Head Coach Daniel Jones
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
It’s Official: Daniel Jones is the 11th Head Coach in MSU Volleyball History
11/29/2017 1:57:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
“Daniel is the right coach to lead the MSU volleyball program,” Costello said. “He is committed to the academic and athletic achievement of our student-athletes and continuing to build a program that will compete for Big Sky Conference championships. He has also assembled a great staff with the same qualities and I am excited for the future of MSU volleyball.”
Montana State Interim Head Coach Daniel Jones is no longer the provisional mentor of the Bobcat volleyball program. On Wednesday, Montana State Athletics Director Leon Costello removed the interim tag, making Jones, officially, the 11th head coach in MSU volleyball history.
"Daniel is the right coach to lead the MSU volleyball program," Costello said. "He is committed to the academic and athletic achievement of our student-athletes and continuing to build a program that will compete for Big Sky Conference championships. He has also assembled a great staff with the same qualities and I am excited for the future of MSU volleyball."
Jones, who recently completed his third season with the Bobcats and his first leading the club, guided Montana State to a 10-16 overall mark and a 6-10 Big Sky slate this fall. The Bobcats doubled its win total from 2016 and were in the hunt for a Big Sky Conference Tournament berth heading into the final week of play.
Highlighting Jones' interim season was a win over Big Sky Conference champion North Dakota in Grand Forks to snap the Fighting Hawks' 20-match home court win streak and a tournament championship at Utah State with victories over the Aggies, UC Santa Barbara and Pacific. In addition, he led the Bobcats to a season sweep of rival Montana.
"I am honored to be given this opportunity to lead the Bobcat volleyball program into the future, which is very bright," Jones said. "In these situations there are a lot of people to thank, I would like to start by expressing my deepest gratitude to President Waded Cruzado, Athletic Director Leon Costello and Associate Athletic Director Camie Bechtold for their faith and belief in me, our staff and team. Their support and guidance through this process has been very humbling, and greatly appreciated."
Jones, who was formerly an assistant coach at Utah Valley, came to Montana State as then head coach JJ Riley's top assistant in February of 2015. The duo worked two seasons together at Utah, while the Utes made its transition from the Mountain West Conference to the Pac-12.
"When Lacee and I arrived on campus almost three years ago with JJ and his family we came with a goal of helping this program grow to what we all know it can be," Jones stated. "In that time, we have seen growth, both on the court and as a family. We are not done yet, we are excited about the current group of athletes we have assembled, those who will be joining us here shortly in 2018 and those we are talking to in future classes. The future of this program is bright and we know we are headed in the right direction, we still have a lot of work to do to make the jumps we want, we are excited about this challenge, and we have clarity about the road ahead."
At UVU, Jones served as lead assistant and helped the Wolverines to a fourth place Western Athletic Conference finish. During his tenure in Orem, he served as recruiting coordinator and had responsibilities with opponent scouting, practice planning, team academic progress, camps and social media. On the court, he worked with the middle blockers and setters. Jones helped UVU junior middle blocker Lauren Bakker to first-team all-WAC honors and middle blocker Madison Wolford to the WAC all-freshman squad.
Jones spent four seasons at Utah from 2010 to 2014, first serving as video and statistics coordinator, before moving into operations. As director of volleyball operations, he assisted with on-campus recruiting, while overseeing the team budget, travel, academic progress, camps and social media. As the video and statistics coordinator, Jones provided video and statistical analysis for matches, scouting reports and managed film exchange.
A native of New Zealand, Jones also has coaching experience with USA Volleyball. He served as an assistant coach in USA Volleyball's A2 program, which worked with the top collegiate players in the nation. Jones assisted the head coach with practices, opponent scouting, game planning and match management.
In addition, Jones served as head coach of Club Utah. He helped guide the program to the 2011 Colorado Crossroads Open Division title. Jones has also been a lead court coach for Gold Medal Squared Volleyball camps.
He began his coaching career at Avondale College (Auckland, New Zealand), where he helped guide the program to the 2003 national championship, before taking over the head coaching position and a third-place finish in 2006.
Jones graduated from the University of Canterbury (Christchurch, New Zealand) with a bachelor of education degree, specializing in physical education in 2002. He is married to the former Lacee Koelliker, who served seven seasons as an assistant coach at Utah Valley, following a successful four-year stint as a player with the Wolverines. The couple has three children- Adalee, Caden and Marra.
"This is a place we want to raise our family, a place where we have put roots down, we have invested in this program, the school and community," Jones said. "We are Bobcats, my children are Bobcats and we couldn't be more excited to continue on as Bobcats."
"Daniel is the right coach to lead the MSU volleyball program," Costello said. "He is committed to the academic and athletic achievement of our student-athletes and continuing to build a program that will compete for Big Sky Conference championships. He has also assembled a great staff with the same qualities and I am excited for the future of MSU volleyball."
Jones, who recently completed his third season with the Bobcats and his first leading the club, guided Montana State to a 10-16 overall mark and a 6-10 Big Sky slate this fall. The Bobcats doubled its win total from 2016 and were in the hunt for a Big Sky Conference Tournament berth heading into the final week of play.
Highlighting Jones' interim season was a win over Big Sky Conference champion North Dakota in Grand Forks to snap the Fighting Hawks' 20-match home court win streak and a tournament championship at Utah State with victories over the Aggies, UC Santa Barbara and Pacific. In addition, he led the Bobcats to a season sweep of rival Montana.
"I am honored to be given this opportunity to lead the Bobcat volleyball program into the future, which is very bright," Jones said. "In these situations there are a lot of people to thank, I would like to start by expressing my deepest gratitude to President Waded Cruzado, Athletic Director Leon Costello and Associate Athletic Director Camie Bechtold for their faith and belief in me, our staff and team. Their support and guidance through this process has been very humbling, and greatly appreciated."
Jones, who was formerly an assistant coach at Utah Valley, came to Montana State as then head coach JJ Riley's top assistant in February of 2015. The duo worked two seasons together at Utah, while the Utes made its transition from the Mountain West Conference to the Pac-12.
"When Lacee and I arrived on campus almost three years ago with JJ and his family we came with a goal of helping this program grow to what we all know it can be," Jones stated. "In that time, we have seen growth, both on the court and as a family. We are not done yet, we are excited about the current group of athletes we have assembled, those who will be joining us here shortly in 2018 and those we are talking to in future classes. The future of this program is bright and we know we are headed in the right direction, we still have a lot of work to do to make the jumps we want, we are excited about this challenge, and we have clarity about the road ahead."
At UVU, Jones served as lead assistant and helped the Wolverines to a fourth place Western Athletic Conference finish. During his tenure in Orem, he served as recruiting coordinator and had responsibilities with opponent scouting, practice planning, team academic progress, camps and social media. On the court, he worked with the middle blockers and setters. Jones helped UVU junior middle blocker Lauren Bakker to first-team all-WAC honors and middle blocker Madison Wolford to the WAC all-freshman squad.
Jones spent four seasons at Utah from 2010 to 2014, first serving as video and statistics coordinator, before moving into operations. As director of volleyball operations, he assisted with on-campus recruiting, while overseeing the team budget, travel, academic progress, camps and social media. As the video and statistics coordinator, Jones provided video and statistical analysis for matches, scouting reports and managed film exchange.
A native of New Zealand, Jones also has coaching experience with USA Volleyball. He served as an assistant coach in USA Volleyball's A2 program, which worked with the top collegiate players in the nation. Jones assisted the head coach with practices, opponent scouting, game planning and match management.
In addition, Jones served as head coach of Club Utah. He helped guide the program to the 2011 Colorado Crossroads Open Division title. Jones has also been a lead court coach for Gold Medal Squared Volleyball camps.
He began his coaching career at Avondale College (Auckland, New Zealand), where he helped guide the program to the 2003 national championship, before taking over the head coaching position and a third-place finish in 2006.
Jones graduated from the University of Canterbury (Christchurch, New Zealand) with a bachelor of education degree, specializing in physical education in 2002. He is married to the former Lacee Koelliker, who served seven seasons as an assistant coach at Utah Valley, following a successful four-year stint as a player with the Wolverines. The couple has three children- Adalee, Caden and Marra.
"This is a place we want to raise our family, a place where we have put roots down, we have invested in this program, the school and community," Jones said. "We are Bobcats, my children are Bobcats and we couldn't be more excited to continue on as Bobcats."
Matt Houk Introductory Press Conference
Wednesday, January 18
Daniel Jones Weekly Press Conference
Monday, November 15
Bobcat Classic: Arkansas vs. Portland
Saturday, September 04
Bobcat Classic: Arkansas vs. Utah State
Friday, September 03
