA resume in 2011 and helped the team earn a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The former libero and USA Volleyball’s Indoor Most Improved Player of the Year, she collected eight total medals during her six seasons with the Stars and Stripes.
Former AVCA National Coach of the Year Chris McGown, who most recently led the BYU men’s program, has been tabbed as head coach of the Gold roster. In addition to Banwarth, other assistants include current BYU women’s head coach, Heather Olmstead, and three-time Olympian and two-time silver medalist Tayyiba Haneef-Park.
Banwarth is one of just three current female Division I head coaches to have won an Olympic medal as a player, and the only one at the helm of a Power 5 program.
HottyToddy.com staff report
