Matt Troy Moves to DI

I’m on a roll with coaching openings it appears and I’ve got another one but this one is not in Region X and is definitely an elite program. Johns Hopkins Head Coach Matt Troy has stepped down and taken the same position with DI Elon University. Elon is a private university in Elon, North Carolina that has around 7,000 undergraduates. (If it helps, Elon is just down the road from Gibsonville.) The volleyball team plays out of the Colonial Athletic Association where they went 5-13 last season and 11-18 overall. He will replace Mary Tendler who retired a month ago as the winningest coach in program history.

So, Matt is one of the good ones and someone I consider a friend. He has been amazing in his support of the site and someone who I could always count on for a good volleyball discussion. I just feel bad that all of his new founded NCAA Power Index (NPI) knowledge will now go to waste. I am very happy for Matt and his family but this is a great loss for DIII volleyball and me personally. Still, since he’s decided to go to the dark side, I had no choice but to text him, “You will be missed but, of course, you are dead to me.”

Matt did reply, “Definitely a tough decision because I love my Hopkins team. I think Elon has a ton of potential and North Carolina is a little warmer!”

Of course, if he wanted warmer there was always Concordia, Dallas and UC Santa Cruz!

Matt spent 15 years in DIII starting with JHU before moving to Mary Washington and then back to JHU. He accumulated 357 wins and the perfect 2019 season which saw his Blue Jays take home the national championship. Matt and I actually crossed paths back in 2016 when he led Mary Washington to the Elite 8. That year, his team was crushed by my Southwestern Pirates at the Chris Newport Tournament. (My daughter scorched Matt with 6 digs. They never could recover.) In the Elite 8, they played an epic match against WashU losing in 5-sets in order to avoid a rematch with my Pirates. Of course, I don’t want to bring any of this up during this joyful moment for him.

Well, dang. Best of luck to Matt and Elon University. You got a good one. It will be fascinating to see which direction Johns Hopkins goes in finding a replacement.