Dallas Coaching Vacancy

With the UC Santa Cruz announcement, I mentioned there was another coach stepping down but wasn’t at liberty to say. Well, her new job announced it last Friday so I’m moving forward. The United States Sports Academy (USSA), a private university focused on sports and located in Alabama, announced that Kelli Trautmann, formally the Head coach at the University of Dallas, will become their first head volleyball coach. The USSA will play in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) which is a college athletic association like the NCAA and NAIA but typically caters to smaller universities and colleges. There are over 70 colleges aligned with the USCAA. (No, I do not plan on adding the USCAA along with my DIII reporting.)

I had heard that Coach Trautmann was informing her team last week of her decision. Kelli joined Dallas in 2017 and was their longest tenured coach in their history. Kelli is originally from Wisconsin so I’m a little surprised she’s heading east but I’m happy that she’s taking up the challenge of starting a new volleyball program. (Side note, her sister coached UW-Stout from 2018 to 2022.)

I have not seen an announcement from Dallas, yet, but I’m sure they will begin a national search to find her replacement. Dallas is a tough program for volleyball and will certainly be a challenge for whomever they bring in. Kelli did a great job during her time there winning 20 matches in 2018 and 17 the following year.

This brings to three the number of head coaching vacancies in Region X: Concordia, UC Santa Cruz and now Dallas.

My best to Kelli who always had the time to discuss the sport and her team when we’ve crossed paths.