MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama volleyball head coach Jesse Ortiz announced the addition of Shawn McLaughlin as assistant coach to the Jaguar coaching staff on Thursday.

McLaughlin will coach setters and handle responsibilities as recruiting coordinator as part of his duties. He joins the Jaguar program after spending the previous three seasons at UAB. Prior to his stint in Birmingham, McLaughlin spent four years at Incarnate Word as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. 

McLaughlin also served coaching stints at Denver, Nevada and UC Davis prior to joining the staff at Incarnate Word. 

"I've known Shawn since when we were both working club volleyball in California a good 12 years ago," Ortiz said. "That is when I first encountered him. He was coaching some high-level club ball. He was someone who was really good with his club team and had experience at a high level in terms of that. In terms of recruiting, he was always out and about and had a great presence amongst the country and amongst a lot of the other coaches out there. I always felt like Shawn was someone with high integrity, and somebody who was really a professional in the game. 

"I felt totally blessed when I saw that he was at UAB, just up the road a few hours, and I thought it was a steal for me to be able to get him here. I was hoping it was going to work out, and thankfully it did. I feel like we have a heavy hitter in here. He is a setters coach so he helps coach our quarterbacks, and he is recruiting coordinator for us here with his ties around the country and with various clubs. Shawn is a tremendous addition for us in getting some of the top-end talent around the country here at South Alabama."

McLaughlin served as head coach of the San Antonio Magic, a club volleyball team in San Antonio, Texas, and led his teams to the USAV Junior Nationals in three separate seasons, which includes a Gold medal at the 2014 USAV Junior National. McLaughlin has also worked with USA Volleyball at its national training facility, and served as head coach to volleyball clubs in California, Colorado and Nevada. 

"I've been excited about helping grow the sport in the Alabama community, and the opportunity to come down to Mobile and help South Alabama build its program is super exciting," McLaughlin said. "I have gotten to know Jesse over the years, and I've gotten to experience and heard so many wonderful things about him. The opportunity to come work for him and help him build a program is a great opportunity that I'm really excited about."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Rally Score Club, the volleyball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Rally Score Club go directly to support the South Alabama volleyball program. For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/rallyscoreclub.