Meet Our Guests: Shawn Olmstead

Shawn Olmstead is currently the head coach of the BYU Men’s Volleyball team; a position he has held since 2015. Prior to coaching the men, Coach Olmstead was the head coach of the BYU Women’s Volleyball team from 2011-2014. He was named the 2016 MPSF Coach of the Year and has led both the men’s and women’s teams to the national championship match on multiple occasions. He was raised in Carpentaria, served a mission Mendoza Argentina, graduated from BYU in Spanish with a Sociology minor and is married to Farrah Hofheins. They have four children.

Years at BYU

• 2008-Present

Years as Men's Volleyball Head Coach

• 2015-present
• Led BYU to a 26-5 (16-2 MPSF) record in 2017, winning a share of the conference regular-season title
• Advanced his team to the national championship match of the NCAA tournament for a second-consecutive season in 2017
• Coached four AVCA All-Americans in 2017: Jake Langlois, Brenden Sander, Price Jarman and Leo Durkin
• Led BYU to a 27-4 (19-3 MPSF) record in 2016, winning the outright conference title and tournament championship
• Helped his team advance to the national championship match of the NCAA tournament
• Coached four 2016 AVCA All-Americans: Brenden Sander, Ben Patch, Jake Langlois and Leo Durkin
• Named the 2016 MPSF Coach of the Year

Years as Women's Volleyball Head Coach

• 2011-2014
• Led BYU to a 30-5 (16-2 WCC) record in 2014 where it won an outright conference title and advanced to the championship match of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history
• Coached three 2014 AVCA All-Americans: Jennifer Hamson, Alexa Gray and Amy Boswell
• Collected his 100th win in four seasons
• Named the AVCA Division I National Coach of the Year in 2014
• Named the 2014 All-Pacific South Region Coach of the Year
• Named the 2014 WCC Co-Coach of the Year
• Led BYU to a 24-7 overall record in 2013, including a second-consecutive round of 16 NCAA tournament finish
• Finished the 2013 season with a 15-3 WCC record that included a 10-0 start to conference play
• His players received an All-American honor, two all-region honors, four All-WCC honors and WCC Freshman of the Year in 2013
• Led the Cougars to their first conference title since 2005, their best record since 1998 at 28-4 and a finish in the round of 16 at the NCAA tournament, the team's first showing at the tournament since 2007, during the 2012 season
• Coached four All-Americans, including AVCA first teamer Jennifer Hamson, in 2012
• Named 2012 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year and 2012 Pacific Region Coach of the Year
• His players received four all-region honors, WCC Player of the Year, WCC Freshman of the Year, WCC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, four All-WCC honors and two WCC All-Freshman honors in 2012
• Led Cougars to 21-9 (10-6 WCC) season in 2011
• Coached players to three all-conference honors, three academic all-conference honors, one all-region accolade and one AVCA All-America citation in 2011
• Helped the team to a third-place finish in BYU’s first season in the West Coast Conference
• Led the Cougars to their first 20-plus win season since 2007 in the 2011 season
• Coached the team to a win against Utah in the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Deseret First Duel

Education

• Graduated from BYU with a degree in Spanish education in 2005 with a sociology minor

Prior to BYU

• Served two years as assistant coach for volleyball at Utah State
• Put together the second-best recruiting class in the WAC in 2007
• As defensive coach, helped the Aggies rank 25th nationally in blocks per game in 2007
• Served as assistant coach for one year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Helped Mustangs to 19-6 record in 2005
• Served as volunteer assistant coach for UVU in 2004
• Coached with IVA High Performance and at various volleyball camps

Playing Career

• Played libero for BYU
• Played at Carpinteria High School in California

Career Highlights

• Helped Cougars to national championships in 2001 and 2004 and national runner-up finish in 2003
• Recorded third-most digs in a single season in school history in 2004
• Started at libero his senior season
• Had 302 career digs as a Cougar
• Named high school league's Most Valuable Player during his senior season
• Set his high school's record of 47 kills in a match

Mission

• Mendoza, Argentina, 1997-99

Hometown

• Carpinteria, Calif.

Personal

• Married to Farrah Hofheins
• Sister Laci played for BYU in 1994 and 1995
• Has three daughters and a son