Wingate University Athletics

Shelton Collier completed his 20th season at Wingate in 2021 and enters his 21st season in the fall of 2022. One of only nine coaches in the history over college volleyball to win over 1,000 career matches, Collier picked up his 500th career Wingate victory during the 2019 season while going over 1100 wins in 2021. Collier has earned SAC Coach of the Year honors 10 times in the last 14 years, while earning AVCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year accolades seven times since 2009. The 2013 AVCA National Coach of the Year, Collier has led the Bulldogs to 27 SAC titles over the past 16 seasons (15 regular season, 12 tournament). Wingate has hosted the NCAA Southeast Regionals eight times since 2008, winning five regional titles since 2010 while appearing in the NCAA Sweet 16 eight times since 2009. He is 1,118-298 in his 40-year coaching career, with a 553-90 record at Wingate and 310-37 mark in SAC play.

Collier has guided the Bulldogs to unparalleled success over the past 16 years, earning SAC Coach of the Year 10 times in the process. Collier's 10 league Coach of the Year awards are most in league history. No other coach has more than four and no other coach in league history has won the award more than three consecutive seasons. Collier just finished his 20th season at Wingate. and 40th of his head coaching career. Collier spent nine years at the University of Pittsburgh, winning 296 matches and four Big East championships, earning league Coach of the Year honors. He registered 271 victories in 11 years at Georgia Tech, collecting four ACC titles and earning ACC Coach of the Year accolades. Collier has a career winning percentage of .790.

Collier ranks second among all current coaches in the NCAA in career wins. He is seventh all-time in career victories in college volleyball history. Collier's 553 victories at Wingate are the most in league history, while he also has a conference-record 310 SAC victories.

The 2021 season saw the Bulldogs win the regular season title for the 15th time in 16 years, while also earning a SAC-record 16th consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament. The 'Dogs went 24-5 overall and 15-3 in the SAC. Three Bulldogs earned All-SAC honors, with Shannon Kasprak and Sophie Schaff earning All-Region accolades and AVCA honorable mention All-American recognition. 

The abbreviated 2021 spring season saw Wingate go 11-1 overall, winning the SAC regular season and tournament titles. The Bulldogs participated in the AVCA National Championships in Texas, knocking off #3 Hillsdale before dropping a five-set thriller against #7 Harding. Shannon Kasprak was named the 2021 SAC Player of the Year, with four Bulldogs earning all-conference honors in the shortened season. 

The 2019 season saw the Bulldogs hit the 30-win mark for the 10th time since 2007 and 10th time in program history. Wingate went 30-3 overall, going 21-1 in league play to claim its 13th regular season SAC title in 14 years. The 'Dogs ranked in the top 10 nationally in winning percentage for the 13th straight year, while making a 15th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs earned hosting duties for the NCAA Southeast Regionals for the eighth time in 12 years, advancing to the regional semifinals for the 10th time in 12 seasons. Four Bulldogs earned first team All-SAC honors, while also earning All-Region accolades. Sophie Schaff was named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American. Still the only team in SAC history to earn an AVCA top 25 ranking, Wingate cracked the top 25 for the 11th straight year. 

Collier was named the AVCA National Coach of the Year in 2013, while also earning SAC and Region Coach of the Year honors. Collier guided the 12th-ranked Bulldogs to a 32-3 record in 2013, leading Wingate to its second straight regional title and third in four years. The Bulldogs had an AVCA first and second team All-American in 2013, the only SAC players to ever earn first and second team AVCA All-American honors in league history.

For nine of the last 10 summers, Collier has been the head coach for the USA Youth National A1 and A2 program, with the responsibility of training 30 of the top young players in the USA National High Performance pipeline. He has led his age group to two gold medals and two bronze medals in the Junior International Division at the High Performance Championships. Collier will be part of the USA National Team coaching staff again this upcoming summer.

In 2007, Collier was the head coach for the USA Youth National Team that participated in the World Championships in Mexicali, Mexico. In 2006, Collier directed the Youth National Team to a gold medal at the NORECA Championships, which qualified the team for the 2007 World Championships. Collier was the head coach for the USA Junior National Team in 2005 at the Junior World Championships in Ankara, Turkey. Under Collier's guidance, in 2004, this Junior Team won the gold medal at the 2004 NORECA Tournament.

During the summer of 2003, Collier was the head coach for the USA Youth National Team. Collier led the team to a fourth-place finish at the World Championships in Poland. The USA's journey to the final four included a stunning upset of number one-ranked Russia. In the summer of 2002, Collier was the head coach for the USA Junior and Youth A2 National Teams that trained in Colorado Springs.

Collier has also helped Wingate individuals earn recognition on a national level. In the history of SAC volleyball there have only been 13 players named to an AVCA All-American team. Twelve of those have been Wingate players, all within the past 10 years. It started in 2009 when Stormi Gale earned third team All-American honors, while repeating as a third team All-American in 2010. Liz Willis was a third team AVCA All-American in 2011, while Anna Hilton earned third team accolades in 2012. In 2013, Hilton became the first player in league history to be named an AVCA first team All-American, while Lexi Potter was the first SAC volleyball player to ever earn AVCA second team All-American accolades. Alison Cooke earned third team All-American honors in 2014, while Abby Saehler became the first sophomore in SAC history to be named to an AVCA All-American team, earning third team accolades. In addition, Gale was a Daktronics All-American in 2009, while Willis earned second team honors from Daktronics in 2011. Melissa DeLuca was an honorable mention AVCA All-American in 2007. Gale earned honorable mention accolades in 2008, while Maggie Malone and Lauren Billo were honorable mention All-Americans in 2009. Hilton earned honorable mention All-American recognition from the AVCA in 2011, while Cooke was an honorable mention All-American in 2013. Potter earned honorable mention All-American honors in 2014. 2015 SAC Player of the Year Shelly Stumpff was an honorable mention All-American as well. Bludau became the league's second AVCA second team All-American in 2017, with Holmquist adding third team honors. SAC and Region Player of the Year Rachel Alles earned AVCA second team All-American honors in 2018 to go along with D2CAA third team accolades, while Phoebe Havenaar was an AVCA third team All-American. Schaff was named an honorable mention All-American in 2019. 

Collier arrived at Wingate in March of 2002, following 11 highly successful seasons at Georgia Tech. He left Georgia Tech as the most successful coach in the program's history with a 565-207 overall record and a .732 winning percentage. He was ranked in the top 15 of NCAA Division I coaches in total wins and winning percentage.

Collier inherited a Georgia Tech program (in 1991) which was 8-30 overall. He immediately transformed the program and directed them to a record of 27-9 overall. In only five years, he took Georgia Tech (ranked 248th nationally) to a number 16 ranking in the national poll. During his tenure at Tech, Collier was named ACC Coach of the Year, Tachikara Southeast Region Coach of the Year and Georgia Collegiate Coach of the Year.

Along with an impressive winning percentage, Collier's teams performed admirably in the classroom. Under Collier's supervision, his teams consistently achieved a team grade point average above 3.00. He maintained a 100 percent graduation rate for his players.

Before coaching at Georgia Tech, Collier was an assistant to the USA Women's National Team from 1988-90. He also was the head scout and consultant to the USA Women's National Team at the 1988 Olympics. In 1990, Collier was the head coach for the first USA Women's Youth National Team Program which trained in Colorado Springs. 

From 1980-88, Collier was the head volleyball coach at the University of Pittsburgh, compiling a 296-93 record, (a .761 winning percentage), during his nine-season career. In 1987, he was elected Big East Coach of the Year and Northeast Regional Coach of the Year. Collier served as an assistant at Ohio State (1979), Cincinnati (1978), and Pacific (1977) before taking the position at the University of Pittsburgh.

Collier obtained a bachelor's degree in Social Work in 1977 from the Ohio State University. He was also an All-American volleyball player at Ohio State, where he led the Buckeyes to three consecutive NCAA final four appearances. After graduation, Collier obtained a master's degree in Education and Counseling from Cincinnati in 1978.

Collier lives in Charlotte with his wife, DiAnn Gorham Collier. She retired after serving as a captain in the Charlotte Fire Department.

Shelton Collier Year-by-Year Record