| BYU Cougars men's volleyball | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1990 |
| University | Brigham Young University |
| Athletic director | Brian Santiago |
| Head coach | Shawn Olmstead (12th season) |
| Conference | MPSF |
| Location | Provo,Utah |
| Home arena | George Albert Smith Fieldhouse (capacity: 5,000) |
| Nickname | Cougars |
| Colors | Blue and white[1] |
| NCAA tournament champion | |
| 1999, 2001, 2004 | |
| NCAA tournament runner-up | |
| 2003, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021 | |
| NCAA tournament semifinal | |
| 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 | |
| NCAA tournament appearance | |
| 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 | |
| Conference tournament champion | |
| Mountain Pacific Sports Federation 1999, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021 | |
| Conference regular season champion | |
| Mountain Pacific Sports Federation 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 | |
TheBYU Cougars men's volleyball team is the men's college volleyball program representingBrigham Young University (BYU) inProvo, Utah. The Cougars began male collegiate volleyball competition in 1990 and have won 3 national championships and 10 conference championships.
The program was officially sanctioned in 1990 under the leadership of Carl McGown. BYU's first NCAA title came in 1999, when they finished the season 30–1 and swept Long Beach State to win the championship. In 2001, the team captured its second title in three years by defeating UCLA in a 3-0 sweep. Following McGown’s retirement, Tom Peterson took over and led the team back to the championship in 2004, where the team defeated Long Beach State in five sets in Honolulu to claim their third national title.[2] Setter Carlos Moreno was named the AVCA National Player of the Year, the first in program history. After a few transitional years, Carl McGown’s son, Chris McGown, took the helm. He led the team back to national prominence, fueled by the arrival of superstar Taylor Sander, who became a four-time First Team All-American and the 2014 AVCA Player of the Year. Under Chris McGown, the team reached the NCAA Finals in 2013 and consistently won MPSF regular-season titles.[3]
In 2016,Shawn Olmstead, who previously led theBYU women’s team to a national final, moved to the men’s side. His tenure has been marked by high-level consistency and several near-misses at the national title, ending their 2016, 2017, and 2021 seasons as the NCAA runners up. The 2020 team was also ranked No. 1 in the nation before the season was abruptly cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
As of 2025, the Cougars have been ranked in theAVCA Division I WVB Coaches Poll 572 times since it was started in 1986, including 506 Top 10 rankings and 76 rankings at #1. The team has finished their season ranked 33 times, including 29 times in the Top 10, 18 times in the Top 5, and 3 times as the #1.[4]
BYU's men's volleyball team is the only program outside of California or Hawaii to win multiple NCAA titles.[3]
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The Cougars regularly play home matches at theSmith Fieldhouse, which is the seventh largest venue for college volleyball in the United States.[5] The team's largest home game attendance on record was 6,119 in 2001 against No. 1 UCLA.[6] On a few occasions, home matches have been played at BYU'sMarriott Center. On Feb. 19, 1999, the Cougars defeated Hawai’i, 3-1, in front of 14,156 fans in the Marriott Center to set the NCAA single-match attendance record.[7]
| Name | Career | Record | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carl McGown | 1990–2002 | 205–131 | .610 |
| Tom Peterson | 2003–2006 | 90–30 | .750 |
| Shawn Patchell | 2007–2010 | 87–33 | .725 |
| Rob Neilson | 2011 | 20–8 | .714 |
| Chris McGowan | 2012–2015 | 88–31 | .739 |
| Shawn Olmstead | 2016–present | 187–76 | .711 |
Two coaches have been named theAVCA National Coach of the Year: Carl McGown (1999 and 2001) and Chris McGown (2013).[8]
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As of 2025, BYU men's volleyball has had 39 student-athletes receive a total of 84 All-America honors. Three team members have been awardedAVCA Player of the Year: Carlos Moreno (2004),Taylor Sander (2014), andGabriel García Fernández (2020).[9]
After college, many players have gone on to play on national and professional club teams, including 14 Olympians such as gold medalistsRyan Millar andRichard Lambourne (2008), and bronze medalistTaylor Sander (2016).[3]
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl McGown(Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Association)(1990–1992) | |||||||||
| 1990 | Carl McGown | 5–22 | 1–15 | 6th | — | ||||
| 1991 | Carl McGown | 2–25 | 1–15 | 6th | — | ||||
| 1992 | Carl McGown | 10–13 | 5–11 | 6th | — | ||||
| Carl McGown: | 17–60 | 7–41 | |||||||
| Carl McGown(Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)(1993–2002) | |||||||||
| 1993 | Carl McGown | 15–10 | 12–7 | 4th | — | ||||
| 1994 | Carl McGown | 21–6 | 15–4 | 2nd | — | ||||
| 1995 | Carl McGown | 14–8 | 12–7 | 3rd | — | ||||
| 1996 | Carl McGown | 8–14 | 7–12 | 5th | — | ||||
| 1997 | Carl McGown | 20–6 | 14–5 | 3rd | — | ||||
| 1998 | Carl McGown | 16–6 | 14–5 | 3rd | — | ||||
| 1999 | Carl McGown | 30–1 | 18–1 | 1st | NCAA Champions | ||||
| 2000 | Carl McGown | 18–9 | 13–6 | 3rd | — | ||||
| 2001 | Carl McGown | 23–4 | 14–3 | 1st | NCAA Champions | ||||
| 2002 | Carl McGown | 23–7 | 16–6 | 4th | — | ||||
| Carl McGown: | 205–131 | 142–97 | |||||||
| Tom Peterson(Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)(2003–2006) | |||||||||
| 2003 | Tom Peterson | 23–7 | 17–5 | 1st | NCAA Runner-up | ||||
| 2004 | Tom Peterson | 29–4 | 20–2 | 1st | NCAA Champions | ||||
| 2005 | Tom Peterson | 20–10 | 15–7 | 3rd | — | ||||
| 2006 | Tom Peterson | 18–9 | 14–8 | 4th | — | ||||
| Tom Peterson: | 90–30 | 66–22 | |||||||
| Shawn Patchell(Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)(2007–2010) | |||||||||
| 2007 | Shawn Patchell | 23–6 | 18–4 | 2nd | — | ||||
| 2008 | Shawn Patchell | 25–5 | 18–4 | 2nd | — | ||||
| 2009 | Shawn Patchell | 17–13 | 13–9 | T-5th | — | ||||
| 2010 | Shawn Patchell | 22–9 | 15–7 | 2nd | — | ||||
| Shawn Patchell: | 87–33 | 64–24 | |||||||
| Rob Neilson(Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)(2011–2011) | |||||||||
| 2011 | Rob Neilson | 20–8 | 16–6 | 2nd | — | ||||
| Rob Neilson: | 20–8 | 16–6 | |||||||
| Chris McGown(Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)(2012–2015) | |||||||||
| 2012 | Chris McGown | 24–7 | 17–5 | 3rd | — | ||||
| 2013 | Chris McGown | 26–5 | 21–3 | 1st | NCAA Runner-up | ||||
| 2014 | Chris McGown | 21–9 | 18–6 | 1st | NCAA Final Four | ||||
| 2015 | Chris McGown | 17–10 | 14–8 | 5th | — | ||||
| Chris McGown: | 88–31 | 70–22 | |||||||
| Shawn Olmstead(Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)(2016–present) | |||||||||
| 2016 | Shawn Olmstead | 27–4 | 19–3 | 1st | NCAA Runner-up | ||||
| 2017 | Shawn Olmstead | 26–5 | 16–2 | T-1st | NCAA Runner-up | ||||
| 2018 | Shawn Olmstead | 22–7 | 10–2 | 1st | NCAA Final Four | ||||
| 2019 | Shawn Olmstead | 13–12 | 6–6 | T-4th | — | ||||
| 2020 | Shawn Olmstead | 17–1 | 6–0 | 1st | Cancelled (COVID) | ||||
| 2021 | Shawn Olmstead | 20–4 | 17–3 | 1st | NCAA Runner-up | ||||
| 2022 | Shawn Olmstead | 8–17 | 3–9 | T-6th | — | ||||
| 2022 | Shawn Olmstead | 8–17 | 3–9 | T-6th | — | ||||
| 2023 | Shawn Olmstead | 19–7 | 8–4 | 2nd | — | ||||
| 2024 | Shawn Olmstead | 16–9 | 7–5 | 3rd | — | ||||
| 2025 | Shawn Olmstead | 19–10 | 7–5 | 4th | — | ||||
| 2026 | Shawn Olmstead | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Shawn Olmstead: | 187–76 | 99–39 | |||||||
| Total: | 677–309 | ||||||||
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