By Toby Nosker, CCCC SID

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Pilots Volleyball assistant coach Dylan Hamilton has been promoted to associate head coach, head coach Megan Burton announced on Wednesday.

“I’m incredibly honored and excited to accept the position of Associate Head Coach for Volleyball at the University of Portland,” Hamilton said. “A heartfelt thank you to our head coach, Megan, for her trust, mentorship and continued support. I’m grateful to be a part of a program led with such vision and integrity. I also want to thank our amazing administrators, Scott and Karen, for their confidence in me and their dedication to the success of our student-athletes and staff. I’m looking forward to continuing to grow with this team and contribute to the program’s future. Go Pilots!”

“It’s with great pride & gratitude that we are able to promote Dylan to the title of Associate Head Coach for Portland Volleyball,” Burton said. “He is more than deserving of this promotion after years of dedication, loyalty and commitment to UP Indoor and Beach Volleyball. Dylan has been with me since the start of my head coaching tenure and is such a valued member of my team and our program at UP. His daily grind to make our program better cannot be understated and we have appreciated all his work to grow this program, especially our beach team, to new heights. With the help of Dylan we were able to recruit a full beach-only roster, build a beautiful beach facility and improve in the WCC standings. Dylan is a great teacher, a constant student of the game and a passionate competitor. We are grateful for all his hard work over the many years and are looking forward to many more years of him being a part of our UPVB family. Congrats Dyl!”

 

Hamilton has been a key contributor to both the indoor and beach programs during his time on The Bluff. Hamilton helped lead the Pilots through a milestone 2024 campaign, with the indoor team finishing with its highest win total since 2018 and earning three All-WCC honors and an AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention in the Northwest Region. On the sand, he guided the beach volleyball team to its most successful season in program history, finishing 11-13 overall and continuing a trend of growth for the young program.

Hamilton began his time at Portland as an indoor assistant in 2018, and immediately helped the Pilots make history. That fall, the team opened with a 12-match win streak and finished with 20 wins, the most in a single season in program history. He was later named head coach of the beach volleyball program, where he has steadily built the team’s profile in the West Coast Conference, including earning the program’s first multiple WCC wins in 2019.

Before coming to Portland, Hamilton served as interim head coach and assistant coach at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, overseeing everything from practice planning to recruiting. He also spent time at Washington, working with both the indoor and beach programs. During his time with the Huskies, the team captured two Pac-12 titles and made a Final Four run in 2013.

A native of Ulupalakua, Maui, Hamilton started coaching while still in high school and competed as an outside hitter on the first Maui team to win a Hawaii Division II state title. He’s also competed on the AVP Tour and coached with several top youth clubs, including Aloha Volleyball Club and City Beach Volleyball Club.

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The following Big 12 programs and student-athletes earned national honors during the 2025 Outdoor Track and Field Season.
 
USTFCCCA National Awards
National Men’s Track Athlete of the Year
Nathaniel Ezekiel, Baylor
 
USTFCCCA Regional Awards
Men’s Track Athlete of the Year
Nathaniel Ezekiel, Baylor (South Central Region)
James Corrigan, BYU (Mountain Region)
Brian Musau, Oklahoma State (Midwest Region)
 
Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year
Drew Fucci, Houston (South Central Region)
 
Women’s Track Athlete of the Year
Joy Naukot, West Virginia (Mid-Atlantic Region)
Rachel Joseph, Iowa State (Midwest Region)
 
Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year
Cliff Felkins, Texas Tech (Mountain Region)
 
2025 Academic All-District® Men’s and Women’s Track & Field teams, selected by College Sports Communicators
Esther Akinlosotu, Arizona
Olivia Dillon, Arizona
Zach Extine, Arizona
Sam Hala’ufia, Arizona
Richard Legarra, Arizona
Diego Marquez, Arizona
Kara Mickelson, Arizona
Mackenna Orie, Arizona
Tyler Michelini, Arizona
Hollan Powers, Arizona
Alexis Brown, Baylor
Hayden Gold, Baylor
Molly Haywood, Baylor
Sima Lucero, Baylor
Ben Barton, BYU
Rebekah Erikson, BYU
Casey Clinger, BYU
Maren Garnett, BYU
Meghan Hunter, BYU
Jenna Hutchins, BYU
Trey Jackson, BYU
Alysa Keller, BYU
Joey Nokes, BYU
Creed Thompson, BYU
Riley Beach, Iowa State
Kiki Connell, Iowa State
Bella Heikes, Iowa State
Rachel Joseph, Iowa State
Quinton Orr, Iowa State
Maella Porcher, Iowa State
Gable Sieperda, Iowa State
Pierson Carlisle, K-State
Nate Collier, K-State
Jourdin Edwards, K-State
Tommy Hazen, K-State
Safhia Hinds, K-State
Taylor Mayo, K-State
Tesia Thomas, K-State
Emil Uhlin, K-State
Tavon Underwood, K-State
Sivan Auerbach, Oklahoma State
Kade Benjamin, Oklahoma State
Adisu Guadie, Oklahoma State
Saara Hakanen, Oklahoma State
Sam Mason, Oklahoma State
Annie Molenhouse, Oklahoma State
Emma Robbins, Oklahoma State
Zac Robbins, Oklahoma State
Ryan Schoppe, Oklahoma State
Madi Surber, Oklahoma State
Mckenzie Bailey, TCU
Maria Bienvenu, TCU
Kashie Crockett, TCU
Elise Dobson, TCU
Destin Drummond, TCU
Graydon Morris, TCU
Shelby Frank, Texas Tech
Oskar Edlund, Texas Tech
Lily Haught, West Virginia
Ceili McCabe, West Virginia
Kishay Rowe, West Virginia
Sarah Tait, West Virginia
Madison Trippett, West Virginia
 
 
 

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Five members of the Carleton College women’s cross country and track & field programs were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team for 2024-25.
 
Sophie McManus ’25 was selected for the Academic All-District Team for the third straight year, while Hannah Preisser ’26 collected her second consecutive honor. Lara Erickson ’25 and Libby Rowland ’25 were recognized for the first time, while Stephanie Baranov ’26 took home her first track academic award after securing Academic All-District recognition for swimming this winter.
 

To be nominated for the Academic All-District Team, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50; must be at least a sophomore in academic and athletic standing; and must have turned in a top-50 individual performance in the region (for cross country, this would be at the regional meet, for track & field, this would be based off of TFRRS performance list rankings for the region.)
 

McManus, a biology and mathematics double major, is a seven-time qualifier for Nationals. She was raced at the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the fourth consecutive year and capped her collegiate career by qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 3000-meter steeplechase, where she finished 17th. This year she ranked among the North Region’s top-10 in six events: outdoor steeplechase (third at 10:45.19), cross country 6K (sixth at 22:14.6), outdoor 1500-meter run (sixth at 4:39.91), indoor 5000-meter run (seventh at 17:31.22), outdoor 5000-meter run (seventh at 17:15.17), and indoor 3000-meter run (eighth at 9:59.92). McManus also ranked inside the region’s top-50 for the indoor mile (11th at 5:05.93) and indoor 800-meter (46th at 2:23.60) races. She has earned All-Region status six times over her career to go along with 11 career All-MIAC Awards — including conference crowns this year in the indoor mile and outdoor steeplechase — and all-conference honorable mention four other times.
 

Preisser, also a mathematics major, got her year started with victories at five cross country races, including the MIAC Championships and the NCAA North Region Championships. She then finished seventh at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, earning her third career All-America Award. A seven-time qualifier for Nationals, she also collected All-America recognition with her eighth-place result in the 5000-meter run at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. She did not compete during the outdoor track season as she was participating in an off-campus study program. Preisser has accumulated nine career All-Region awards, including her victory at cross country regionals and third-place rankings at the indoor 3000-meter (9:54.60) and 5000-meter (17:00.01) distances after winning both events at the MIAC Indoor Championships. She has earned some level of all-conference recognition 13 times in her career, including three conference titles this year.
 
Erickson, an environmental studies and history double major, ranked within the region’s top-50 four times this year. She was eighth at the outdoor 800-meter distance (2:13.13), 16th for the indoor 800 (2:18.42), and 33rd for the outdoor 1500-meter (4:48.47) events. She also ran on Carleton’s 4×400-meter relay that ranked 22nd (4:10.26) in the region. She collected four All-MIAC awards this year, including a runner-up finish in the indoor 1000-meter race as well as third-place showings in the indoor and outdoor 800-meter events and the 4×800-meter relay. Erickson has earned all-conference status seven times during her career plus another seven all-conference honorable mention accolades.
 
Rowland, an economics and environmental studies double major, was top-50 in the region in five events this year. She ranked 12th in the outdoor steeplechase (11:15.66), 18th in the indoor mile (5:11.27), 26th for the indoor 3000-meter (10:28.48), and 50th in the outdoor 400-meter hurdles (1:09.86) in addition to competing on Carleton’s distance medley relay that ranked second in the region at 12:31.06. Rowland has earned All-MIAC status 11 times during her career (two this year) and collected All-Conference Honorable Mention another four times, including three times during the 2024-25 academic year.
 

Baranov, a history and political science & international relations double major, is the rare student-athlete to secure Academic All-District recognition in two unrelated sports during the same academic year. She competed in the heptathlon for the first time and ended up ranking 45th in the region (3,180 points) to earn her spot on the Academic All-District list. She also raced on Carleton’s regionally-ranked 4×100-meter (51.94) and 4×400-meter (4:10.26) relays.
 
McManus and Preisser were selected to advance to the national ballot with first-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees to be announced July 15, 2025.

MIAMI – FIU beach volleyball head coach Terri Del Conte informed team members on Wednesday that she will be stepping away from coaching to focus on her family. 
 
A native of California, Del Conte served as the head coach of the Panthers for two seasons and continued to elevate FIU’s nationally ranked beach volleyball program.
 
“My experience at FIU made this decision very hard,” Del Conte said. “I loved working with Scott (Carr, Athletics Director), Julie (Berg, Deputy AD), FIU staff and, above all, the team. I have had many goals since graduating college that I put a pin in, and one of those is building a family.
 
“That is my main focus over the next couple of years, along with serving my hometown community in every way I can,” Del Conte continued. “After the passing of my father, it has put into perspective the importance of family and it’s time to make that more of a priority. Thank you, Panther family, for all the love expressed over these last two years – they have been memorable!”
 
During Del Conte’s tenure, FIU had a national ranking as high as 12th in the AVCA Poll. The Panthers advanced to the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament this past season and won 37 matches in total over two years, six of which came against top-20 teams.
 
“We are very appreciative of Terri’s time here at FIU and her service in not only leading, but growing, our beach volleyball program to be one of the best in the country,” added Director of Athletics Scott Carr. “Although we hoped she would continue as our head coach, we understand and respect her decision and desire to prioritize family and wish her the best.”
 
Del Conte’s tenure saw five student-athletes named to All-CUSA squads, including 2025 CUSA Freshman of Year Brianna Luoma. She also had two AVCA All-Americans under her watch: Giada Bianchi and Reka Orsi Toth. Del Conte will continue to assist the program during the transition as a national search for her replacement gets underway. 
 

SAN BRUNO, Calif. – West Coast Conference Commissioner Stu Jackson has announced the appointment of Japheth Pleasant as Assistant Director, Creative Content Producer, on the Conference’s external team.
 
“We are excited to have Japheth join our team as we enhance our storytelling and content initiatives,” Jackson said. “Japheth will play an important role in growing our visibility and connecting with our audience with engaging content.”
 
Pleasant will serve on the creative content team under Senior Director, Social Content and Marketing, Moira Sweeney, where he will contribute to the Conference’s content strategies and produce content for all external platforms. He will work collaboratively with Conference partners to develop engaging content that emphasizes the Conference’s brand and further enhances the West Coast Conference’s visibility.     
 
“We’re thrilled to add Japheth to our team,” Sweeney said. “His experience and background in communications and creative content will be a tremendous addition to our staff. Japheth’s expertise will strengthen our goals for more innovative and engaging content throughout all of our social media channels, enhancing our visibility with our audience.”
 
Pleasant joins the Conference after spending the last two years at Westcliff University, where he served as the Sports Information Director. During his time with Westcliff, he covered each of the Warriors’ teams, capturing, editing and posting content for social accounts. Pleasant’s video features were recognized by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Sports Information Directors Association on multiple occasions.
 
Prior to his role as Westcliff’s Sports Information Director, he served as the department’s media marketing manager for three years, winning several awards for his production of game highlights and features.
 
Pleasant is a 2018 graduate of Weber State University, where he majored in communication with an emphasis on multimedia journalism. During his time as a student at Weber State, he worked as a news reporter with both written and video features covering the institution. He earned his Master of Business Administration from Westcliff in 2023.