Rick Reynolds is entering his third season with Idaho State University.
In his second season, Reynolds led the Bengals back to the Big Sky Conference Championships for the fifth-straight season after finishing conference play with a 10-6 overall record, good for third in the South Division and fifth overall. Idaho State advanced to the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament before falling to eventual champion North Dakota, finishing the 2016 season with a 16-15 overall record.
Three players earned Big Sky All-Conference recognition as Hayley Farrer and Chloe Hirst earned first team honors while Marissa Dance was named to the second team. Under Reynolds' direction, the Bengals also continue to excel in the classroom as seven players were named to the Big Sky All-Academic Team while the program earned the AVCA Team Academic Award.
During his first season, the Bengals finished 23-10 overall for their fourth-straight 20-win season including a 13-3 mark in conference play. Four of Reynolds' players earned All-Big Sky honors as Tressa Lyman, Makenzie Filer and Hayley Farrer earned first-team honors while Bailey Bars was named to the second-team. Idaho State advanced to the championship match of the BSC tournament for the fourth-straight season, falling 3-0 to Northern Arizona on Nov. 21.
Reynolds' Bengals were also successful in the classroom as nine players earned Big Sky All-Academic honors. The academic honors were highlighted by Lyman who earned her fourth-straight Big Sky All-Academic honor and was named the first-ever CoSIDA Second-Team Academic All-American in ISU volleyball history.
Reynolds arrived at Idaho State after a stellar career at Western Wyoming Community College. In his seven years with the Mustangs, he led the team to a 197-87 record, 77-15 record in Region IX North play, two Region IX North Championships in addition to second and third place finishes at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Championships.
Since taking over the program in 2008, Reynolds was voted the 2008 and 2010 WCCAC Coach of the Year by his peers, while also being named Region IX North Coach of the Year in 2010, 2011 and 2013. He was also named the District I Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2011. Under Reynolds, the Mustangs produced six NJCAA All-Americans, five AVCA All-Americans, and five NJCAA National Championship All-Tournament Team members. Olivera Medic was named Region IX Player of the Year in 2010 and 2011. Makayla Keck was named 2011 Region IX Setter of the Year. Cindy Davis was named 2013 Region IX Libero of the Year. Twenty-nine players made the All-Region Team and 27 were named to the WCCAC All-Conference Team. For their performances at the Region IX North tournament, 26 Mustangs were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Academically during Reynolds' tenure, the program earned one NJCAA Volleyball Academic Team of the Year award for the best GPA in the NJCAA as well as six NJCAA Academic Team awards for having over a 3.0 GPA. The Mustangs finished in the top 10 in the NJCAA Academic Team of the Year standings four different times: 2013-2014 – 2nd with a 3.60 GPA, 2012-2013 – 9th with a 3.48 GPA, 2011-2012 – 1st with a 3.63 GPA and 2010-2011 – 8th with a 3.45 GPA. The Mustangs have won five AVCA Academic Team Awards for having over a 3.3 GPA. Twenty-three Mustangs have won individual NJCAA Academic Awards, 70 have won WCCAC Academic All-Conference and 43 have won Academic All-Region the past six years.
Prior to his time at Western Wyoming, Reynolds spent three years at the University of North Carolina Wilmington where he coached two All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Rookie Team members, one CAA Player of the Week and two CAA Rookie of the Week award winners. Reynolds also coached eight All-Tournament Award winners. During his time with the program, the team won two AVCA/GamePlan Academic Awards for having a 3.3 GPA or higher. In addition, 33 players were named to the Dean's List and three to the Chancellor's List.
Prior to UNC Wilmington, Reynolds was the head coach for both volleyball and softball at Colorado Northwestern Community College. He helped two of his players become All-Scenic West Athletic Conference and All-Region XVIII players.
As an active member within the AVCA, Reynolds has served on the West Region Coach of the Year Committee, Assistant Coaches Committee as a CAA representative, and Two-Year Coaches Committee. Recently, he was the Chairman of the Two-Year Coaches Committee and served on the AVCA Board of Directors from 2012-2014. He also just finished serving on the Hall of Fame Committee for the last three years. He has published an article featured in Coaching Volleyball, presented a webinar about Recruiting at a Two-Year College, and conducted on-court presentations at the AVCA 2012 Spring Conference in Los Angeles, CA, the AVCA 2012 Coaches Convention in Louisville, KY, and the AVCA 2015 Spring Conference in Palo Alto, CA. One of these presentations, "Ensuring Your Middle Shows Up for Every Swing," is available on video through Championship Productions.
Reynolds is originally from Cordele, Ga. He is married to Brenna Reynolds and has three daughters, Keylee, Kaysen and Kyndal.
