Donan Cruz Named Men’s Volleyball Head Coach
June 16, 2021 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Ball State University has selected Donan Cruz, a four-time national coach of the year at Grand View University, as the new head coach of the men's volleyball program.
"We are excited to welcome Donan and his family to the Ball State community," Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Beth Goetz said. "Donan has proven himself as one of the top coaches in the game, building the Grand View program from the ground up and developing it into a perennial national powerhouse. His work ethic and commitment to developing his student-athletes on and off the court make him the perfect fit to lead our program."
Cruz, who will become just the fourth head coach in the storied history of Ball State men's volleyball, is no stranger to success in his own right. Since leading the inaugural Grand View men's team to a 13-13 mark during the 2012 season, Cruz has compiled a 211-55 record and is currently the winningest coach in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) men's volleyball history with his .793 winning percentage.
"My family and I are appreciative of this opportunity and are honored to be joining the Ball State University community," Cruz said. "Athletic Director Beth Goetz has been great throughout this process, and her vision of the athletic department was integral in how I see the future of men's volleyball evolving at Ball State. I look forward to building meaningful relationships with our new team, alumni, and the Muncie community!"
The only head coach in the 10-year history of the Vikings program, Cruz has led GVU to a pair of NAIA Men's Volleyball National Championships, with the first coming in 2018 and the latest this past season. The 2021 Grand View squad finished the season with an unblemished 26-0 record and swept all four of its matches in the NAIA Men's Volleyball National Championship, including a 25-23, 25-18, 25-15 victory over No. 2 Benedictine University at Mesa in the championship match.
"I am eager to get to work and compete in a conference that has set a very high standard of volleyball on the national scale," Cruz added. "My goal is to ensure our team is accountable for upholding both the academic and athletic expectations we set in order for us to compete at a high level. There is going to be an exciting journey ahead, and I am honored and privileged to lead this program into the next chapter of Ball State men's volleyball history."
In addition to leading the Vikings to a pair of national championships, his teams have finished as national runner-up three times (2016, 2017, and 2019) and national semifinalists twice (2014 and 2015). For his work at Grand View, Cruz is a four-time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NAIA Men's National Coach of the Year. He is also a three-time Heart of America Conference Coach of the Year and two-time NAIA Midwest Conference Coach of the Year.
On the conference level, his teams have won eight consecutive conference titles. The first two championships came in the NAIA Midwest Conference, while the last six were in the Heart of America Conference.
Cruz has helped seven of his student-athletes earn First Team All-America honors, including three this past season. In addition, he has coached a pair of NAIA Player of the Year award winners, highlighted by Felix Chapman, who garnered his third career selection this season.
Cruz started his coaching career at Grand View as an assistant women's coach in 2009 and continued to work with the program through the 2016 season. During his time on staff, he helped the women's squad win multiple conference titles and earn several national tournament appearances.
In addition to his work at Grand View, Cruz is an active member of the USA Volleyball coaching community. He has been the associate head coach for three camps, most recently the USA Boys A1 Camp at the High-Performance Championship in Ft. Lauderdale in July of 2019. He was also involved in High-Performance Championships from 2012-17 and served as an apprentice training coach for the USA Boys Youth National Team in 2015 and the USA Women's Junior National Team in 2012.
As a student-athlete, Cruz played three seasons (2004-06) at Graceland University, where he was an outside hitter and defensive specialist for the Yellowjackets.
He also began his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater, spending two seasons as a student intern (2004 and 2005) for the women's program before becoming the recruiting coordinator (2006).
Cruz graduated from Graceland in 2006 with a degree in marketing communications. He currently resides in Urbandale, Iowa, with his wife, Anna, and their sons, Nixon and Nevon.
"We are excited to welcome Donan and his family to the Ball State community," Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Beth Goetz said. "Donan has proven himself as one of the top coaches in the game, building the Grand View program from the ground up and developing it into a perennial national powerhouse. His work ethic and commitment to developing his student-athletes on and off the court make him the perfect fit to lead our program."
Cruz, who will become just the fourth head coach in the storied history of Ball State men's volleyball, is no stranger to success in his own right. Since leading the inaugural Grand View men's team to a 13-13 mark during the 2012 season, Cruz has compiled a 211-55 record and is currently the winningest coach in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) men's volleyball history with his .793 winning percentage.
"My family and I are appreciative of this opportunity and are honored to be joining the Ball State University community," Cruz said. "Athletic Director Beth Goetz has been great throughout this process, and her vision of the athletic department was integral in how I see the future of men's volleyball evolving at Ball State. I look forward to building meaningful relationships with our new team, alumni, and the Muncie community!"
The only head coach in the 10-year history of the Vikings program, Cruz has led GVU to a pair of NAIA Men's Volleyball National Championships, with the first coming in 2018 and the latest this past season. The 2021 Grand View squad finished the season with an unblemished 26-0 record and swept all four of its matches in the NAIA Men's Volleyball National Championship, including a 25-23, 25-18, 25-15 victory over No. 2 Benedictine University at Mesa in the championship match.
"I am eager to get to work and compete in a conference that has set a very high standard of volleyball on the national scale," Cruz added. "My goal is to ensure our team is accountable for upholding both the academic and athletic expectations we set in order for us to compete at a high level. There is going to be an exciting journey ahead, and I am honored and privileged to lead this program into the next chapter of Ball State men's volleyball history."
In addition to leading the Vikings to a pair of national championships, his teams have finished as national runner-up three times (2016, 2017, and 2019) and national semifinalists twice (2014 and 2015). For his work at Grand View, Cruz is a four-time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NAIA Men's National Coach of the Year. He is also a three-time Heart of America Conference Coach of the Year and two-time NAIA Midwest Conference Coach of the Year.
On the conference level, his teams have won eight consecutive conference titles. The first two championships came in the NAIA Midwest Conference, while the last six were in the Heart of America Conference.
Cruz has helped seven of his student-athletes earn First Team All-America honors, including three this past season. In addition, he has coached a pair of NAIA Player of the Year award winners, highlighted by Felix Chapman, who garnered his third career selection this season.
Cruz started his coaching career at Grand View as an assistant women's coach in 2009 and continued to work with the program through the 2016 season. During his time on staff, he helped the women's squad win multiple conference titles and earn several national tournament appearances.
In addition to his work at Grand View, Cruz is an active member of the USA Volleyball coaching community. He has been the associate head coach for three camps, most recently the USA Boys A1 Camp at the High-Performance Championship in Ft. Lauderdale in July of 2019. He was also involved in High-Performance Championships from 2012-17 and served as an apprentice training coach for the USA Boys Youth National Team in 2015 and the USA Women's Junior National Team in 2012.
As a student-athlete, Cruz played three seasons (2004-06) at Graceland University, where he was an outside hitter and defensive specialist for the Yellowjackets.
He also began his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater, spending two seasons as a student intern (2004 and 2005) for the women's program before becoming the recruiting coordinator (2006).
Cruz graduated from Graceland in 2006 with a degree in marketing communications. He currently resides in Urbandale, Iowa, with his wife, Anna, and their sons, Nixon and Nevon.
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