Jesse Ortiz was named head volleyball coach at the University of South Alabama in March 2021.
In his first season at South Alabama, Ortiz led the Jaguars to the program’s first-ever Sun Belt Conference regular-season title, first SBC Tournament championship and first NCAA postseason appearance. He was named the 2021 American Volleyball Coaches Association Southeast Region Coach of the Year, as well as 2021 SBC Coach of the Year. USA set a new program record for SBC wins (15) in a season in 2021, and its 25 overall wins were the most by a Jaguar team since the 1987 squad won 26 matches. South Alabama’s 25 wins ranked as the third-most in a season in program history.
The Jags’ put together a 13-game win streak down the stretch of the regular season and into the SBC postseason, which marked the longest since the 1987 team won 15 consecutive matches. South Alabama led the SBC in opponent hitting percentage (.145), opponent assists per set (10.49), opponent kills per set (11.29), ranked second in opponent service aces per set (1.04) and blocks per set (2.42), and third in hitting percentage (.237), assists per set (12.00) and kills per set (13.04).
Four Jaguars earned all-conference honors – Kailey Keeble was named first-team all-SBC, while Hannah Maddux, Maddie Soboleski and Kennedy Wallace were each voted second-team all-SBC – which marked the most in a single-season in program history. Keeble was also named the SBC Championship Most Valuable Player, and earned all-tournament honors along with Niki Capizzi.
Ortiz came to South from Clemson — where he spent one year as an assistant for the Tigers — after helping three other programs make a combined eight NCAA Tournament appearances at the NCAA Division I and II levels over the last 12 years.
Prior to joining the staff at Clemson, Ortiz was an assistant for three seasons at Michigan State. During his time with the program the Spartans recorded a winning record each year highlighted by a 23-9 mark — which included going 14-6 in the Big Ten Conference — in 2017 after advancing to a regional final in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1996 campaign.
He served as an assistant and was the recruiting coordinator at Miami (Ohio) for three years before going to MSU, helping the Redhawks go 66-27 (71.0%) during that span. In his first year with the program, MU posted a 21-10 record and advanced to the championship match of the Mid-American Conference Tournament, going 21-10 again the next fall. In 2016, the Redhawks reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight seasons after claiming the MAC title and finishing with a 24-7 mark.
Ortiz began his coaching career as an assistant at Sonoma (Calif.) State in 2007, and in four seasons helped the team go 76-39 (66.1%) while making three appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament. That included finishing 23-7 in 2008 and posting a 23-8 overall mark the following year. He then served as an assistant at Ferris (Mich.) State for three seasons, during which time the Bulldogs went 76-21 (78.4%) while participating in the NCAA Tournament each year. FSU made back-to-back appearances in the regional semifinals in 2011 and ’12 — going 27-4 the first season and 24-8 the next — before making it to the regional finals of the event on the way to a 25-9 finish his final season on the staff.
While at Sonoma State, Ortiz also was head coach of the school’s men’s club team for six seasons from 2004-09. In addition to guiding the squad to the Northern California Collegiate Volleyball League title his first year in charge, he led the Seawolves to the championship match of the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association national tournament each of his last three seasons highlighted by winning the championship in his final match in charge of the program.
During his career, Ortiz has worked with 12 All-Americans, had 19 individuals earn all-region recognition and 47 who received all-conference honors. Off the court, his efforts have helped nine student-athletes earn academic recognition from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) with over 100 individuals named to academic all-league teams.
Ortiz — who also has over 10 years of experience coaching at the club level in both California and Michigan — received his undergraduate degree in art studio from Sonoma State in 2004, adding a master’s of business administration degree from Ferris State.
