MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (September 25, 2023) - St. Thomas University (STU) Athletics would like to announce the addition of Men's Volleyball as the departments 31^st varsity sport. Director of Athletics, Bill Rychel, would also like to announce the program's inaugural head coach, STU alum, Breno Ertty. The program will now begin recruiting for their inaugural season in Spring 2025.
 
The addition of the sport becomes the 13^th sport added under President David A. Armstrong, J.D. Following the path behind Football, Women's Flag Football, Men's and Women's Swimming, Men's Wrestling, Women's Golf, Women's Bowling, Men's and Women's Rugby, Women's Lacrosse, and Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field.
 
Quotes from Administration and Staff
"We have known for many years that we had a great assistant volleyball coach, who could build a great men's program in Breno. It is now time to explore men's volleyball and we believe we will be competitive immediately on the national scene," stated President David A. Armstrong, J.D. 
 
"Men's Volleyball will be a great addition to the sports we offer at St. Thomas. It is a natural fit for South Florida, where there aren't many options for athletes to compete at the college level and have that experience," stated AD Rychel. "I am excited that Breno will be the coach to start the program. He has been passionate to add Men's Volleyball at his alma mater for a long time. He has had great success at the high school and club level and has been instrumental in all that our women's program has achieved in the last few years. He will build a championship culture in a short time."
 
Head Volleyball Coach, Whitney Battoe said: "working side by side with Breno the last four seasons, confirms he is more than ready to take on a head coaching role. He has been an instrumental part in our success. When we talk about standard and a level of expectation in our athletes, the importance of recruiting the right people is something we both value for our program. I think Breno will have an edge in recruiting with his social media platform for men's volleyball. I'm excited for him to take the lead and build and promote his own program here at St. Thomas."

Coach Ertty's Background and Winning Ways
Coach Ertty brings a wealth of experience having coached at a national powerhouse at Cypress Bay High School. Breno went 89-26 in his six years as Head Coach and finished 2023 with the best season in program history for the Lightning (23-3), making it all the way to the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) tournament after winning the District and Regional Tournament to finish fifth in the state and 38th in the nation.
 
Coach Ertty not only has that experience and winning culture at the men's high school level, but he has also been a part of the STU Volleyball staff for six years and has helped Head Coach Whitney Battoe turn the program into a nationally recognized team in the last four. The duo has gone 24-4 in the past two seasons in conference play while taking home two Sun Conference Regular Season titles and breaking a 21-year drought of winning the conference tournament in 2022.
 
Prior to being a part of the winning culture in the volleyball world, Coach Ertty found success on the pitch as a center back for the STU Futbol team. Ertty was a part of the turnaround of the program winning the conference tournament title in 2016 and paving the way for much success years after as they have now won four in the last seven seasons.
 
Growth of the Sport
Men's Volleyball is among the top growing sports in America and Coach Ertty is to thank for the growth here in South Florida after starting a club of his own alongside STU Volleyball Alum, Kelli Kosydor. The organization has six boys' and three girls' teams with over 100 athletes.
 
St. Thomas adding Men's Volleyball makes it the first official South Florida collegiate department to add it to their roster at a varsity level. The Bobcats are the fourth team overall in Florida, joining Sun Conference opponents Webber International and Warner and NCAA DII Edward Waters.
 
At the NAIA level, there are currently just over 60 teams that sponsor the championship sport. Just in the FHSAA there are 210 boys' teams. In the club side of it, there are 68 teams.
 
Q&A with Coach Ertty 
How do you feel growing the sport of men's volleyball in South Florida?
 
It has always been my personal goal since I finished playing volleyball in high school. I never wanted to leave Florida for college, so I ended up not playing volleyball in college. Florida, in my opinion, is the second most talented state in boys' volleyball and does not have nearly enough opportunities past club and high school. I am thrilled to be a part of the growth for men's/boys' volleyball and to create more opportunities for these athletes that work so hard.
 
What does it mean to you to finally be able to add a men's team at STU? And how does it feel doing it as an alumni?
 
It is a dream turned into reality. It means that the STU name will be forever in history as the first Men's team in South Florida. I am strongly attached to STU after playing soccer for four years and coaching the women's volleyball team for six seasons, so it feels special to grow in the athletics department, volleyball and STU in general.
 
What will you look to bring over that you have learned with the women's team to help bring a winning culture to the men's program?
 
On the women's team, I have actively participated in the growth of the program with Coach Whitney [Battoe] in the past four seasons. The changes we made have shown what works and what does not. The biggest takeaway has been the kind of athletes we recruit, we do not base our recruiting solely on skill, but also the personality of each individual and where they will fit within the team. The environment and culture that we have built creates winners.
 
How do you think your experience building the Tropics organization will help build this program from the beginning?
 
Tropics has been a very pleasant challenge, and just like any other organization, we have to surround ourselves with the right people. Kelli [Kosidor] and I hired the right coaches and made sure that we had the most important pillars: organization, training, care and culture. These same important pillars will be implemented here at STU to build this new program from the beginning.

Thank You Note - Coach Ertty
"I would like to thank Coach Whitney, Athletic Director Bill Rychel and President Armstrong for trusting me to start the program and be a key piece in the historical catalyst for men's volleyball in South Florida. The Men's Volleyball program has been in the talks for quite some time, and I am grateful to the STU leadership for making this historical moment possible."
 
Interested Student-Athlete?
If you are a prospective student-athlete interested in becoming a part of the inaugural men's volleyball team, please fill out a questionnaire here.
 
For more information email Head Coach Breno Ertty - bertty@stu.edu