2023 ASUN Coach of the Year
Doug Wright
took over as head coach of the beach volleyball program Nov. 5, 2021 after serving for four-plus years in a volunteer and interim head coaching role. The Ospreys have gone 74-37 over the three seasons with Wright at the helm, setting the program single season wins record in 2022 while advancing to the semifinals of the league championship both years.
UNF Head Coaching Career Highlights
- Recorded the program's first-ever sweep in the National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championships against No. 17 Chattanooga
- Made a first-ever appearance in the National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championships
- Became the first team in program and conference history to sweep the entirety of the ASUN Championship Tournament without giving up a single match point
- Iris Fletcher and Katie Camp tallied the second-largest winning percentage in program history after going 17-3 on the season and picking up Pair of the Tournament honors after winning all of UNF's game-deciding match points at the 2024 ASUN Championship.
- Tied the program-record for wins with 25 in the 2024 season
- Reached the highest mark in the AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball polls at number 16, April 30, 2024
- 2023 ASUN Coach of the Year
- Set a program record for ASUN Postseason honors in a season with four pairs making the All-Conference team in 2023
- Ranked at number 19 in the AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Poll, April 4, 2023
- Saw two AVCA Top Flight honors in the same season for the first time in program history
- Madison Espy became the first-ever ASUN Freshman of the Year in 2023 after going or 27 wins
- UNF set the single season home wins record with 15 in 2023
- Swept a ranked team for the first time, going for a 5-0 victory against No. 19 Pepperdine
- Went for a program-record 25 wins in the 2022 season
- Has produced:
- 4 ASUN Pairs of the Week
- 3 ASUN All-Tournament picks
- ASUN Pair of the Tournament (Iris Fletcher and Katie Camp)
- 2 ASUN Scholar-Athletes of the Year (Chantel McMillan, Iris Fletcher)
- ASUN Freshman of the Year (Madison Espy)
- 10 All-ASUN Pairs
- 3 All-ASUN Freshman picks
- 2 ASUN All-Academic Picks
- 7 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honorees
- 3 AVCA Top Flight Pairs
Champions Once Again
In his third season at the helm, Wright led the Ospreys on a historic run, becoming the first team in program and conference history to sweep the entirety of the ASUN Championship Tournament, without conceding a single match point. After winning its fifth title, UNF qualified for the National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championships for the first-time ever, entering the tournament as the No. 16 seed.
In Gulf Shores, Ala., Wright would lead the Ospreys to a 3-0 sweep in the opening round over No. 17 Chattanooga, advancing to face No. 1 ranked USC in the first round on the back of an eight-game win streak. It was the first-ever win and sweep for North Florida in the National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championships.
The Ospreys capped off one of its most successful seasons to date with a 25-12 overall record, tying the program-record for wins. UNF picked up ranked victories over No. 18 FAU and No. 16 Stetson in the same weekend, pushing the Ospreys to its first AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball poll ranking since 2023.
North Florida collected a variety of postseason accolades, with four pairs being named to ASUN All-Conference teams, tying the single season program record. Five Ospreys received College Sports Communicators (CSC) All-District distinctions with the pair of Cameron Humphries and Hayden Wooldridge being named AVCA Top Flight honorees for the fourth pair.
Iris Fletcher became just the third player in program history to be named ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year after going 17-3 with partner Katie Camp and securing Pair of the Tournament honors for their performance at the 2024 ASUN Championships. The pair also secured the second-highest winning percentage in program history with their record of 17-3, fueled by a 13-match win streak that included multiple ranked victories. Fletcher and Camp received First Team All-ASUN honors for their impressive performances.
Madison Espy and Presley Murray secured Second Team All-ASUN honors after recording 20+ wins for the second season in a row. The duo primarily played from the two slot, tallying a 20-14 record on the year. Mackenzie Murphy and Mariana Feliciano-Sanchez also earned Second Team All-ASUN honors, the pair recorded a team-high in wins, going 25-8 and played a crucial role in the Ospreys ASUN Championship run.
Freshman Cameron Humphries paired up with Hayden Wooldridge for the 2024 season and saw immediate success, with the duo going 22-8 and being selected to the ASUN-All Tournament Team for their dominant performances at the ASUN Championships. The pair also received ASUN-All Second Team honors with Humphries earning an unanimous All-Freshman Team selection following a solid first season with the Ospreys.
North Florida beach volleyball saw impressive numbers both on the sand and in the classroom, posting a department-high 3.79 GPA for the spring semester.
Youth Shines in 2023
An extremely young North Florida squad did damage and made some noise in the region and throughout the conference. Eight of UNF's regular 10 starters in the lineup were underclassmen, paced by the emergence of AVCA Top Flight freshmen in Presley Murray and Madison Espy. Espy and Murray won 27 matches together, starting the season 15-0 to set the North Florida record for most consecutive wins to start a career.
The Ospreys finished the season 24-11, setting a record for home wins in a year as a first-time host of the ASUN Championship. UNF took down three ranked teams in the same season, including two in one weekend after defeating No. 20 Coastal Carolina, No. 19 Pepperdine and No. 17 Stetson.
On an individual level, the Ospreys had four pairs named to the ASUN All-Conference squad, setting a program record for a single season. The same could be said for its College Sports Communicators (CSC) and AVCA Top Flight honorees, with North Florida racking up a single-season high. Murray and Espy not only made the all-freshman squad, but the first-year combo made the first team as AVCA Top Flight honorees for the second pair.
Espy set more history as the first-ever ASUN Freshman of the Year, picking up ASUN Pair of the Year recognition with Murray as the first freshman pair in program history to take home that weekly award.
That wasn't the only superlative award for the Ospreys, with Wright being named ASUN Coach of the Year, joining wife Kristen as one of the three such honorees in the program's history. One of the veteran leaders, Chantel McMillan, was named ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the first UNF honoree since 2014. McMillan and playing partner Hayden Wooldridge went 24-8 and earned second team recognition, joining two other second team pairs in Audrey Brooks and Iris Fletcher along with Michaela Rezentes and Katie Camp. The underclassman pair of Kenzie Murphy and Mariana Feliciano Sanchez rounded out the league honors as All-Tournament honorees, the second such laurel in as many years for Feliciano-Sanchez.
UNF got it done in the classroom, posting a 3.73 GPA as a program while having two CSC Academic All-District picks as well.
First Year as Head Coach
Wright's first year as head coach marked his fifth season with the North Florida beach volleyball program. During the 2022 season, the Ospreys set a program record for wins in a season, reaching the 25-win marker.
UNF's 25-win season earned the Ospreys a three-seed in the 2022 ASUN Championship, with North Florida going 4-2 in postseason play to earn a trip to the championship semifinals.
The Ospreys had two pairs earn first team all-conference laurels in Taryn Griffey and Callie Workman, alongside Carleigh Semeniuk and Lauren Galinis. The veterans were joined by an impressive set of freshman, with Hayden Wooldridge reaching 25 wins on the year and ASUN All-Freshman recognition. Madeline Camp also got to 25 victories in her first year in the Navy and Gray, teaming up with fellow classmate Mariana Feliciano-Sanchez to earn 2022 ASUN All-Tournament honors.
Wooldridge and Camp tied the program record for wins in a season for a freshman, while Workman set a program record with 79-career victories, surpassing former teammate Chaney Howard for the record.
North Florida played a number of marquee teams, including a four-match home tournament that included four top 20 programs. It was the first time in program history that UNF has hosted four ranked teams in the same tournament, with No. 11 Georgia State, No. 18 Pepperdine, No. 4 Florida State and No. 10 FAU all coming to The Coop.
UNF also got it done in the classroom, with the team posting a 3.72 GPA. Semeniuk landed on the ASUN All-Academic Team as well.
Four Years of Success at UNF
Wright's hire marks the first time the UNF beach volleyball and indoor volleyball programs have separate head coaches since the inception of the beach volleyball program roughly a decade ago. The move furthers UNF's emphasis on growing its national brand and presence of its beach volleyball program, coming on the wings of the construction of UNF's first on-campus beach facility in the Cooper Beach Volleyball Complex opened in February of 2020.
Wright served as an integral piece to the program for the past four seasons, doing more than his titles of volunteer assistant and interim head coach could do justice. The Ospreys won the 2021 ASUN Beach Volleyball Championship during a year that saw Wright handle an even larger portion of the coaching duties as then head coach,
Kristen Wright, handled the non-traditional spring indoor volleyball season.
Since coming to the River City in December of 2017, Wright has helped guide the Ospreys to a 65-42 overall record, an ASUN Championship and another appearance in the ASUN Finals.
Additionally, the 2021 Ospreys earned the program's first-ever ranking in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Collegiate Beach Volleyball poll April 27 of last year following the Ospreys' run to the conference title. UNF was also a regular in the Collegebeachvb.com Poll last season as North Florida finished 24-10.
Last year the Ospreys defeated three ranked teams in No. 11 FAU, No. 20 FGCU and No. 16 Stetson. North Florida had six all-conference picks in addition to
Dana Roskic and
Antonia Harrison's AVCA Top Flight recognition.
The Ospreys have also touted incredible success in the classroom since 2018. The beach program earned USMC/AVCA Team Academic Awards as well as a team GPA of 3.78 and a 100 percent rate of student-athletes on the ASUN Honor Roll.
A visionary, Wright was instrumental in the development of The Cooper Beach Volleyball Complex, even going as far as to create artwork that was shared with donors and board members for the eventual design of UNF's on-campus complex.
Wright came to North Florida after serving with the MiraCosta College beach program over the last two seasons. Wright led the team to two conference championships and a state championship during his time. In 2017, he was also named the Pacific Coast Conference Coach of the Year. He also spent time as the associate head coach for the indoor program at MiraCosta where he worked closely with his wife
Kristen Wright to win two conference championships.
Prior to UNF
Prior to his time at MiraCosta, Wright was an assistant coach for Tri-City Christian that won eight straight CIF Championships, five So-Cal State titles and had five state championship appearances. He also coached the top men's and women's team from age 16 and 18 while earning the clubs first 18-1’s Gold Medal at Far Western Qualifier and Bid to National Championships. Earned Bronze Medal at Los Angeles Qualifier.
Wright was recruited as a setter and received an athletic scholarship to Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pa. He was a four-year starter as a libero where he helped lead the Red Flash to their first-ever EIVA-HAY Division title. He reached as high as the top 10 in the country for digs/game and concluded his career in the top ten all-time in school history in that category. Wright holds the distinction as being the only person from his high school to earn a volleyball scholarship. He played for Red Rose and Lancaster Volleyball club, earning three trips to the Junior Olympics. His experience playing indoor volleyball expanded to the grass and beach at age 16 when he started playing tournaments.
In addition to coaching, Wright is a CPA and currently works as an analyst for a government contractor that investigates fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare. He is married to Kristen and they have two children.
Coaching Résumé
- *UNF Beach Volleyball Head Coach (November 2021-Present)
- UNF Beach Volleyball Interim Head Coach (August of 2021-Present)
- UNF Beach Volleyball Volunteer Assistant Coach (2018-21)
- UNF Indoor Volleyball Volunteer Assistant Coach/Statistical Analyst (2018-19)
- MiraCosta College Beach Volleyball Head Coach
- MiraCosta College Indoor Volleyball Associate Head Coach
- Tri-City Christian Assistant Coach
- SoCal Volleyball Club Head Coach
Coaching Accolades (Prior to UNF)
- Two conference and state championships at MiraCosta College (beach volleyball)
- Pacific Coast Conference Coach of the Year (2017)
- Two conference titles as associate head coach at MiraCosta College (indoor volleyball)
- Eight consecutive CIF Championships, five So-Cal State titles, and five state championship appearances.
- Earned a bid to the national championships at age 18 club volleyball, earning a gold medal at Far Western Qualifiers.
