The Daily Gamecock

Gamecocks hire Tom Mendoza as volleyball head coach

South Carolina athletics director Ray Tanner announced that Tom Mendoza would be joining the Gamecock family as the new head coach of the volleyball program. Mendoza will be the 13th head coach in program history after Tanner relieved Scott Swanson of his coaching duties midway through this past season. 

“Tom is a teacher and strategist who has been successful in his coaching career recruiting and developing young volleyball players to become outstanding student-athletes,” Tanner said. “I am looking forward to the impact that Coach Mendoza will have on our volleyball program.” 

Mendoza comes to South Carolina from not too far down the road. He was the head coach at High Point University for two seasons where he guided the team to 47 wins and back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, with the first year being just their second tournament appearance in program history. 

After the 2017 season, Mendoza was named the Big South Coach of the Year and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Southeast Region Coach of the Year. 

Not only does Mendoza have the head coaching experience, but has developed very strong recruiting skills as well. Before landing at High Point, Mendoza spent five years at Creighton University, starting as an assistant coach and moving his way up to associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. The 2015 class at Creighton — his last year there — was ranked No. 11 in the country. 

Although the Gamecocks are coming off of a mediocre 12-18 season, Mendoza is excited to come to Columbia and work with this program. 

“It’s easy to be excited about the potential and future of this program. It’s a phenomenal school, there’s a lot of talent already in the gym,” Mendoza said. “We are going to work on being a harder team to play against and earn our success. I can’t wait to get working with the team and recruiting future Gamecocks.” 


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