photo by: AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Oregon NCAA college head coach Matt Ulmer speaks during 2024 Big Ten Volleyball Media Day in Chicago, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024.

The newest Kansas volleyball coach is a veteran head coach with a recent run of NCAA Tournament success.

KU athletic director Travis Goff announced on Friday morning that Oregon coach Matt Ulmer will take over the Jayhawks’ program. Ulmer replaces KU’s longtime leader Ray Bechard, who retired on Dec. 27 following 27 seasons leading the Jayhawks.

“We are humbled and blessed to have the chance to continue what Coach Bechard and the alumni have built,” Ulmer said in a press release. “The character and grit that Kansas volleyball shows year in and year out is something that every program should strive for.

“My staff and I are ready to give our all for the future success of Jayhawk volleyball. I’m beyond excited to get to Lawrence and meet the team, start practice and get better every day. I can’t wait to hear the ‘Rock Chalk Jayhawk’ chants in Horejsi!”

Ulmer leaves Oregon after eight seasons at the helm of the Ducks’ program, including seven trips to the NCAA Tournament, three of which went as far as the Elite Eight. This past fall, Oregon had the chance to host as a No. 4 seed and made it out of the first weekend but lost to eventual Final Four participant and No. 1 seed PIttsburgh.

Ulmer’s best season by win total was 2023, in which Oregon went 29-6, was ranked in the top 10 nationally throughout the year and collected six All-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association at season’s end, the highest number in program history. In leading the Ducks to second place in the Pac-12 on four separate occasions he repeatedly matched Oregon’s best finish in conference play.

“In bringing Coach Ulmer to KU, we have paired one of the premier coaches in the game with one of the premier programs in the country,” Goff said. “… Matt stood alone due to his elite track record, impeccable reputation, devotion to developing student-athletes and his vision for an even brighter future for Kansas volleyball. We are confident he will carry on the tradition that Ray Bechard established in his 27 seasons as our passionate leader.”

Prior to becoming Oregon’s head coach, Ulmer had served as an assistant there for five years.

An Illinois native, Ulmer was a first-team AVCA All-American setter at Division III Carthage College, where his mother Leanne serves as head women’s volleyball coach. Ulmer got his start in coaching at Carthage before moving to Long Beach State, where he worked as an assistant for the indoor program and as the head sand volleyball coach. In 2013, he led the Beach to a national title on the sand, becoming the youngest head coach ever to win a national championship in either indoor or beach volleyball.

In Bechard’s final two years, KU served as an NCAA Tournament host each season but lost in five-set heartbreakers to Penn State (in 2023) and Florida (in 2024) and did not advance past the second round on either occasion. The 2024 season marked the end of an era in player personnel too, as Caroline Bien, London Davis, Ayah Elnady, Bryn McGehe, Toyosi Onabanjo and Camryn Turner moved on from KU; the Jayhawks also lost highly touted freshman Zoey Burgess to the transfer portal.

At this late stage of the winter, Ulmer will have to do a lot of work in the portal himself. If they stay, key returning Jayhawks include libero Raegan Burns, middle blocker Reese Ptacek and outside hitter Rhian Swanson, along with a slew of unproven young players. Setter Taylor Cook and opposite hitter Kate Hayhurst are set to join KU as early-enrolling freshmen.

Oregon had previously gotten a transfer commitment from former USC middle blocker Tyrah Ariail prior to Ulmer’s departure.

Ulmer becomes Goff’s fifth head-coaching hire in just under four years in charge, following Lance Leipold (football), Lindsay Kuhle (women’s golf), Dan Fitzgerald (baseball) and Nate Lie (soccer). Most recently, the hire of Lie paid immediate dividends as he won a Big 12 tournament championship in his first season at the helm.