STATESBORO – Georgia Southern Director of Athletics Tom Kleinlein announced today that the school has named Chad Willis its head volleyball coach.

A 15-year volleyball coaching veteran at the Division-I level, Willis comes to Statesboro from Appalachian State, where he spent the last six seasons as the associate head coach. The Mountaineers went 22-9 and 13-3 in the Sun Belt in 2018, won the SBC East Division and advanced to the league tournament championship contest. Appalachian State posted 100 wins during Willis' time there, notched 20-plus victories three times, advanced to the Sun Belt championship twice and earned a bid to the 2018 National Invitational Volleyball Championship.

"I am humbled and grateful to be the next head volleyball coach at Georgia Southern University," said Willis. "The excitement and energy across the athletic department and campus community were clear on my visit to campus. Georgia Southern has a rich tradition of academic and athletic excellence, and I look forward to aligning my vision for the volleyball program with the mission and values of Georgia Southern Athletics. I would like to thank Director of Athletics Tom Kleinlein, Deputy Athletic Director Lisa Sweany and the entire search committee for investing and trusting in my vision for the future of the volleyball program. I would also like to thank my wife, Caroline, and our kids, Aidan and Maddie Grace, for their love and continued support as we journey forward with this next step. I am eager to get started with our student-athletes and support staff on building a solid foundation for our future success. We are thrilled to be a part of Eagle Nation and will work tirelessly to represent the passion and pride of Georgia Southern University and the Statesboro community."

In addition to serving as Appalachian's recruiting coordinator, Willis coordinated the Mountaineer offense and trained the outside and middle hitters. The Mountaineers' 2017 and 2018 recruiting classes were tabbed by PrepVolleyball as highest honorable mention for the nation's top recruiting class, and Appalachian has ranked in the top 4 in hitting percentage in the Sun Belt in three of its five seasons in the league, leading the conference with a .272 mark in 2015.  

Four Mountaineers - Paige Brown, Emily Corrigan, Jess Keller and Ashton Gregory – were named All-Sun Belt in 2015, and four more - Becky Porter (Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year), Emma Longley, Emma Reilly and Kara Spicer – earned the accolade this past season.

"Chad has an extensive coaching background, has shown the ability to recruit talented and high-character student-athletes at the Division-I level and came highly recommended by a number of coaches and athletics administrators," said Kleinlein.  "As our committee, led by Deputy Athletic Director Lisa Sweany, went through an exhaustive national search process, it became evident that Chad is the best fit for our volleyball program."

Willis spent eight seasons in Winston-Salem, where he served as an assistant coach at Wake Forest before being promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2012 campaign. In addition, Willis served as the team's recruiting coordinator and assistant camp director.

During his time at Wake Forest, he was primarily responsible for coaching the setters and coordinating offensive systems and mentored two All-ACC setters in Erin Borhart and Kelsey Jones. He was part of a staff that led the Demon Deacons to a school-record-tying 10 ACC wins in 2005.

A 2005 graduate of James Madison University, Willis was the starting setter for JMU's men's club volleyball team where he helped lead his squad to three top-10 finishes at the national tournament while earning All-America honors twice. He was the head coach for women's club volleyball at James Madison while spending two seasons as a student assistant coach for the Dukes' varsity women's program, where he was part of a staff that led JMU to a Colonial Athletic Association title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2000.

Willis spent a season at Elon, where he helped lead the Phoenix to a 19-14 record in 2004 before joining the Wake Forest staff for the 2005 campaign.

Georgia Southern is set to return 15 letterwinners and five starters to the 2019 team.