STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State volleyball has a new leader.
David McFatrich, who led Central Arkansas to two NCAA tournament appearances in four season as coach, was announced Monday as MSU’s next coach.
The hiring is pending the approval of the Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning.
“David possesses all of the characteristics of a successful coach,” MSU Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin said. “He has an aggressive style with high energy and connects well with his student-athletes. He has the vision to be great. He’s also a man of good values, and we are excited to have him as a part of the Mississippi State family.”
McFatrich will be introduced at 3:30 p.m. today as MSU’s next coach. He replaces Jenny Hazelwood, a former MSU volleyball player, who went 55-129 in six seasons as coach. In December, Hazelwood was reassigned to an administrative position in the MSU Athletic Department.
In four years at Central Arkansas, McFatrich went 96-36 and won 57 of his 68 Southland Conference games. McFatrich also had the Sugar Bears competing on a national stage, as UCA finished 2014 with an RPI rating of 44. McFatrich became UCA’s coach in 2011 after four years as an assistant coach at the school. As head coach, McFatrich averaged 25 wins per season.
MSU went 7-26 this season. In six seasons, Hazelwood went 55-129 record and won 20 of her 116 Southeastern Conference matches.
McFatrich will inherit a roster with nine of 16 team members as sophomores or younger. This season, Payton Harris earned All-SEC freshman honors and ranked second nationally in digs and digs per set. She set the school record for digs in a season and finished second on the SEC single-season list, but MSU finished 7-26 and 2-16 in the Southeastern Conference. The SEC mark was part of a 20-96 record in the league in the past six seasons.
In 2013, MSU earned 12 victories, representing the most by the program since 2006. That year, MSU capped the season with a 3-1 victory against Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was the program’s first victory against Tennessee in Knoxville since 1995. The Bulldogs’ eight home wins in 2013 were the second-most in single-season school annals.
But MSU has had only eight winning seasons in the 40-year history of the program. Six of those seasons came earlier than 2001. MSU’s last winning season was 2006 (17-13).
In eight years at UCA, McFatrich, the 2013 Southland Coach of the Year, produced four Southland Conference Regular Season Championships, two Southland Conference Tournament Championships, and four Southland East Division crowns. He has produced one ESPN Academic All-American, five Southland Conference Players of the Year, two Southland Liberos of the Year, three Southland Freshmen of the Year, and five Southland Setters of the Year.
McFatrich wasn’t available for comment Monday.
McFatrich’s teams also have had success in the classroom. From 2011-13, UCA volleyball earned a perfect NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 1,000. In that time, UCA also placed a number of players on the Southland All-Academic team, including the 2012 Student-Athlete of the Year, which recognizes the top student-athlete on and off the court.
McFatrich is the former captain and setter for the 1988 Athletes in Action International Volleyball Team. Touring throughout Latin America, he helped lead the team to a 23-2 record. He has three gold and two silver medals as a member of the Canada Masters Volleyball Team (2009-present), which competes in the U.S. Open each summer. The team finished fifth in the World Masters Games in the summer of 2013.
McFatrich earned a master’s degree in from Arkansas in 1988. He and his wife, Sonya, have three children, Luke (17), Elle (14), and Sami (10).
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.