UCLA Women’s Volleyball to be Under New Leadership
December 01, 2022 | Women's Volleyball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA women's volleyball team will be under new leadership in 2023, as head coach Michael Sealy has stepped down to pursue other professional opportunities.
"I'd like to thank Dan Guerrero and Petrina Long for giving me the initial opportunity to be a head coach at UCLA and Martin Jarmond for extending that tenure," Sealy said. "I have to thank Andy Banachowski for building the legacy which is the foundation that I've been fortunate enough to stand on over these 13 years. I will be forever grateful for Al Scates for giving me the opportunity to come to UCLA twice, once as a player and again as a coach. It's been an amazing chapter full of euphoric highs and devastating lows and I would not change one thing from that journey. I've had the privilege of working with and being surrounded by inspired and talented coaches in our gym, the halls of our athletic department and in the overall volleyball community. I have to thank all the players over the years who displayed courage, resilience and dedication to themselves, their teams and the university. Sue Enquist once told me to never judge a player for not having the same passion I had for the sport of volleyball because I have made it my life direction, and to do that demands an extreme level of passion. There are too many days where my passion is less than the players', so I know it is time to take a break, make a change."
The 2022 season marked Sealy's 13th at the helm of the Bruins. During his time at UCLA, Sealy helped win the program's fourth NCAA Championship in 2011 and compiled a 273-128 career record.
He led UCLA to 10 total NCAA Tournament appearances, including one finish in the Elite 8 (2016) and four in the Sweet 16 (2014, 2015, 2017 and Fall 2021). He also won one NCAA title as a student-athlete on the men's volleyball team his senior season in 1993. He has coached four Bruins to AVCA First Team All-American status.
Sealy was awarded his first Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year honor in 2021 after leading the Bruins to a runner-up conference finish and berth into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. That year, Mac May became the 17th Bruin in program history to be named an AVCA First Team All-American and just the third to earn three All-American honors in a career.
"Mike is and will always be a great Bruin. He won a national championship as both a student-athlete and a head coach," said UCLA's Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond. "In 13 seasons as head coach, Mike guided the Bruins to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, four Sweet Sixteens and the National Championship in 2011. We thank Mike for his many contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors."
A national search for Sealy's replacement, led by Senior Associate Athletic Director Dr. Kenny Donaldson, will begin immediately.
"I'd like to thank Dan Guerrero and Petrina Long for giving me the initial opportunity to be a head coach at UCLA and Martin Jarmond for extending that tenure," Sealy said. "I have to thank Andy Banachowski for building the legacy which is the foundation that I've been fortunate enough to stand on over these 13 years. I will be forever grateful for Al Scates for giving me the opportunity to come to UCLA twice, once as a player and again as a coach. It's been an amazing chapter full of euphoric highs and devastating lows and I would not change one thing from that journey. I've had the privilege of working with and being surrounded by inspired and talented coaches in our gym, the halls of our athletic department and in the overall volleyball community. I have to thank all the players over the years who displayed courage, resilience and dedication to themselves, their teams and the university. Sue Enquist once told me to never judge a player for not having the same passion I had for the sport of volleyball because I have made it my life direction, and to do that demands an extreme level of passion. There are too many days where my passion is less than the players', so I know it is time to take a break, make a change."
The 2022 season marked Sealy's 13th at the helm of the Bruins. During his time at UCLA, Sealy helped win the program's fourth NCAA Championship in 2011 and compiled a 273-128 career record.
He led UCLA to 10 total NCAA Tournament appearances, including one finish in the Elite 8 (2016) and four in the Sweet 16 (2014, 2015, 2017 and Fall 2021). He also won one NCAA title as a student-athlete on the men's volleyball team his senior season in 1993. He has coached four Bruins to AVCA First Team All-American status.
Sealy was awarded his first Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year honor in 2021 after leading the Bruins to a runner-up conference finish and berth into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. That year, Mac May became the 17th Bruin in program history to be named an AVCA First Team All-American and just the third to earn three All-American honors in a career.
"Mike is and will always be a great Bruin. He won a national championship as both a student-athlete and a head coach," said UCLA's Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond. "In 13 seasons as head coach, Mike guided the Bruins to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, four Sweet Sixteens and the National Championship in 2011. We thank Mike for his many contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors."
A national search for Sealy's replacement, led by Senior Associate Athletic Director Dr. Kenny Donaldson, will begin immediately.