Coaching History

As of Aug. 17, 2023

Bruce Downing (1976)
Bruce Downing has the distinction of being Stanford's inaugural varsity women's volleyball coach, guiding the program when it first gained varsity status in 1976. That first year, Stanford posted a 9-3 record (.750) and finished second at the Northern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCIAC) Championship.

Art Lambert (1977)
Art Lambert coached the Stanford women's volleyball team in 1977. In a one-year stint, he led the Cardinal to a 23-7-1 overall record, an 11-2 mark in NorCal Conference play and its first league title.

Lambert was also the men's volleyball coach from 1976-78 and led the team to two conference titles and a Northern California Regional Championship berth.

In addition, he was a very successful water polo coach on The Farm, leading the men's team for three years. During his time with the water polo program, he won two Pac-8 titles and claimed the 1976 NCAA championship. He was the head coach of the U. S. Pan American Games team that won a gold medal in water polo in 1967, and also guided the U.S. at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

Fred Sturm (1978-1985)
Fred Sturm took over the Stanford women's volleyball team in 1978 and spent the next eight seasons building it into a nationally recognized and respected program. Sturm compiled an impressive 193-83-3 (.699) record during his tenure, winning two conference titles, making five NCAA championship appearances and leading the team to national runner-up finishes in 1984 and 1985.

Sturm led the Cardinal to a fifth-place NCAA finish on its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 1981, then guided the team to four straight Final Fours. He was tabbed WCAA Co-Coach of the Year after winning his first conference title with the program in 1984, then reaped Pac-West Coach of the Year honors the following season.

Sturm also coached the Stanford men's volleyball team from 1979-90 and was named the 1989 ASICS NCAA Coach of the Year after his squad finished second in the nation. He was the head coach of the 1992 men's U.S. Olympic Team in Barcelona, and also coached the U.S. at the 1987 World University Games.

Don Shaw (1984-1999)
Don Shaw spent 16 years as the Stanford women's head coach (1984-99), during which he led the team to unparalleled success. Shaw guided the Cardinal to four NCAA championships (1992, 1994, 1996, 1997) and 10 conference titles, including six Pac-10 crowns in a row between 1994 and 1999.

Shaw compiled a career winning percentage of .863 (440-70), which still ranks as the best in NCAA Division I history, and coached 15 players to 35 AVCA All-America awards. In NCAA Tournament action, he tallied a record of 50-12, guiding Stanford to 12 Final Fours and eight NCAA championship matches in 16 seasons. He was named AVCA National Coach of the Year in 1991 and took home Volleyball Magazine National Coach of the Year honors in 1997. Additionally, he was Regional/District Coach of the Year three times (1991, 1994, 1997) and a four-time conference coach of the year (1985, 1987, 1991, 1997).

Shaw also served as an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning U.S. Men's National Team at the 1982 National Sports Festival, as well as an assistant for the U.S. Women's National Team at the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba.

He began his coaching career at Stanford in 1980 as an assistant to the women's program, then was named co-head coach of both the men's and women's teams with Fred Sturm in 1984. After two seasons as co-head coach of both programs, Shaw took sole control of the women's program in 1986. He guided the Cardinal through 14 more successful seasons until retiring from the women's program in 1999. In 2001, he accepted the head coaching position with the Stanford men's program. In six seasons as head men's coach, Shaw collected a 90-79 (.533) record. In December 2008, he was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame.

Denise Corlett (Interim 2000)
Denise Corlett spent the 2000 season as Stanford's interim head coach. The Cardinal finished fourth in the Pac-10 Conference, and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Logan Tom was named an AVCA First Team All-American and was joined by Jennifer Detmer on the All-Pac-10 Team. Additionally, six Cardinal players earned Pac-10 All-Academic honors under Corlett.

John Dunning (2001-2016)
A four-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year and AVCA Hall of Famer (2011), John Dunning was in the spotlight of NCAA volleyball since he began his coaching career at Pacific in 1985. He won five national titles (3 at Stanford), the second-most in NCAA history, and coached in 10 Division I national title matches. He guided all 32 teams he coached to the NCAA Tournament and led 27 of those teams to an NCAA Regional.

Dunning ranks among the top 10 Division I coaches all-time with an .828 career winning percentage. He finished his career with an 888-185 career record, with a 451-83 (.843) mark at Stanford.

In his 16 years on The Farm, Dunning had 24 athletes earn 52 AVCA All-America honors, developed four AVCA National Players of the Year and was twice named AVCA Coach of the Year (2001, 2016). His Stanford teams posted a 58-13 record in the NCAA Tournament, won eight Pac-12 titles and reached the national championship match in seven of his 16 seasons as head coach. 

Kevin Hambly (2017-present)
Kevin Hambly was named the sixth head coach in the history of the program on Jan. 30, 2017. Entering the 2023 season, he boasts a career record of 320-119. 

In just his second season at Stanford (2018), the Pac-12 and AVCA Pacific North Region Coach of the Year won his first NCAA title. The championship gave the Cardinal its eighth in school history, more than any other Division I women's program. Stanford's near perfect 2018 campaign consisted of a 34-1 overall record and Hambly's second straight Pac-12 title. The Cardinal became the first Pac-12 school in 15 years to go undefeated in conference play (20-0). Stanford closed out the 2018 season on a 32-match winning streak - a school record.

Hambly led the Cardinal to a second straight NCAA title and its third in four years in 2019, giving the program nine overall, extending its national lead. Stanford won its third consecutive Pac-12 title and finished the season 30-4 overall.

In six seasons on The Farm, Hambly is 142-33 and 91-19 in the Pac-12. He has won four conference titles (2017-19, 2022), advanced to three straight national semifinals (2017-19) and produced 12 AVCA All-Americans, who have collected 21 total awards. Additionally, Hambly has mentored two-time AVCA National Player of the Year Kathryn Plummer, as well as, six Academic All-Americans.

Hambly came to The Farm after spending eight seasons as the head coach at Illinois, where he led the Illini to six NCAA regional appearances and the 2011 national title match. Hambly compiled a 178-86 overall record while in Champaign.