Volleyball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- 325-3613
Career Records & Honors
Seasons Coaching (Overall): 11
Seasons As Head Coach: Seventh
Seasons At Mississippi State: Third
Career Record: 137-92 (.598)
Career Record At Mississippi State: 41-56 (.423) // 13-41 SEC (.241)
National Results:
- NCAA Appearances: 2 (2012-13)
- AVCA All-American: 1 (2014)
- ESPN Academic All-American: 1 (2009)
- CoSIDA Academic All-District Honors: 3 (One First-Team All-District)
Conference Results:
- SEC Player of the Week: 1 (Alex Warren - Nov. 30, 2015)
- Academic All-SEC: 5 (2015: Shelby Anderton, Chelsea Duhs, Payton Harris, Ellen Stuart, Alex Warren)
- Southland Regular-Season Championships: 4 (2009-10, 2012-13)
- Southland Tournament Championships: 2 (2012-13)
- Southland Eastern Division Championships: 4 (2008-11)
- Southland Player of the Year: 5 (2008-10, 2013-14)
- Southland Libero of the Year: 2 (2009, 2014)
- Southland Freshman of the Year: 3 (2007-08, 2010)
- Southland Setter of the Year: 5 (2008-10, 2012-13)
- All-Southland Conference: 22 (19 First-Team All-Southland)
- Academic All-Southland Conference: 12 (10 First-Team All-Southland)
- Southland Player of the Week Honors: 20 (Seven Players)
Awards/Honors:
- 2013 Southland Coach of the Year
Coaching Biography
In three years at the helm, David McFatrich guided Mississippi State to a 41-56 record, with a 13-41 mark in the SEC. During his first year, he brought the program its first winning record since 2006 and earned the best record for a first-year head coach at 17-15.
In year No. 2, his team had a 3-1 start in SEC play, which marked the best in program history. MSU finished with a program-record 11 home wins.
In his final season with the Bulldogs, senior libero Payton Harris became MSU’s all-time career digs leader and her total of 1,864 is currently fifth in SEC history. His final MSU team went to 10-23 and 1-17 in SEC play and closed the year on a high note with a win at South Carolina.
With only two years leading the Maroon and White under his belt, David McFatrich has already cemented himself as one of the greatest coaches in Mississippi State volleyball history.
McFatrich, who directed Central Arkansas to NCAA Tournament appearances in two of his four seasons as head coach, was named the 11th head coach in Mississippi State volleyball history on January 12, 2015 and since then has led the Bulldogs to one of the most successful seasons in over a decade.
When MSU athletic director Scott Stricklin announced the hire of McFatrich, he knew success was imminent for the volleyball Bulldogs.
“David possesses all of the characteristics of a successful coach,” said Stricklin. “He has an aggressive style with high energy and connects well with his student-athletes. He has the vision to be great. He’s also a man of good values, and we are excited to have him as a part of the Mississippi State family.”
In his first season at the helm, McFatrich led the Bulldogs to a 17-15 record, posting the first winning season at State since 2006 and becoming the first head coach in MSU history to finish with a winning record in their first year. His 17-15 record also matched the finish in his first year at Central Arkansas and marks the best season by a head coach in their first year with the volleyball Bulldogs.
The 17 wins marked the most for MSU since 2006, while the six SEC wins were the most since winning seven conference games in 2011.
McFatrich's Bulldogs started off the season on a hot streak, winning six of their first seven matches and 10 of their first 13, both the best starts since 2006. During that hot start, MSU captured the Maroon Classic and Tiger Invitational championships, marking the first time since 2010 that the Bulldogs won multiple non-conference titles in a season. Included in the Maroon Classic title was McFatrich's 100th-career victory, which came in a sweep of Stetson on Sept. 4.
State kept the good times rolling in Oxford, as McFatrich's squad snapped a six-match losing streak to Ole Miss with a 3-0 victory. The sweep again pointed back to the success in 2006, which is the last time the Bulldogs had done so against the Rebels. It was also only the third time in school history that State had swept its in-state rivals in Oxford, the other two coming in 2005 and 1975.
McFatrich led his squad to a number of other historical accomplishments during the rigorous SEC slate. MSU's sweep of Georgia on Oct. 11 snapped an eight-match losing streak to UGA and marked the first sweep of Georgia for MSU since 1979. McFatrich and his Bulldogs would go on to sweep Georgia later in the season, marking the first season sweep and back-to-back wins against Georgia since 2006-07. It was also State's first win in Athens since 2010 and only the fifth in school history.
The Bulldogs would close the season with three-straight SEC wins, the first time MSU has won three-straight league matches since 2007. A 3-0 home win against LSU marked the first time in school history that State has defeated LSU in Starkville two-straight times. The season-ending 3-1 win against Ole Miss gave MSU its first back-to-back wins against the Rebels since 2009.
McFatrich's team was also dominant on the non-conference side of the schedule. Along with it's two non-conference titles, the Bulldogs finished the non-SEC part of the schedule with 11 wins, the most single-season non-conference wins since earning 13 in 2000.
With his high-energy style of play, McFatrich helped MSU improve greatly in seven different offensive categories. After posting 1,269 kills (10.57 K/S) in 2014, McFatrich's up-tempo offense improved State's numbers to 1,393 kills (12.55 K/S) in 2015. McFatrich's leadership also helped State make major jumps in its setting and serving games, going from 1,184 assists (9.87 A/S) and 115 service aces (0.96 SA/S) in 2014 to 1,308 assists (11.78 A/S) and 158 service aces (1.42 SA/S) in his first season.
State made its biggest showing from the service line, where its 1.42 aces per set stood second in the SEC and its 158 total aces finished fourth. Leading the way for State from the service line was Evie Grace Singleton, one of McFatrich's Central Arkansas stars who made the jounrey to Starkville with him. Singleton led MSU with 46 aces (2nd SEC, 26th NCAA) and a 0.43 aces per set average (1st SEC, 20th NCAA). McFatrich's star junior also stood top 10 in the SEC in kills (378, 6th), kills per set (3.53, 6th), points per set (4.13, 6th) and points (441.5, 8th).
McFatrich's influence can be seen in the classroom as well, as the leader of the Bulldogs constantly preaches relentless effort in all aspects of life. The Bulldogs landed five players on the All-SEC Academic Honor Roll in his first season, which is the most on the team since MSU placed five in 2011. The Bulldogs posted a 3.44 GPA in the spring, which set a number of impressive marks, including the highest GPA amongst all MSU sports for the 2015-16 year. The spring semester GPA, led by seven players who posted career-best GPA's in that span, also marked the fourth-best semester in program history.
Two years ago, one Bulldog landed on the 4.0 List (Riley Duzenack), while four earned President's List honors (Duzenack, Emily Howard, Katie Nicholson and Ellen Stuart) and two placed on the Dean's List (Savannah Cressman and Chelsea Duhs).
McFatrich has also made an impact off the court. On the recruiting trail, McFatrich and his staff have signed a number of talented stars that will join the Maroon and White, including 10 Bulldogs making their debut for the 2017 season. The Bulldogs' home, Newell-Grissom Building, has also seen a number of improvements since McFatrich's arrival. State's locker room and playing court underwent major renovations and included the addition of a team film room.
Central Arkansas Head Coach (2011-14)
In his four seasons at the helm of the Sugar Bears, McFatrich showed no fear in going toe-to-toe with the nation’s elite, annually facing programs such as Penn State, Washington, Florida State, Kansas and Oklahoma. Over the past four years, he has amassed an overall record of 96-36 (.727) with a Southland Conference record of 56-11 (.839).
Also upon his arrival in 2007, UCA’s RPI was in the 240’s. Since then, the Sugar Bears climbed up to an RPI as high as 44th nationally.
Arriving at UCA in 2007 as an assistant, McFatrich earned a promotion to head coach of the Sugar Bears in 2011. In his eight total seasons, he saw UCA capture nearly 200 victories, a rate of 25 per season.
McFatrich saw his biggest success the last three years, tallying a record of 46-6 (.885) and a Southland Tournament record of 9-2 (.818). The Sugar Bears averaged nearly 27 wins per season, while piling up numerous championships to help build McFatrich’s legacy as one of the nation’s up-and-coming coaches.
In his eight years at UCA, McFatrich, the 2013 Southland Coach of the Year, produced four Southland Conference Regular Season Championships, two Southland Conference Tournament Championships and four Southland East Division crowns. Individually, McFatrich has produced one ESPN Academic All-American, five Southland Conference Players of the Year, two Southland Liberos of the year, three Southland Freshman of the Year and five Southland Setters of the Year.
In addition, Sugar Bear players have captured numerous conference player of the week awards. Twenty-two UCA players have been named All-Southland Conference, with 19 of those earning first-team laurels.
Most recently, McFatrich faced a tall task in 2014 after the graduation of six players, but took the challenge head on. The Sugar Bears played for a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight season in the Southland Conference tournament finals and reached the 20-win milestone for the seventh time in his eight years with the program.
In 2014, McFatrich’s Sugar Bears extend the program’s conference winning streak to 38-consecutive matches dating back to 2012, which stands as the longest such streak in Southland Conference history.
McFatrich and UCA finished out 2013 in grand style as the Sugar Bears won their second-straight Southland Conference regular season title, their second-straight conference tournament championship and made their second-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. UCA posted a 29-4 record, highlighted by a victory against No. 9 Kansas. That squad became the first Southland team in 23 years to capture the regular season and tournament titles in back-to-back years.
Along the way, the Sugar Bears boasted one of the longest winning streaks in the nation at 22 matches, while also finishing the regular season ranked No. 17 in the Volleyblog Seattle Poll and No. 44 in the RPI.
In 2012, McFatrich led UCA to a 30-5 ledger and Southland Conference regular season and tournament titles. The season saw UCA capture a win against Big 12 foe Texas Tech and earn the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Spanning from 2012-14, McFatrich led the Sugar Bears to 38-straight victories in conference play, the longest such record in Southland Conference history. Also, McFatrich’s 59 total victories between the 2012-13 seasons stood only second to NCAA national champion Penn State for wins during that span.
Success in the classroom has also been prevalent in McFatrich’s time at Central Arkansas. From 2011-13, UCA volleyball earned a perfect NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 1,000. In that time, UCA has also placed a number of players on the Southland All-Academic team, including the 2012 Student-Athlete of the Year, which recognizes the top student-athlete both on and off the court.
Central Arkansas Assistant Coach (2007-10)
Prior to being named head coach at Central Arkansas, McFatrich spent four seasons as an assistant coach of the Sugar Bears under three-time Southland Coach of the Year, Steven McRoberts. From 2007-10, McFatrich oversaw a number of successes at UCA, as the program was elevated into the national spotlight. The year before McFatrich arrived at UCA, the Sugar Bears finished 19-17. In his four seasons as an assistant, UCA went 103-27. Also in that time, UCA saw 14 All-Southland honors, 12 Academic All-Southland honors, three Southland Players of the Year, three Southland Freshmen of the Year and the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Second-Team Academic All-American.
Playing Career
McFatrich is the former Captain & Setter for the 1988 Athletes In Action International Volleyball Team. Touring throughout Latin America, he helped lead the team to a 23-2 record. He has four gold and two silver medals as a member of the Canada Masters Volleyball Team (2009-present), which competes in the U.S. Open each summer. They also finished fifth in the World Masters Games in the summer of 2013.
Personal
McFatrich, a graduate of the University of Arkansas, earned a Bachelor's of Science in business administration in 1986 and a Master’s Degree in exercise science in 1988. A native of Woodbridge, Va., he and his wife Sonya have three children, Luke (19), Elle (16) and Sami (12).
|
McFatrich Year-By-Year |
|||
|
Year |
School |
Record |
Notes |
|
2011 |
Central Arkansas |
17-15 |
Southland Conference Tournament Semifinalists |
|
2012 |
Central Arkansas |
30-5 |
SLC Reg. Season/Tourn. Champions; NCAA 1st Round |
|
2013 |
Central Arkansas |
29-4 |
SLC Reg. Season/Tourn. Champions; NCAA 1st Round |
|
2014 |
Central Arkansas |
20-12 |
SLC Tournament Finalists |
|
2015 |
Mississippi State |
17-15 |
First winning season since 2006 |
|
2016 |
Mississippi State |
14-18 |
Set the school record for home wins in a season with 11 |
|
2017 |
Mississippi State |
10-23 |
Coached Payton Harris to becoming the all-time digs leader at MSU with 1,864 |
|
Total |
Six Seasons |
137-92 |
Two NCAA Appearances; Two Southland Regular Season/Tournament Titles |
