Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop Volleyball Head Coach Heather Gearhart has been named a recipient of The American Volleyball Coaches Association's 2025 College Thirty Under 30 Award.

"The AVCA 30 Under 30 Award recognizes the up-and-coming coaches in volleyball. Heather is well-deserving of this award as she has proven herself through the success of this program", Winthrop athletic director Chuck Rey said. "Each year the team has earned the AVCA Team Academic Award, two post-season appearances, and a multitude of all conference accolades. As impressive is the positive and empowering culture that develops young women as leaders. She has excelled in every aspect of this program and we are grateful to have her leadership at Winthrop!"

In Gearhart's three years as head coach, the Eagles have a conference winning percentage of .818; have made two conference championship match appearances; two postseason NIVC appearances; set the all-time single-match and single-season home attendance records; and recorded two power-conference victories. She was also named to VB Magazine's College Coaching Hotshots List which recognized 50 collegiate volleyball coaches across indoor men's, indoor women's, and collegiate beach volleyball programs who are on the rise.

In her time at Winthrop, Gearhart has overseen 15 players who accumulated over 30 all-conference honors, including Freshman, Setter, and Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. She has coached her program in setting numerous match, season, and career records.

Gearhart has twice guided the backcourt to the top 5 in NCAA DI digs per set and the top 100 twice in opponent hitting percentage and 60th in kills per set.

Off the court, the team has also garnered AVCA All-Academic Team honors with the team earning honor roll distinction in Gearhart's first year, being in the top 15% of all team GPAs across D1 NCAA volleyball programs. Atley Livingston earned the Big South's Christenberry Award for academic excellence which honors the graduating student-athlete with the highest overall cumulative GPA. Livingston also earned the President's Award for Academic Excellence graduating at Winthrop with the highest GPA in her graduating class. Karli Shepherd, Avery Jolley, Isabella Murray, and Rachel McCollum have also been named to the CSC Academic All-District Volleyball Team over the past three years.

Before joining the Eagles, Gearhart served as the assistant volleyball coach at the University of Akron for the 2019 season with the team finishing with the most overall wins since 2003 and making its first MAC tournament appearance since 2012. She coached all-MAC selections in Alexis Adleta, Emily Weigand, and all-time dig leader Taylor Sharrits. Before that, Gearhart served as the volunteer assistant coach at the University of Tennessee for the 2018 season. The team saw its largest single-season turnaround in program history with an overall 14-win increase, earning an NCAA tournament berth and advancing to the NCAA Second Round. Gearhart coached Madison Coulter to a new Tennessee postseason record for digs in a match (29) which ranked in the top 15 in program history for five-set matches. Gearhart coached all-SEC players Erica Treiber, Tessa Grubbs, and Lily Felts.

College Awards
This year's list of Thirty Under 30 College Award recipients includes women's and men's coaches who are rising leaders in the sport. These honorees work hard and are passionate about teaching, helping players reach their full potential, and growing the game at the collegiate level.
The Thirty Under 30 program recognizes up-and-coming coaches in different sectors of the sport who serve in a range of roles, from head coach to volunteer assistant to club director. Each of this year's recipients had to be age 30 or under as of Dec. 31, 2024, to qualify for the award.

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