Eli Irizarry was named Head Women's Volleyball Coach on January 29, 2025. He will lead all aspects of the program.
Irizarry brings an incredible volleyball resume to the Henry Butova Gymnasium. He coached at Daemen University from August 2020 through January 2025, rising from graduate assistant coach through his first two academic years to become the Wildcats head coach. Daemen won the East Coast Conference Regular Season title in all three years he led the way, and went undefeated in the ECC to win the 2022 and 2023 ECC Tournaments as well; as a result of their dominance, the Wildcats made the NCAA Tournament each of his three seasons.
His players had tremendous individual success as well, with a dozen First-Team All-ECC honorees, nine American Volleyball Coaches Association All-East Region selections, and five major ECC awards including the 2022 ECC Player of the Year and 2023 and 2024 ECC Libero of the Year. He was named ECC Coach of the Year in 2022 as well.
Nor is Irizarry a stranger to the City of Homes, as a 2019 graduate of Springfield College. While playing four seasons with the Pride, Irizarry reached the NCAA Division III Final Four every season, winning it all in 2017 and 2018. He earned AVCA All-American status and was named the Off-The-Block Division 3 National Libero of the Year in 2017, and was named to the 2018 NCAA Division III Championship All-Tournament Team.
Irizarry’s experience also includes membership on the AVCA DII Head Coaches Connection Committee and the East Region’s Regional Advisory Committee.
Irizarry earned a bachelor’s degree in healthcare management from Springfield in 2019, and a master’s of leadership and innovation from Daemen in 2022.
