BATON ROUGE, La.- Trey Cruz has been added as an assistant coach to the LSU beach volleyball program, announced head coach Russell Brock on Monday.
“When our staff and I started talking about the type of person and the type of skills we needed to add to ensure that the LSU beach volleyball program would continue to improve, we put together a list of qualities that were critically important,” said Brock.
“We had several very qualified and impressive applicants, but the farther we got in the process, the clearer it became that Trey embodied everything that was on our wish list.”
Cruz spent the past two seasons with the Louisiana-Lafayette volleyball program, where he was the lead for all video analysis and exchange, helping develop all passers and outside hitters.
Cruz held recruiting responsibilities and was the offensive coordinator for match decisions and scouting. Cruz was also in charge for team travel and scheduling practice times, conducting weekly academic player meetings and developing strategies for success.
Cruz returns for his eighth overall season at LSU after serving as a manager and video coordinator for the LSU volleyball team for seven years (2008-14). During his tenure at LSU, Cruz was responsible for equipment organization, match and practice video breakdown, as well as practice organization, helping the Lady Tigers tally four SEC West Division titles, five NCAA Tournament berths and the 2009 SEC regular season championship.
“His passion for our sport, combined with an incredible understanding of statistics, film break down, scouting and a great volleyball mind make him the perfect fit for our program,” said Brock.”
“His personal understanding of LSU, our athletic department, and what being a Tiger really means honestly makes this a dream hire.”
As a player-coach for the LSU men’s club volleyball team, Cruz helped guide the team to its first-ever appearance in the NCVF Collegiate Club National Tournament and earned all-conference honors his final season.
Cruz has also worked at both summer and high school camps across the southeast region, including camps for LSU, Texas, Houston Juniors, Volleyball Baton Rouge and UL-Lafayette, holding the title of camp director for UL-Lafayette summer volleyball camps and accumulating five years of coaching experience.
Cruz led the 16U Open Volleyball Baton Rouge squad to a first place finish at the Cross Court Classic, a fourth place finish at the President’s Day Classic, a 13th place finish at Lonestar, a 27th place finish at Big South and a 29th place finish at AAU’s during the spring of 2013.
Cruz received his bachelor’s of science degree in sports administration, with a minor in business, from LSU in May 2013 and obtained a master’s degree in human resources and leadership development in May 2015.