Matt Botsford is in his 11th season as head coach of the FGCU women’s volleyball program after being hired on Feb. 10, 2014.

In his tenure, Botsford-led teams have compiled a 236-73 (.764) overall record, including a 124-24 (.838) record in ASUN play. Botsford the winningest coach in FGCU history and ranks 11th in the nation among all active DI coaches in career winning percentage. He has taken the program to heights it has not seen in the Division-I era (2007-present), registering at least 20 wins in nine of the past 10 seasons (excluding COVID 2020) and at least 10 wins in conference play every year. On Oct. 26, 2018, he captured his 100th career victory against North Alabama, and was named the ASUN’s Coach of the Year in 2018, 2019 and 2021. In 2022, Botsford recorded his 200th career win at FGCU with a 3-0 sweep of Queens University of Charlotte.

Furthermore, Botsford has lead the program’s first-ever win over a Power-5 team against Indiana on Sept. 10, 2016 in Alico Arena, and his team produced the first road Power-5 win with a straight-set decision over Miami on Aug. 25, 2018. In 2019, the Green & Blue toppled Miami in straight sets once again.

Botsford has also guided the Eagles to four straight ASUN regular-season championships (five total), eighth straight ASUN Tournament title match appearances and four ASUN Tournament Championships, including two First Round wins in the NCAA Tournament. The Green & Blue made history with its first ever NCAA First Round win (in its first appearance) and its first ever top-25 win in 2018 with a 3-2 victory over No. 13 UCF in Orlando. FGCU replicated 2018 in 2021 with an NCAA Tourney opening round with over Texas Tech before falling to national champion Wisconsin in the second round.

BACK AT IT AGAIN
Botsford coached his team to 26-7 2023 season that included a 15-1 showing in th conference. The Eagles clinched both the regular season and conference titles while qualifying for NCAA Tournment for a fourth time in program history. The Green & Blue delivered its ninth Power 5 win as they defeated Ole Miss 3-2 on August 26, 2023, The Eagles made its way to the Big Dance after defeating Lipscomb University infront of Alico Arena on Nov. 18, 2023. Lily Tessier was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after compiling a 10.71 assists per set average and leading the FGCU offense to a .301 attack percentage for the tournament. The Eagles secured five post season awards with Juliana Lentz joined Tessier by being named to the First Team. Ella Chapman won the ASUN Freshman of the Year Award as well as making it to the Third Team All-ASUN and All-Freshman team. Reese Burry was alongside Chapman on the Freshman team. Alexandra Zakutney  received Second Team All-ASUN recognition.

A FAMIILAR PLACE
FGCU returned to the Big Dance for the second consecutive season in 2022 and for the third time in program history. The Eagles swept the No. 1 overall seed in Liberty during the ASUN Tournament up in Nashville, Tenn. FGCU fell just three points shy of pulling off a reverse sweep in the NCAA First Round against sixth-seeded Iowa State.

The Green & Blue notched its eighth P5 win in program history early into the campaign with a 3-1 road victory at Maryland. FGCU once held the nation’s longest home winning streak with 22 straight home victories. Five Eagles earned ASUN Postseason honors as Outside hitter Lily Felts was named the ASUN Player of the Year. Felts' honor marked the seventh time and the sixth consecutive season that FGCU has been home to the league's Player of the Year.

Libero Dana Axner broke both the FGCU and ASUN all-time career dig mark (2,486). Setter Chelsey Lockey broke Eagles’ career assist tally (4,748).

Lockey and Felts were named AVCA Southeast All-Region Honorable Mentions. Felts also earned AVCA Division I All-American Honorable Mention recognition.

BACK TO THE BIG DANCE
The Eagles pieced together a historic season in 2021 which saw FGCU tie the program record for single-season wins (27), capture the ASUN crown and reach the NCAA Tournament Second Round falling to eventual national champion Wisconsin.

In the opening round of the NCAA tourney, Texas Tech opened up with a two set lead, but the Green and Blue stormed back to reverse sweep the Red Raiders for a 3-2 win (14-25, 15-25, 25-23, 25-15, 15-7). The win marked the 27th victory of the season which tied the program record previously set in 2016, 2018 and 2019 seasons. It also marked the second NCAA First Round win for the Eagles following their 3-2 win over No. 13 UCF in Orlando during the 2018 season.

FGCU also posted its best-ever RPI of No. 31 during the year. Over the last five seasons, the Green and Blue has recorded the 12th most wins of any team in the country at 144, which is more than Stanford, Penn State, and Washington, but just behind Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Five Eagles earned ASUN honors in 2021; two first team, two second team and one all-freshman team recipient. To highlight the honors, Botsford took home his third ASUN Coach of the Year Award as outside hitter Erin Shomaker was named the ASUN Volleyball Player of the Year.

Shomaker was also tabbed an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, while Courtney VanLiew was named a Senior CLASS Award Second Team All-American and a NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee.
 
A SEASON LIKE NO OTHER
Playing a spring season for the first time due to Covid-19 and losing key senior Snowy Burnam for the year to a preseason injury, Botsford led FGCU to a 14-3 finish, which included a 10-2 conference slate and an ASUN South Division championship. In the postseason, the Eagles dropped a heartbreaking, five-set match to Lipscomb in the ASUN championship match. Despite that, the squad had a very successful campaign. Erin Shomaker was named the ASUN’s Player of the Year and an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American. Chelsey Lockey was named the league’s top setter while Cortney VanLiew (1st Team), Dana Axner (2nd Team) and Juliana Lentz (All-Freshman Team) each added postseason recognition. On top of that, Axner (3rd Team) became the first Academic All-American in program history.

THE EAGLES ARE HERE TO STAY
In 2019, Botsford led FGCU to a 27-5 record, including a 14-2 finish in ASUN regular season play, which led to the program's second-straight conference title. In the postseason, the Eagles dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Kennesaw State in the ASUN tournament championship but had another incredible season along the way. They won a program-record 26 regular season matches and compiled a 14-match winning streak at one point, which included 26 consecutive set victories, which is the second-longest in the program's Division I era behind a 30-set streak set by the 2007 team.

Behind Botsford's leadership, Cortney VanLiew became FGCU's first outright back-to-back ASUN player of the year, was tabbed AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region and was named to the ASUN's All-Academic team. Sophomore Dana Axner racked up her second-straight ASUN defensive player of the year award and was named AVCA First Team All-Region, while Erin Shomaker was named the ASUN's top freshman. Daniele Serrano, who broke the ASUN's career blocks record, earned Second Team All-ASUN recognition along with Snowy Burnam and Chelsey Lockey.

BANNER YEAR
In 2018, Botsford led the Green and Blue to heights it hasn’t seen before, as the Eagles went 27-7 overall and claimed the program’s first ASUN regular season championship since 2012 behind a 15-1 conference slate. In the postseason, he guided his squad to a thrilling five-set win over Kennesaw State on the road to claim the program’s first-ever ASUN tournament championship. In a first-round matchup against No. 13 UCF on the road, FGCU captured its first NCAA Tournament victory and first win over a ranked opponent in the Division-I era.
 
Along the way, Botsford helped lead the Eagles achieve a Division-I era record 16-match winning streak and tie the era’s single-season wins record with 27. VanLiew was named the ASUN’s unanimous player of the year, while Axner became the first player in conference history to earn both the freshman and defensive player of the year awards. Senior Maggie Rick was named the ASUN’s scholar-athlete of the year and became the program’s first-ever four-time all-conference and three-time academic all-conference selection. In addition to Axner, the duo of Lockey and Tori Morris also earned spots on the ASUN’s all-freshmen team.

If that's not enough, senior Sharonda Pickering was named First Team All-ASUN and AVCA First Team All-Region. Serrano collected Second Team All-ASUN and ASUN tournament MVP recognition, and it was the first season the program has had three players on the conference’s all-freshmen team, and the three first team all-conference selections (VanLiew, Axner, Pickering) was also tied for a program-best.

LOOKING BACK 
In 2017, Botsford’s very first recruit, Carroll, became the program’s very first AVCA First Team All-Region selection, while also garnering First Team All-ASUN, ASUN Co-Player of the Year, ASUN Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year and CoSIDA Academic All-District recognition. Burnam and VanLiew were each named to the ASUN’s All-Freshmen team, while Burnam became just the second player in NCAA history to be named her conference’s freshman of the year in both indoor and beach volleyball. Rick earned Second Team All-ASUN recognition and made the ASUN’s All-Academic team. Serrano was named First Team All-ASUN after a pair of top-10 seasons in solo blocks and hitting percentage.
 
In 2016, Botsford's squad produced one of its most successful seasons ever at 27-6, with the win total representing the most in Division-I program history and falling two shy of the all-time mark. The Eagles recorded an 11-3 record within conference play and proceeded to down Jacksonville and Kennesaw State in the ASUN tournament before being edged out by Lipscomb in the championship.
 
Five Eagles earned recognition from the ASUN following the season. Three were first-team honorees, which is tied with the 2018 team for the most in program history. Rick, who was also named ASUN Setter of the Year, and Carroll were unanimous selections, while Leigh Pudwill rounded out the first-team selections. Serrano and Borgiotti earned ASUN All-Freshmen team status.
 
Botsford's team eclipsed the 20-win mark in 2015, compiling a 21-11 record. The Eagles finished second in the ASUN with a 10-4 record and placed five student-athletes on the ASUN second-team, including Rick and Carroll, who was also named the conference’s freshman of the year.

Botsford’s first season with the Green and Blue produced a 19-11 record, which was a five-win improvement over the previous year. He also guided the team to an 11-3 ASUN record and a second-place finish in the regular season. The team advanced to the semifinals of the ASUN tournament. Following the season, five players earned postseason recognition from the ASUN, including first-team honorees Eleonora Kazarian and Olivia Mesner, second-team members Whitney Masters and Gigi Meyer and All-Freshmen team member Mackenzie Allen, who eventually went on to round out her career with the beach volleyball program. On top of that, Meyer was named the ASUN’s Setter of the Year and earned Academic All-ASUN recognition.

PRIOR TO FGCU
Botsford, who played at Tri-State University (now Trine University) from 1995-98, served as an assistant coach at five different collegiate institutions, with the most recent occurring as an assistant at Colorado State University from May 2012 to February 2014. While there, he helped lead the Rams to two consecutive conference championships and NCAA Tournament berths. On top of that, the program also recorded a program-best 27 consecutive wins in 2013.
  
Prior to his time at Colorado State, Botsford served as an assistant coach at Notre Dame, Miami, IUPUI and the University of Indianapolis. Furthermore, he served as an interim head coach at his alma mater at the age of 21 and has international and national coaching experience.
 
Botsford was the lead recruiter at Notre Dame from February 2008 until July 2011, and his 2010 and 2011 classes were ranked 13th and 15th, respectively, in the nation by media outlets. The Fighting Irish advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2009 after winning the Big East title and going undefeated through the conference schedule (14-0). In total, he coached two All-Americans and six All-Big East performers – including the 2010 Big East Freshman of the Year Andrea McHugh – during his time in South Bend.
 
Prior to his three plus years at Notre Dame, Botsford cultivated relationships with players and coaches throughout Florida as he served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Miami for nearly four years from June 2004 to February 2008. He helped solidify two of the highest-ranked recruiting classes in the relatively short history of the program, signing at least one top-100 rated player in each of his final three years and the first top-50 recruit for the Hurricanes.
 
During his time with Miami, Botsford coached two All-Americans and five All-ACC players. In addition, he recruited Lane Carico, who was named the 2011 ACC Player of the Year. Carico supplemented a core group of starters Botsford recruited who led Miami to three straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Botsford got his start in coaching by serving as the interim head coach for both the men’s and women’s volleyball programs at Tri-State from November 1998 through June 1999. He parlayed his experience in those roles into an assistant position at the University of Indianapolis where he was for one year (June 1999 - May 2000). His final stop before heading to the University of Miami was as an assistant at IUPUI from May 2001 until June 2004, coaching two-time Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year Rebekah Pallikan.
 
Outside of the collegiate landscape, Botsford also has a vast array of experience. In the year between his stints at Notre Dame and Colorado State, he was the head coach of Lindesberg Volley as part of Sweden’s Elite Series, leading the club to a first-ever league title and automatic representation in European Cup play. While with Lindesberg Volley from August 2011 through May 2012, he coached four players who went on to play for Sweden’s National Team.
 
The foray into Sweden wasn’t the first for Botsford as he played professionally with the Vingaker Volleyball Club in the country in 2002-03, the final of his three professional stints. In the collegiate offseason he also played from 1998-2003 on beach tours with both the MPVA and the EVP, the latter of which named him the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2000.
 
Botsford was selected as an assistant coach for the 2007 USA Select Program, which trains elite volleyball players in preparation for the U.S. National Team. In his one year as part of the program, Botsford guided his team to a bronze medal in the HP Global Championships as the head coach of the USA Silver team.

PERSONAL
A 1998 graduate from Tri-State with a degree in social studies education and a minor in general science, Botsford was a two-year captain who graduated as the program’s all-time leader in kills, digs and blocks and was named an All-American Scholar Athlete as a senior. In 2006, he was inducted into the Tri-State Hall of Fame.

Botsford, who received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Indianapolis in 2004, resides in Estero with his wife, Lindsey. Together, they have a daughter, Harper, and a son, Cache.

THE BOTSFORD FILE

YEAR-BY-YEAR COACHING RECORD (*entering 2022) 

* - ASUN Conference Regular Season Champions
# - ASUN Conference Tournament Champions
^ - Season played in spring 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic

IN THE NEWS
Botsford and FGCU Volleyball Set For Long-Term Success (FGCU 360)
By Keith Gibson (April 11, 2019) - READ HERE

UPDATED: 7/242024