Cruz Selected as the 2022 AVCA National Coach of the Year
May 03, 2022 | Men's Volleyball
LEXINGTON, Ky. – For the fifth time in his 11-year head coaching career, Ball State men's volleyball head coach Donan Cruz has been named an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Coach of the Year.
Cruz earned the 2022 AVCA Men's Division I/II National Coach of the Year honor after leading the Cardinals to a 23-3 overall record, along with Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) regular season and tournament titles.
Ball State's historic season under its first-year head coach is scheduled to continue Thursday, when it makes its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002. The Cardinals earned the No. 2 seed in the event, as well as a bye into the national semifinals, which will take place at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion May 5-7 in Los Angeles, Calif.
The second coach in program history to earn AVCA National Coach of the Year honors while leading the Cardinals, joining 1995 & 1996 honoree Dr. Don Shondell, Cruz helped restore Ball State's historic traditions of success by guiding the program to its first outright MIVA regular season championship since 1997. Ball State went 12-2 in league play in 2022, earning Cruz the title of MIVA Coach of the Year.
Under Cruz, who was a four-time AVCA NAIA Men's National Coach of the Year for his work at Grand View, Ball State reached 20 wins for the first time since the 2016 campaign. The Cardinals started the season off hot, earning back-to-back wins over defending national champion and then-No. 1 ranked Hawai'i. The Cardinals also secured a notable win on the road at then-No. 9 BYU this season.
In conference action, Cruz helped the Cardinals defeat Lewis on the road for the first time since 2010. BSU also swept the two-match season series versus its longest rival, Ohio State, for the first time since 2014.
Ball State enters the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 4 in the national AVCA Coaches Poll, which is the highest ranking in program history. The Cardinals will face either North Greenville or have a rematch with Hawai'i on Thursday, May 5 at 10:30 pm ET.