KINGSVILLE, Texas. — On Wednesday, Texas A&M-Kingsville Executive Director of Athletics Steve Roach announced Gary Payne as the second head coach in the history of the beach volleyball program, following seven seasons as the team's top assistant.

"I am very excited to name Gary as the new head coach of our beach volleyball program," said Roach. "In his time here, he has done so much to support and grow both our indoor and beach programs and has become integral in both programs, and I have full confidence that he will continue to do so in this new role as head coach while still assisting indoors. This is great not only for him, but for our volleyball student-athletes and coach Tanya Allen-Gonzalez, who has done a tremendous job with both teams, but now can be able to focus fully indoors with Gary now in charge of outdoors, but there still being continuity throughout for our student-athletes to have the best possible experience here at Kingsville."

Allen-Gonzalez transitions away from the beach volleyball team after logging over 100 wins at the helm, 40 of which came against NCAA Division I programs. She led the squad to the 2018 American Volleyball Coaches Association Small College National Championship. Allen-Gonzalez also helped the team to a 2019 runner-up finish at the National Championships while overseeing two of TAMUK's pairings take home an AVCA Top Flight Award.

"In his time here, Gary has added a lot of knowledge and stability to our program., said Allen-Gonzalez after handing over the reins." He is very passionate about the sport and this school and cares a lot about the student-athletes. So, combining that with his overall love and knowledge of the game, he's elevated our players and our program as a whole; I think that makes him the perfect fit for the program going forward. I think he is more than capable of making us a national champion again."

Payne will remain as the top assistant on the indoor volleyball team and carries a breadth of knowledge as he takes over on the sand. A 2018 AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year nominee, Payne has played an integral role in shaping the beach volleyball program. He holds previous head coaching experience from his time at McCrook Community College from 2006-2008. He has also worked as an assistant at Nebraska-Kearney and as coach of the Nebraska Gold and River Valley Volleyball Clubs. Additionally, Payne was a 2001 graduate of Nebraska-Kearney and is a veteran who formerly served in the U.S. Army.

Following the announcement, Payne said, "Coming in here from the first season, no one knew what the expectations were, but we knew this program could be special. Tanya has helped me grow a lot as a coach, knowledge and coaching wise. Everything that I can bring to this program to help it further I learned from Tanya. Our vision going forward is to continue what we have started with being a national contender in the small college national championships and contend with some of the bigger Division I programs we face throughout the year. I want to see this program keep moving forward and getting better, even maybe becoming the first Division II team to get an at-large bid into the actual NCAA tournament."

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