Arkansas State University

2024 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year

Brian Gerwig enters his fourth season at the helm of the Arkansas State volleyball program in 2025. He was announced as the ninth head coach in program history on March 15, 2022, returning to Jonesboro after a decade of coaching experience across multiple successful programs.

In just his third season, Gerwig was named the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the Red Wolves to their first regular-season league title since 2016. A-State finished with 28 wins—matching the program’s most in the rally-scoring era—and claimed its first postseason victory since 2018. His squad consistently ranked among the nation’s top 15 in opponent hitting percentage and climbed as high as No. 51 in the RPI after finishing at 161 the year before.

That 2024 squad also produced three all-conference honorees for the first time since 2017. Sarah Martinez earned Libero of the Year, while Daedrianna Cail collected both Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors.

The program’s rise began a season earlier. In 2023—Gerwig’s second year—the Red Wolves doubled their win total from nine to 16 and returned to postseason play for the first time since 2018. A-State improved 118 spots in the NET rankings (279 in 2022 to 161 in 2023) while ranking 16th nationally in attacks per set (37.57) and finishing third in the Sun Belt in digs per set (16.10).

Before taking the reins in Jonesboro, Gerwig spent three seasons at Houston (2019–21), where the Cougars never finished lower than fourth in the American Athletic Conference. In 2021, Houston went 25–7 with a 15–5 league record to finish second in the standings, and he guided Abbie Jackson to All-America honors from VolleyballMag.com. His offensive systems helped the Cougars lead the AAC in both kills (13.66 per set) and assists (12.63 per set) in 2020–21. That season also saw setter Annie Cooke named both Freshman of the Year and Setter of the Year, while Houston placed a program-record three players on the All-AAC First Team. His first season with the Cougars produced one of the league’s top blocking units, ranking third in the AAC and 23rd nationally with 308 blocks.

Gerwig previously served as an assistant coach at Arkansas State from 2017–18, helping the Red Wolves reach the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals or better in both years, including a runner-up finish in 2017. That team finished 21–12, earned its first postseason win since 1993 with a victory over SIUE in the NIVC, and extended the program’s streak of 20-win seasons to four. The Red Wolves ranked among the top teams in the conference both offensively and defensively, totaling 261 blocks (third in the SBC) and hitting .219 as a team (second in the league). Standout outside hitter Carlisa May recorded 507 kills—10th most in program history—and was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, while middle blocker Jessica Uke posted a career-best 101 blocks under his guidance.

From 2013–16, Gerwig was on staff at George Washington University, where the Colonials collected 70 wins and enjoyed back-to-back 20-win campaigns in 2014 and 2015. He played a key role in GW’s resurgence, helping the program reach the Atlantic 10 championship match in 2014—their first since 2002—and advance to the conference semifinals three years in a row.

He began his collegiate coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Western Kentucky in 2012, where the Lady Toppers posted a 33–4 record, advanced to the NCAA second round for the first time in school history, and produced two All-Americans, including Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Ashley Potts.

In addition to his collegiate experience, Gerwig served as head coach at Trinity High School in Louisville, Ky., in 2012, guiding the program to a 17–4 record and its first state championship since 2005.