ROCK HILL, S.C. – Charles "Chuck" Rey, Jr. has been hired as head volleyball coach at Winthrop University, athletics director Dr. Ken Halpin announced Thursday afternoon. A formal press conference is set for Jan. 19, 2018.

Rey takes the helm at Winthrop after five seasons at Miami University (Ohio) where he served most recently as associate head coach. Prior to his stint at Miami, Rey was an assistant coach at Winthrop from the 2009 through 2012 seasons, which included a 20-win season in 2011 and training the 2009 Big South Conference Player of the Year Kelley Taylor and 2011 Big South Conference Player of the Year Becca Toor.

"It's so exciting to be bringing Chuck back to Rock Hill to lead our volleyball program," said Halpin. "When Chuck was here as an assistant he did an incredible job building and sustaining positive connections with everyone in the Winthrop community. Furthermore, he has established himself as a thought leader in the sport today and possesses a strong entrepreneurial spirit.  Chuck is going to bring exciting, forward-thinking ideas to Winthrop and put us in an excellent position for our student-athletes to excel on and off the court."

Rey's Miami squads earned two NCAA Tournament appearances after winning the Mid-American Conference championship in both 2016 and 2017 and posted four 20-win seasons. The 2017 team earned a cumulative GPA of 3.59, highest of all Miami's athletic teams, and five-straight AVCA Team All-Academic honors. Rey has also been an assistant at the University of Minnesota and Georgia Southern University.

Rey is active in promoting the sport. He operates the popular volleyball coaching website, CoachRey.com, which has up to 15,000 visitors each month. Articles from his website have been published or sourced by USA Volleyball, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), The Art of Coaching Volleyball, and a variety other volleyball publications. Rey is also a seven-time featured speaker at the AVCA Convention and is the founder and chair of the First Time Attendees Committee.

"I am honored to return home. Home to South Carolina where I started my coaching career at a small high school and junior club and home to Winthrop University where the foundation of my coaching philosophy developed," said Rey. "I have been humbled at the outcry of support from Winthrop Volleyball alumnae, Winthrop staff and the Rock Hill community through this process. Getting to know and learn of Dr. Halpin's vision, leadership and drive along with the guidance of Dr. [Renae] Myles, it became obviously clear that Winthrop University is where my family and I are supposed to encourage and empower the lives of young women, continuing along the path Dr. David Bancroft Johnson set out many years ago."

Rey and his wife, Lori, are parents of two-year-old twins Tripp and Siena and plan to live in Rock Hill. Rey says they look forward to finding a church community, exploring the nearby Appalachian Mountains and visiting family at the beautiful South Carolina beaches.