Sports
283 Tech student-athletes named to Spring 2025 Athletic Director’s Honor Roll
By TTU Sports Information COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech’s student-athletes continued their impressive work in the classroom, closing out the 2024-25 academic year with yet another incredible semester with a spring GPA of 3.477 GPA collectively. In all, 283 student-athletes were named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll list for the spring. The AD’s Honor Roll […]

By TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech’s student-athletes continued their impressive work in the classroom, closing out the 2024-25 academic year with yet another incredible semester with a spring GPA of 3.477 GPA collectively.
In all, 283 student-athletes were named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll list for the spring. The AD’s Honor Roll recognizes student-athletes with a 3.0 or better GPA.
In addition, 74 student-athletes earned recognition in the Gold Club, recording a perfect 4.0 GPA.
The Spring 2025 Tech Athletic Director’s Honor Roll includes (4.0 recipients in BOLD):
BASEBALL (27): Riley Black, Jack Brafa, Luke Bragga, Jackson Green, Jared Herzog, Houston High, Garrett Holpuch, Eli Huddleston, Nicho Jordan, Owen Lee, Braxton Lewis, Greyson Madonia, Kevin Matos, Drew Mattox, Reece McDuffie, Logan Moller, Carson Parrott, Jaxson Pease, Kinnick Pusteoska, Jackson Rooker, Landon Smelser, Preston Steele, Lawson Stricklin, Micah Summar, Carter Vrabel, Mack Whitcomb, Emery Wright;
MEN’S BASKETBALL (11): Ola Ajiboye, Mekhi Cameron, Daniel Egbuniwe, Brady Everett, Josh Heard, Kyle Layton, Triumph Olayiwola, Matthew Sells, Grant Slatten, Grant Strong, Bogdan Zimonjic;
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (10): Megan Aulbert, Keeley Carter, Peyton Carter, Angelika Girgenson, Reghan Grimes, Reagan Hurst, Chloe Larry, Maddy Newman, Amelia Pfeiffer, Anna Walker;
BEACH VOLLEYBALL/VOLLEYBALL (13): Brooke Amann, Katie Green, Mallory Jenkins, Jordan Karlen, Bella Lineberger, Emma Pabon, Alayna Pierce, Bella Powell, MK Roberts, Ava Schubert, Elena Wallace, Jazmine Yamilkoski, McKenna Young;
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY (8): Carter Bradford, Sam Bridges, Robert Dawson, James Hyland, Isaac Legault, Miceal McCaul, Zak Myles-Hawkins, Dante Torres;
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY/TRACK AND FIELD (23): Savanna Amos, Carolina Bannach, Ally Beneke, Paris Bowles, Rachael Brewer, Mattie Bush, Kategie Casseus, Alexis Dotson, Hannah Faudi, Megan Forstner, Angela Hoover, Lauryn Jackson, Makaleigh Jessee, Kendall Johnson, Madison Johnson, Aliyah Kennedy, Riley Knoyle, Hannah Little, Maddie Long, Hayley Stegall, Tyla Street, Zaely Tilt, Rylee Wells;
FOOTBALL (64): Spencer Ashby, Torin Baker, Dyson Bell, Toby Bolton, Ezekiel Brinson, Kanstin Brooks, Steve Brown, Travis Carlucci, Miles Cooney, Brian Courtney, Tim Coutras, A.J. Crawford, Kalvyn Crummie, Wes Delk, Brady Downs, James Edwards, Kennedy Fauntleroy, Naquavious Giles, Luke Graves, Josh Hand, Dylan Hassid, Ahmad Haston, Gabe Hecht, T.J. Holmberg, Monty Hunt, Devin Hunter, Tremel Jones, Jack Kendrick, Idris King, Isaac Knowles, Keisen Lindsey, D.J. Linkins, Taylor Love, Seth Maldonado, Ethan McLaurin, Ty Moss, Tyler Nix, Myles Parker, Mekhi Penix, Omari Philyaw, Bertin Placide, Xavier Randolph, Daniel Rickert, Laz Rodriguez, Jeremiah Sandiford, Obie Sanni, Jalin Shephard, Luke Shields, Nason Simmons, Aaron Swafford, Tayton Swift, Zion Tamaska, Eric Taylor, Mason Taylor, Christian Thomas, Cole Thompson, Hudson Tucker, Greg Turner, Parker Vorhees, Coby Walton, Wyatt Watson, Logan Weedman, Jameson Wharton, Drew Wilder;
MEN’S GOLF (7): Alexander Bassel, Drew Bolton, Owen Bright, Alex Broyles, Haden Maxwell, Spencer Stuke, Hil Thompson;
WOMEN’S GOLF (7): Lydia Baker, Sydney Branson, Chloe Griffith, Lexus Julian, Kailey Lane, Reagan Stuke, Palmer Sykes;
SOCCER (21): Anna Baker, Maggie Conrad, Lucia Cuadra, Abigail Davis, Bella Garrett, Melina Hamm, Natalie Howard, Addison Johnson, Allison Lee, Cheyenne McCloud, Ebba Melin, Presley Morales, Madison North, Claire Palya, Sam Schroeffel, Reagan Smiley, Tori Soutuyo, Katie Toney, Delaney Wade, Skylar Williams, Ashley Wood;
SOFTBALL (23): Addison Abell, Ella Bishop, Ashley Capelouto, Sofia Carroll, Olivia Evans, Lainey Fitzgerald, Makayli Harris, Abbee Klinefelter, Hannah Lange, Julie Martin, Bella Ochoa, Jailynn Paderez, Kyleigh Pitzer, Ashlyn Riggs, Faith Rush, Alina Schlageter, Abby Shoulders, Bailee Stack, Brooklyn Stewart, Hailey Stewart, Skylar Sybesma, Payton Wagner, Emily York;
SPIRIT SQUADS (28): Lauren Akande, Ryann Allen, Faith Bettencourt, Mariah Crateau, Kamyah Crowley, Isabella Crump, Shannon Donnelly, Chloe Fleenor, Isabella Gresham, Seneca Haggard, Katie Hale, Kenadi Hall, Madison Jackson, Mackenzie Johnson, Ashlyn Kelley, Jordyn Liddell, Fancy McCann Rojas, Hayden Michaelson, Brooklyn Moore, Drake Pyle, Keira Reynolds, Autumn Sells, Kara Shope, Jace Simmons, Kimsey Turner, Jasmine Williams, Michael Wissert, Brynn Woodlee;
MEN’S TENNIS (11): Alex Alvarez, Lucas Bitzer, Murilo Burckhardt, Oliver Dao, Ricard Garavi Yepez, Lukas Krause, Darek Kuczynski, Elia Lauper, Benedikt Mosbauer, Elyad Oshnavie, Davids Spaks;
FIFTH-YEAR/CONTINUING STUDENT-ATHLETES (1): Madolyn Isringhausen;
MANAGERS AND TRAINERS (29): Jonas Alger, Jayden Baker, Lilly Bridges, Jaxon Fox, Angel Garcia, Dylan Gibson, Noah Glenn, Emma Hightower, David Hilliard, Brayden Holliman, Weston LaRue, Shaela Ledbetter, Bethany Lyons, Kaleb McCoy, Isabella Miya, Kendall Morgan, Destiny Nunley, Simon Ogletree, Kennth Parker, Steven Peyatt, Ainsley Pfeiffer, Jarick Reynolds, Anna Riggs, Ally Silcox, Olivia Smith, Aaron Sullivan, Jack Summers, Brevin Swartzenturber, Taylor Ward.
Sports
Hibbett extends contract with Digital Wave
JD Sports-owned apparel giant Hibbett, Inc. is continuing to invest in deepening its digital offerings. Less than a month after unveiling its new ecommerce site for kids’ products, Hibbett announced July 8 that it has renewed its contract for Digital Wave’s Product Experience Management (PXM) solution. The renewal, according to Hibbett, reflects its commitment to […]

JD Sports-owned apparel giant Hibbett, Inc. is continuing to invest in deepening its digital offerings.
Less than a month after unveiling its new ecommerce site for kids’ products, Hibbett announced July 8 that it has renewed its contract for Digital Wave’s Product Experience Management (PXM) solution. The renewal, according to Hibbett, reflects its commitment to achieving a measurable impact on scaling product content, streamlining internal processes and enhancing its digital shopping experience.
UK-based sportswear giant JD Sports ranks No. 22 in Digital Commerce 360’s Europe Database ranking the largest online retailers in the region. Meanwhile, Hibbett is No. 294 in the Top 2000. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers. There, it falls under the Sporting Goods category. Digital Commerce 360 projects Hibbett’s total online sales in 2025 will reach $314.04 million.
Hibbett’s digital plans for its sports apparel business
Bill Quinn, chief information officer for Hibbett, praised the role that Digital Wave has played so far.
“Digital Wave’s PXM has been instrumental in improving content accuracy, team alignment and time to market,” Quinn stated. “We’re excited to continue our partnership and keep building on that success.”
The announcement also mentioned that — as part of the renewal — Hibbett will work with Digital Wave on a variety of goals. Those include bolstering areas such as operational efficiency, expanded merchandise assortment, inventory management and customer experience.
A message to Hibbett about the partnership was not immediately returned.
“At a time when customer expectations are higher than ever, Hibbett is meeting the moment with clarity, agility, and ambition,” said Lori Schafer, CEO at Digital Wave Technology. “We’re proud to extend our partnership and continue supporting their growth with a product experience solution that delivers speed, scale, and real business outcomes.”
Why Hibbett is investing in its digital experience
Jeffrey Derman is a partner in the retail group at Solomon Partners. He closely tracks Hibbett and said the Digital Wave partnership makes sense.
“Retailers are increasingly coming to grips with the massive volumes of data their businesses generate or otherwise come into contact with,” Derman said.
He added that this includes data about their customers, vendors, inventory, merchandise velocity and much more.
“Being able to tie that all together to be better able to put the right product on the right shelf (physical or virtual) in front of the right customer at the right time has been a sought-after, but largely elusive goal,” Derman assessed.
He explained that a significant part of the challenge has been that data has historically been siloed. That has meant various systems do not communicate with each other with common reference points.
“There is a hope that increasingly sophisticated AI-driven tools will be able to do better the hard work of that data integration and interpretation to help retailers get closer to achieving that goal, thereby improving conversion, optimizing inventory levels, and bolstering margins,” Derman said.
The role of PMX solutions in online retail
Wanda Cadigan is the senior vice president of marketing at Cloudinary, a media optimization and visual experience platform used by retailers. She said Hibbett is leveraging its partnership with Digital Wave to make the customer experience as seamless as possible.
“For a brand like Hibbett, PMX platforms powered by AI converts scattered data and digital assets into consistent, engaging, and shoppable experiences across every channel,” Cadigan stated.
She noted that consistency is critical. It plays roles in customer trust and enabling partners — from manufacturers to digital marketplaces — to stay aligned in real-time.
“The retail sector’s pace is consistently evolving and accelerating, and AI is helping teams scale what used to take days or weeks into something nearly instantaneous,” Cadigan said.
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Sports
300 tons of sand trucked into Intuit Dome to create AVP venue
AVP, the biggest and longest-running professional volleyball league, will play matches in an NBA arena for the first time this weekend in Inglewood. A crew picked up 16 dump truck loads from a quarry in Palm Springs, delivering 300 tons of sand into the Intuit Dome for AVP League matches on Friday and Saturday. The […]

AVP, the biggest and longest-running professional volleyball league, will play matches in an NBA arena for the first time this weekend in Inglewood.
A crew picked up 16 dump truck loads from a quarry in Palm Springs, delivering 300 tons of sand into the Intuit Dome for AVP League matches on Friday and Saturday.
The crew constructed a wooden sandbox barrier to protect the arena floor. The sand, pre-washed and compacted upon arrival, was dumped into an 18-inch wooden frame, with elements such as hospitality added to help remove debris from the air.

A worker prepares sand at the Intuit Dome ahead of an AVP tournament.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“If all goes well, it’s about a six- to eight-hour build from start to finish with the court,” said Logan Dan, head of operations for AVP Professional Beach Volleyball Tours. “It takes about six hours to build the court specifically.”
Once the event concludes, the crew dismantles the frame and removes the sand using equipment that looks like a modified small tractor.
“We break the box open and use a skid steer with a box broom attachment — it sweeps up a lot of the sand,” Dan said.
Although indoor beach volleyball is unusual, the AVP’s new league model — introduced last year — has made it possible to bring tournaments to unconventional venues. The league is investing in creative ways to grow accessibility and exposure.



1. One of many trucks makes its way through the Intuit Dome to deliver sand in preparation of an AVP league event. 2. Workers slowly cover the floor of the Intuit Dome with sand. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“What that has allowed us to do is to bring volleyball into different areas that it might not be,” Dan said. “For instance, we’re going to New York next week, and we’ll be putting a court in Central Park, right in Wollman Rink, where they normally have ice skating in the winter and pickleball in the summer.”
Conditions for beach volleyball differ significantly between outdoor and indoor play. Sun, wind and heat heavily influence outdodor players’ performance and court dynamics. Indoors, the environment remains cooler and still, free from elements such as whipping winds or scorching sun.
“It’s so close and loud and intimate that it creates that very cool environment,” Logan said.
AVP declined to disclose what it costs to build courts in unconventional locations such as the Intuit Dome.
Logan said AVP staff hope fans will enjoy a fun, family-oriented community environment that features more seats close to the action than a typical beach volleyball court.

Workers cover the floor of the Intuit Dome with sand ahead of an AVP league event.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The schedule
AVP League matches start Friday at 5 p.m. with the L.A. Launch playing the San Diego Smash in the first match.
Doors open Saturday at 4 p.m., with the Palm Beach Passion playing the L.A. Launch during the first match.
Tickets started at $43.50 apiece.
What’s at stake
The AVP League format differs from traditional tournaments. A men’s duo and women’s duo represent a city and their combined records determine position in league standings. At the end of league play, one of eight cities will be crowned the AVP League champion. The playoffs feature a postseason tournament seeded based on each duo’s record during the season. The tournament splits into male and female competition groups, with the winning duo in each group earning the top prize.
The top two teams in the league standings are the L.A. Launch and the Palm Beach Passion. L.A. Launch is undefeated, while Palm Beach Passion is 6–2.
Who is playing in Inglewood?
Four of the league’s eight city teams will be represented. The lineup includes numerous Olympians, USC alums and a former NBA player.
No. 1 L.A. Launch
Men: Hagen Smith and Logan Webber | Women: Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft
No. 2 Palm Beach
Men: Trevor Crabb and Phil Dalhausser | Women: Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson
No. 6 San Diego Smash
Men: Chase Budinger and Miles Evans | Women: Abby Van Winkle and Geena Urango
No. 8 Miami Mayhem
Men: Chaim Schalk and James Shaw | Women: Kelly Cheng and Molly Shaw
Sports
Favourites triumph to reach last eight of Men’s U16 European Water Polo Championships
Türkiye goalkeeper Ayhan Burak Aydemir came up with several saves to beat the Netherlands. Photo: Nikola Krstic/European Aquatics All the favourites – Montenegro, Croatia, Hungary and Türkiye – won their crossovers on Thursday to advance to the quarter-finals of the men’s Elite U16 European Water Polo Championships in Istanbul. Meanwhile, in Ljubljana at the Division […]


All the favourites – Montenegro, Croatia, Hungary and Türkiye – won their crossovers on Thursday to advance to the quarter-finals of the men’s Elite U16 European Water Polo Championships in Istanbul. Meanwhile, in Ljubljana at the Division One tournament, Bulgaria and Bosnia & Herzegovina made it four wins from four to stay top of their respective groups.
Men’s U16 European Water Polo Championships
Crossovers Elite Division
Istanbul, Türkiye
Thursday 10 July 2025
Croatia 17-11 Germany
Montenegro 13-7 Romania
Hungary 14-4 Georgia
Türkiye 15-12 Netherlands
Day 4 Division One
Group Stage – Ljubljana, Slovenia
Thursday 10 July 2025
Group A
Cyprus 15-10 Slovakia
Bulgaria 14-10 Portugal
Slovenia 11-14 France
Standings: 1. Bulgaria 12pts, 2. France 9pts, 3. Slovenia 6pts, 3. Cyprus 6pts, 5. Slovakia 3pts, 6. Portugal 0pts
Group B
Lithuania 6-14 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Czechia 12-6 Latvia
Switzerland 11-11 (8-9P) Ukraine
Standings: 1. Bosnia & Herzegovina 12pts, 2. Ukraine 11pts, 3. Switzerland 7pts, 4. Lithuania 3pts, 4. Czechia 3pts, 6. Latvia 0pts

Croatia were the first team to land in the best eight in Istanbul after a convincing win over Germany in the crossovers. The highest-ranked teams from the lower divisions challenged the third and fourth-placed sides from Group A and B on Thursday, and Croatia had the chance to find a way out of the misery they went through in the group stage.
They found it, and did it with ease, as they produced two splendid quarters right away, winning each 5-2 to lead 10-4 at half-time, which was a great response from the players.
The Germans couldn’t withstand the pressure, and even though the second half was more balanced, the Croatians’ first win of the Championships was never in danger. This sets up an epic quarter-final battle on Friday between the Croats and Serbians.
Next came Montenegro and after a tight opening period, they came up with a 4-0 blast in the second to go 7-2 up by half-time. They added four more in the third to sail away with a convincing victory – and now they face Spain in the quarters.
The Hungarians overcame some early headaches as they had to equalise twice against Georgia, and missed a penalty. After an early exchange of man-up goals for 3-3, the Magyars staged a 4-0 run before the middle break, though their penalty conversion was sluggish at best (put away two, missed another one).
Georgia were 7-3 behind at half-time and had already lost two players with three major fouls, which didn’t promise much for the second half.
They did manage to score one solitary goal in the last two periods, but they were well beaten by Hungary, who will look to improve on their poor penalty conversion rate (4/9) when they face Greece on Friday.
In the fourth match, Türkiye secured their first win of the tournament with a hard-fought victory against the Netherlands. Efe Ike (seven goals) and captain Eymen Altay (four goals) were unstoppable as they helped steer their side to the last eight.
After winning each of the first three quarters, the hosts were 11-6 up and two unanswered goals early in the fourth took them out of sight. They’ll now face Italy on Friday.

In the Division One tournament, Ukraine dropped their first points of the Championships, as Switzerland sensationally scored three late goals to force a penalty shootout.
The Ukrainians looked on course for their fourth successive victory as they scored three without reply in the last period to lead 8-11.
With 3:35 remaining, Switzerland’s captain Rohan Negro hammered in a shot from distance to cut the gap to two, but the game still looked lost, especially when they missed a six-on-five chance shortly after.
However, in the last 42 seconds, Negro added a stunning double, one from extra and another from 6m to level the scores.
The penalties were flawless for the first eight rounds, then Ukraine’s Danylo Benyakh saw his effort saved to hand the Swiss the chance to win it. Gian Kluser swam up to take it, but his shot was also blocked. Ukraine had been handed a reprieve and buried their next two to seal the two points after Felix Fluckiger’s penalty was beaten away.
Also in Group B, Czechia stormed past Latvia 12-6, and Bosnia & Herzegovina soared to the top of the table after downing Lithuania 6-14, with Zarije Miladinovic firing in six times, including three penalties.
In Group A, France produced moments of brilliance in the middle two quarters to down the hosts Slovenia. A quick-fire Luka Vujanovic hat-trick in the first quarter helped guide Slovenia to a 5-4 lead, but France defended superbly for the next 15 minutes and completely shut their opponents out.
In the meantime, the French hit five at the other end to put them 5-9 ahead. Slovenia finally ended their drought through Vuk Petrovic, but the momentum was still with the French, who added three more before the last break to lead 7-12.
The Slovenians won the last quarter 4-2, but they were never able to get any closer than three.
Elsewhere in Group A, Cyprus dominated the third quarter 6-2 against Slovakia to put them on the road to victory, and Bulgaria came from behind to beat Portugal and maintain their perfect start to the Championships.
–
Watch all the action live from Istanbul and Ljubljana for free on the European Aquatics TV channel, which can be found by clicking here.
For the full results/tables and schedule from Istanbul, click here.
For the full results/tables and schedule from Ljubljana, click here.
Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics
Sports
Lee Elia, former Phillies and Cubs manager known for epic rant, dies at 87
Lee Elia, known for managing the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies during his decades-long career in MLB (and for an infamous, expletive-filled postgame rant), has died. He was 87. The Phillies announced that Elia died on Tuesday less than one week shy of his 88th birthday on July 16. “The Phillies mourn the loss of […]

Lee Elia, known for managing the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies during his decades-long career in MLB (and for an infamous, expletive-filled postgame rant), has died. He was 87.
The Phillies announced that Elia died on Tuesday less than one week shy of his 88th birthday on July 16.
“The Phillies mourn the loss of Lee Elia, who managed the club from 1987-88,” the team said in a social media post on Wednesday. “Elia was a valued contributor to the Phillies for much of his half century in professional baseball. The third base coach for the 1980 World Series championship team, he also spent time in the organization as a minor league player, manager, scout and director of instruction.”
Born in Philadelphia in 1937, Elia graduated from Olney High School and attended the University of Delaware before signing with the Phillies in 1958. He played in the minor leagues for several years and subsequently signed with the Chicago White Sox. He was called up to the majors in 1966.
He also had a brief stint with the Chicago Cubs in 1968. He appeared in 95 total MLB games and had a .203 batting average.
Elia transitioned to coaching after landing a third base position with the Phillies in 1980. The squad went on to win the 1980 World Series over the Kansas City Royals.
“I never really entertained thoughts about managing the Phillies. I just kept saying, ‘Geez, it would be great if one day I could be a coach for the Phillies,’ ” Elia once recalled. “That became a reality in ’80 and not only was I a coach, but I was a third base coach on a world championship ball club. And that to me was the ultimate.”
In 1982, Elia was hired as the manager of the Cubs. He lead the team to a 73-89 record that season. The Cubs didn’t fare much better in Elia’s second season. He was dismissed with the team sporting a 54-69 record.
Before then, though, Elia memorably delivered an infamous, expletive-laced rant mostly directed toward Chicago fans for heckling and booing the home team following a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 29, 1983.
Elia was hired to take over as manager for the Phillies in 1987 after the team got off to a 29–32 start under John Felske. Elia led the Phillies to a 51-50 mark, the team finishing the season with an 80–82 record. He retained the manger position for the 1988 season but was fired late in the year as the Phillies finished a disappointing 65–96.
He held various other coaching jobs for the New York Yankees (1989), Seattle Mariners (1993–1997; 2001–2002; 2008), Toronto Blue Jays (2000), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2003–2005) and Baltimore Orioles (2006).
Elia was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
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Sports
New Softball Coach Kendall Fearn Adds First Assistant, Tyler Heil
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State Softball Head Coach Kendall Fearn has selected the first member of her coaching staff, hiring Tyler Heil. “I am incredibly excited to welcome Tyler Heil to Long Beach State as our new assistant coach,” said Fearn. “He is someone of high character and is respected nationwide by […]

“I am incredibly excited to welcome Tyler Heil to Long Beach State as our new assistant coach,” said Fearn. “He is someone of high character and is respected nationwide by the coaching community. Over the years, it has been wonderful to get to know him professionally, as he brings a wealth of experience, including head coaching experience and a proven track record of elevating every program he’s been a part of.
“His impact has been felt at every stop, helping lead teams to NCAA Tournament and Super Regional appearances through his masterful defensive development and dynamic offensive strategy. Tyler is recognized as a driven and effective recruiter who knows how to build authentic relationships with student-athletes and help them thrive on and off the field. His work ethic, knowledge of the game, and values-based coaching philosophy will make an immediate and lasting impact at Long Beach State.”
Heil comes to the Beach from Santa Barbara City College, where he led the Vaqueros last season as the program’s head coach. Posting an 8-6 conference record, SBCC hit .322 as a team and had 29 doubles and six home runs on the year. That served as a return to SBCC for Heil, who got his start in coaching with the program in 2014, coaching with both the baseball and softball programs during his first stint in Santa Barbara, ending in 2017.
He then transitioned into Division I softball coaching for four years at New Mexico as an assistant coach. Responsible for the team’s hitting and infield development, the Lobos had seven All-Mountain West selections, and he worked with the program’s career doubles and career home runs leaders during his time in Albuquerque.
Taking a promotion in 2021, Heil then moved to Central Florida, where he was the lead assistant during a very successful run for the Knights. In 2022, his first season with UCF, the Knights went 49-14 and finished the year No. 14 in the nation as part of the NFCA’s Mideast Region Coaching Staff of the year. He helped UCF make back-to-back regional appearances in 2022 and 2023, as well as a Super Regional appearance in 2022. While with UCF, Heil was in charge of their recruiting efforts and secured two Top 25 ranked recruiting classes while in Orlando. Working with the team’s hitters and infielders, Heil mentored two top award winners in the American Athletic Conference in 2022, the Freshman of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year.
“I am incredibly grateful and honored to join Beach Softball,” said Heil. “From the moment I spoke to Coach Fearn, it was clear that our values align in all the right ways. I’m excited to contribute to a culture that is both competitive and transformational, where we pursue championships while also developing well-rounded women prepared for life beyond the game. Doing this in Southern California, where I can blend family and high-level softball, makes it even more special. I’m proud to represent Long Beach and can’t wait to get started.”
Sports
Chris Van Vuuren – Men’s Volleyball
2015 (Senior): Appeared in 16 matches and 43 sets primarily as a serving specialist … Had a career-high two aces in a 3-0 win over Harvard on March 13 … Added a career-best three kills and four digs against the Crimson … Also served up an ace at UCLA (March 6), vs. Pepperdine (March 26), […]

2015 (Senior): Appeared in 16 matches and 43 sets primarily as a serving specialist … Had a career-high two aces in a 3-0 win over Harvard on March 13 … Added a career-best three kills and four digs against the Crimson … Also served up an ace at UCLA (March 6), vs. Pepperdine (March 26), at UC San Diego (April 4) and vs. CSUN (April 18) … Earned his first career start against the Matadors.
2014 (Junior): Played in five matches and 17 sets … Registered two digs at Stanford on Jan. 31 … Had one ace at Pacific (Feb. 1).
2013: Redshirted.
Orange Coast College: Led Orange Coast College to a conference title and an appearance in the state finals as a sophomore … Named to the California Community College Athletic Association All-Tournament Team … Also earned first-team All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference honors … Tied for the team lead with 30 service aces, while ranking second with 188 kills … Helped the Pirates reach the state semifinals as a freshman.
High School: Lettered at Fountain Valley High School … Received second-team All-Sunset League honors as a senior.
Quick Facts: Played for Balboa Bay Volleyball Club.
Major: Psychology
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