Jesse Ortiz was named head volleyball coach at the University of South Alabama in March 2021 and over the course of his first three seasons in Mobile, he has quickly turned the program into a championship contender and established a winning culture.
During his tenure in Mobile, Ortiz has led the Jaguars to both a regular season and tournament title, and a pair of NCAA tournament appearances, which are all first in the program’s history. Under his tutelage, South Alabama has had a pair of American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) all-region selections and 12 all-Sun Belt Conference selections.
The Jaguars have also excelled in the classroom under Ortiz as South has had 22 student-athletes named to the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List, while eight student-athletes have earned Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll honors. Additionally, Kailey Keeble was honored as a Second Team Academic All-American selection by College Sports Communicators, the first player in program history to be named an Academic All-American following the 2023 season.
Over the course of his career, Ortiz has worked with 11 All-Americans, had 20 individuals earn all-region recognition and 55 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)/College Sports Communicators (CSC) with over 100 individuals named to academic all-league teams.
The 2023 season saw the Jaguars return to the postseason as the club finished with a 22-9 record and a 12-4 mark in league play. The 12-4 league mark tied with both Texas State and Troy for the best in the West Division. South Alabama made the program’s second trip in three seasons to the NCAA Tournament, competing in Gainesville, Fla.
Keeble was named First-Team All-Sun Belt, along with Hannah Maddux, while Niki Capizzi and Maddie Soboleski were selected Second-Team all-league.
Keeble ended the season leading in the SBC and ranked 15th nationally in assists per set and her 1,214 assists were 27th most in the NCAA. Maddux also ranked among the best in the nation in kills per set as she was tied for 36th (4.09), 26th in points (560.5), tied for 16th in aces (54) and tied for 37th in kills (466). Maddux (third) and Capizzi (10th) were Top 10 in the conference in kills per set, while the former was also second in the Sun Belt in points service aces and aces per set.
As a team, the Jaguars ranked Top 50 nationally in several categories: 16th in opponent hitting percentage (.163), 34th in digs per set (16.21), 38th in total digs (1,848), 42nd in blocks per set (2.48) and 48th in total blocks (283.0).
South also led the SBC in opponent hitting percentage, while ranking second in the conference in points per set (17.12) and digs per set, and third in hitting percentage, opponent assists, assists and blocks.
Maddux also made history as she became the program’s first player to be drafted professionally as she was the fifth selection in fourth round - 26th overall selection - by the Las Vegas Thrill in the Inaugural Draft by the Professional Volleyball Federation.
Year No. 2 at the helm saw Rachel Hickey become the program’s first player to be named the Sun Belt Conference Libero of the Year, while she and Maddux earned first-team all-league honors, and Capizzi and Keeble also received second-team accolades.
South Alabama again had individuals among the nation’s best as Maddux finished the 2022 season ranked 26th in points (547.5) and 31st in kills (478), while Keeble was 38th in assists (1,188).
The offense was led by Maddux (4.05 kps) and Maddie Soboleski (3.63 kps) ranked fourth and ninth, respectively, in the SBC in kills, while Capizzi (fourth) and Morgan Stalcup (sixth) ranked in the Top of the league in hitting percentage. Stalcup and Capizzi led the defensive front ranking second and seventh, respectively, in blocks.
Led by the duo, South Alabama ranked 35th nationally in total blocks (294.5) and was tied for 40th in blocks per set (2.50), while the club was tied for 45th in digs (1,856).
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, and with the 25-7 record, the Jags 78.1% win percentage was tied with three other programs for 26th best nationally.
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 (.149), 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).
The Jags also ranked among the nation’s leaders in opponent hitting percentage (10th), 30th in aces (198), tied for 41st in both aces per set (1.71) and digs (1,848), and tied for 42nd in total blocks (275.5).
Individually, Keeble ranked 16th in the NCAA in assists (1,228) and Hickey was tied for 43rd in digs (524).
Four Jaguars earned all-conference honors – Keeble was named first-team all-SBC, while Maddux, 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 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 at 12-year span.
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 - the program’s first Elite 8 run since 1995 - in the NCAA Tournament. In 2017, Michigan State ranked in the top four in the Big Ten in nine different statistical categories, including digs and opponent hitting percentage.
Prior to his tenure at Michigan State, Ortiz spent three years on staff at Miami (Ohio), where he served as an assistant and was the recruiting coordinator. Ortiz helped guide the RedHawks to a combined overall record of 66-26 (.717) and a 39-9 record in MAC play (.813). 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, Ortiz helped guide Miami to a first-place finish in the East Division with an overall record of 24-7 and 15-1 in conference play after back-to-back top-three finishes in the division (2014-15). The Redhawks reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight seasons after claiming the MAC title.
During the 2014 season, the RedHawks held opponents to a .191 attack percentage. It was the lowest percentage since a .187 performance in 2008. His blocking techniques helped Paige Hill record 115 total blocks on the season, an average of 0.97 blocks per set, and she was rewarded with a spot on the All-MAC First Team. During the 2015 campaign, Miami held opponents to a .192 attack percentage, and under his tutelage, middle hitter Hill recorded 104 total blocks, while fellow middle hitter Jenny Ingle contributed 64. Both were honored with spots on the All-MAC First Team. His time in Oxford saw nine players earn All-MAC recognition.
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 was an assistant coach at Ferris (Mich.) State for three seasons (2011-13), and while with the Bulldogs, he served as the team’s defensive coordinator, where he helped train three All-Americans, six All-Region and 15 All-GLIAC selections. He also helped Ferris State to a 76-21 (78.4%) record, a top-25 ranking and a berth in the NCAA Tournament in each of his final three years and culminated a Midwest Regional Championship and NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance in 2013. 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.
Ortiz spent four seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Sonoma State (2007-10). While there, he helped the Seawolves to a 76-39 (66.1%) record and three consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament appearances from 2008-10. Sonoma State was ranked in the top 25 during each of Ortiz’s final three seasons and he also helped train three All-Americans and eight All-CCAA student-athletes.
Ortiz was Sonoma State’s men’s club team coach from 2004-09, where he led the program to three National Intramural-Recreation Sports Association (NIRSA) finalist spots from 2007-09. In addition he guided the squad to the Northern California Collegiate Volleyball League title his first year in charge, and led the SeaWolves to a victory in the championship match of the NIRSA in his final match in charge of the program.
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 in design and innovation management from Ferris State in 2014. He is married to his wife, Desirae, and the couple have a daughter, Charlotte.
