Rock Hill, S.C. -  Head Winthrop volleyball coach Heather Gearhart announced the hiring of Kyle Ferguson as assistant women's volleyball coach Friday afternoon.

"I'm very excited to welcome Kyle back to the Carolinas. Kyle has strong ties in the southeast after playing at the youth and collegiate level in the region and we will look to rely on that as he heads our recruiting efforts," Gearhart said. "He is passionate about the technical side of the sport as well as making a lasting impact on the lives of our student-athletes. He is a natural connector with others and will be able to teach and relate to our athletes really well. Kyle is ready and willing to do the work to take the program to the next level and I am eager to have him in the gym."

Ferguson is joining the Eagles after spending the last season at North Dakota. At North Dakota, Ferguson was in charge of the middle blockers, block and defensive schemes. Working with the middles, Ferguson helped Marissa Stockman earn 1st-Team All-Summit League honors, marking the first time a UND player was named 1st team since 2018. Stockman was top 50 in the country in hitting efficiency under Ferguson's guidance; hitting .438 in conference play, and .372 on the season and set a UND Division 1 single season record, and sits third in the All-Time record books.

Prior to his time in Grand Forks, Ferguson was at Texas A&M where they won 13 matches in the fall season—including ranked wins over #21 Western Kentucky and #16 Kentucky. Ferguson assisted with practice planning, scouting and helped coach the middle blockers. Two Aggies, Caroline Meuth and Logan Lednicky, were named to the All-SEC team with Lednicky also being a member of the All-Freshman team. Both players were honored as members of the AVCA South Region Team. Ferguson has previous youth experience with A5 Volleyball Club, Carolina Juniors Volleyball Club and collegiate camp experiences across the southeast.

"I am so excited to be joining the Winthrop coaching staff," says Ferguson. "I want to thank Coach Gearhart for this amazing opportunity to work with some incredible athletes. I can't wait to get in the gym and help this program reach new heights, Go Eagles!"

Ferguson competed for the men's volleyball team at Belmont Abbey College in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ferguson played four years and was named Academic All-Conference twice. He led the Conference Carolinas in blocks per set (1.03) in 2019-20, tallied 14 blocks in a single match in 2022 (most in NCAA Men's Volleyball that season), led the program to its first ever conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021. Ferguson finished top ten in program history in career hitting percentage (.308), block assists (136), total blocks (152), blocks per set (.97), points per set (2.24).

Ferguson earned his Bachelor's in Marketing with a minor in Sports Management from Belmont Abbey College and is a native of Marietta, Georgia.