MSU head coach David McFatrich announced on Wednesday the additions of Diego Castaneda and Garrett Bitter to his coaching staff.
McFatrich Adds Castaneda, Bitter To Coaching Staff
April 26, 2017 | Volleyball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – As the 2017 season stands just months away, Mississippi State head coach David McFatrich announced the additions of coaching standouts Diego Castaneda and Garrett Bitter to his staff on Wednesday.
"I'm very excited to welcome both Diego and Garrett to our Mississippi State Volleyball family," McFatrich said. "Not only do they each bring the experience and qualities I was looking for, such as integrity, social responsibility and great work ethic, they also share my passion for developing this program and a desire to give our volleyball student-athletes a wonderful collegiate experience."
Both Castaneda and Bitter bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the Maroon and White, as the two have become rising stars in the coaching ranks over the last several years.
"To be candid, I started the search process without knowing anything about them, but their names kept popping up so I started doing my homework," McFatrich said. "After a thorough check, I brought them in for interviews and felt strongly that they were a great fit and filled the needs I had. They each understand where this program is and where we're heading. Also, it was important for me to find assistant coaches who were going to make me a better coach and Diego and Garrett will do just that."
Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Diego Castaneda
A well-known figure on the volleyball coaching circuit who has had stops in the Big 12, ACC and SEC, Castaneda joins the Maroon and White as an assistant coach and the Bulldogs' recruiting coordinator. Castaneda makes his way to Starkville via Athens, Ga., where he spent last season as an assistant with the Georgia Bulldogs.
"I am very excited and extremely grateful for this opportunity to join the Mississippi State Athletic Department," Castaneda said. "I would like to thank Director of Athletics John Cohen, Scott Wetherbee, Jared Benko and head coach David McFatrich for giving me the chance to contribute to the success and growth of the volleyball program. I'm ready to roll up my sleeves, hit the ground running, build amazing relationships with the student-athletes and recruits, and help take the program to new heights."
Prior to joining UGA's staff, Castaneda spent three years at Wake Forest, where worked primarily with the middle blockers and liberos along. Castaneda was instrumental in a trio of Demon Deacons earning ACC honors while signing numerous top 150 recruits throughout his tenure. Castaneda also stayed heavily involved in the Winston-Salem volleyball community, taking the role of head coach of the Deacon Volleyball Academy.
Castaneda's first assistant coaching position came at North Texas, where he helped the team achieve a 43-29 record over two seasons. Castaneda's time culminated with a spectacular 2012 season, as the Mean Green tied the school record with 26 wins and advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship game for the first time in the program's history.
He also had a hand in a number of star individuals at UNT. Castaneda aided with the development of middle blocker Courtney Windham, who earned all-conference first-team honors and finished the year as one of the nations top blockers, earning a spot in the top 15 for total blocks nationally. Under his guidance, three of the Mean Green student-athletes garnered conference awards, including one of the nation's best attackers, Carnae Dillard, being named the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year in 2012.
Prior to his time in Denton, Castaneda rose through the ranks of the Baylor program throughout six seasons with the Bears. During his stints as a team manager, graduate assistant coach and director of volleyball operations, he was responsible for Baylor's video exchange, Data Volley, facilities preparation and many other facets of the program's day-to-day operations. As the program's graduate assistant coach, he helped the Bears advance to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 2009.
Adding to his volleyball coaching experience, Castaneda has also been an assistant coach for Team North Texas and Team Carolina Flight of the USA Premier Volleyball League, a regional indoor pro league sanctioned by USA Volleyball. Along with his participation on the PVL, Castaneda served as an assistant for the USA A2 program. He has completed the levels I and II of the Coaches Accreditation Program of USA Volleyball and is a certified Data Volley instructor.
A native of Bogota, Colombia, Castaneda earned both his bachelor's (2008) and master's (2010) degrees from Baylor University.
"Diego's strengths are his strong recruiting ties, his experience in the Big 12 and ACC, and his great work ethic," McFatrich said. "He has a "rolls up his sleeves and gets to work" attitude and is very well organized. On the court, he will help us in many areas, but will focus mainly on our serve-pass game."
Assistant Coach Garrett Bitter
Bitter comes to Starkville after spending last season as an assistant with the Stony Brook Seawolves. In his year at Stony Brook, Bitter helped produce a pair of America East All-Conference honorees, as McKyla Brooks was named All-America East First Team and Maria Poole earned All-America East Rookie Team laurels. The Seawolves finished the year second in the America East in hitting percentage (.197), total assists (1,274), total kills (1,382) and total attacks (3,736).
"It's an honor to be able to join the Mississippi State volleyball staff and have the opportunity to coach in such a dominant league like the SEC," Bitter said. "I'm thankful to athletic director John Cohen, coach David McFatrich and the entire administration for this opportunity to be a part of the MSU family. I am also extremely grateful for the leadership and teachings of my previous mentors and coaches. Their knowledge, leadership and character were key in leading me to Mississippi State. This volleyball program is certainly on the rise and I am excited to become a part of this family and help take it to even greater heights."
A star setter in his own playing days, Bitter was responsible for the growth and development of star Stony Brook setter Morgan Kath, who finished the season second in the league with 926 assists and third with 9.65 assists per set. Kath wrapped up her sophomore campaign standing fourth on the school's all-time assists per set list and seventh on the total assists chart.
Three years before heading to New York, Bitter served as an assistant at IPFW. While with the Mastodons, Bitter worked primarily with the program's setters while also overseeing offensive gameplanning, scouting, recruiting and video analysis. In his first season in 2013, IPFW setter Madison Spence led the Summit League with 11.01 assists per set. In 2015, Bitter coached freshman setter Madison Jaqua to a Summit League All-Freshman team honor.
Coaching experience for Bitter dates back to 2007 when he first started working with the Sports Performance Volleyball Club in his hometown of Aurora, Ill. He most recently served as the head coach of the boys 16 and 14 Runbirds after serving as an assistant coach for the boys 17 Mizuno's for two years.
Bitter has been involved with multiple camps throughout his volleyball career, including Attack/Pass, Boys All Skills, Setting Academy, 1st Contact Academy, Middle Blocker Academy and Collegiate Setting camps. He also spent five years as the head coach for the Boys Summer Program of the Sports Performance Volleyball Club.
On top of working with the Sports Performance Volleyball Club, Bitter also spent time at Waubonsie Valley (Ill.) High School, where he coached boys' volleyball in the spring of 2013. He was an assistant coach for the varsity program and was responsible for training setters as well as working with liberos on defensive strategies. Bitter also coached the Geneva (Ill.) High School girls squad.
As a player, Bitter began his volleyball career at Waubonsie Valley High where he was a four-year letterwinner and a two-time team captain. Bitter was an all-conference selection at the setter position and he also led his team to a conference and regional championship in 2006.
His career continued at IPFW while also participating on multiple teams at the Sports Performance Volleyball Club. He was a 2010 MIVA Academic All-Conference selection as a Mastodon and a two-time team captain on the club scene.
Bitter holds both a bachelors and masters degree from IPFW, graduating in 2012 with a bachelors in mathematics teaching before gaining his masters in educational leadership in 2015.
"Garrett has a very good mind for the game of volleyball, which has immediately helped us in the gym," McFatrich said. "He sees the game well and has a great teaching manner. He does well in both individual and group training session and also has strong recruiting ties, which will help us greatly in that regard."
For more on Mississippi State volleyball, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateVB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."
"I'm very excited to welcome both Diego and Garrett to our Mississippi State Volleyball family," McFatrich said. "Not only do they each bring the experience and qualities I was looking for, such as integrity, social responsibility and great work ethic, they also share my passion for developing this program and a desire to give our volleyball student-athletes a wonderful collegiate experience."
Both Castaneda and Bitter bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the Maroon and White, as the two have become rising stars in the coaching ranks over the last several years.
"To be candid, I started the search process without knowing anything about them, but their names kept popping up so I started doing my homework," McFatrich said. "After a thorough check, I brought them in for interviews and felt strongly that they were a great fit and filled the needs I had. They each understand where this program is and where we're heading. Also, it was important for me to find assistant coaches who were going to make me a better coach and Diego and Garrett will do just that."
Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Diego Castaneda
A well-known figure on the volleyball coaching circuit who has had stops in the Big 12, ACC and SEC, Castaneda joins the Maroon and White as an assistant coach and the Bulldogs' recruiting coordinator. Castaneda makes his way to Starkville via Athens, Ga., where he spent last season as an assistant with the Georgia Bulldogs.
"I am very excited and extremely grateful for this opportunity to join the Mississippi State Athletic Department," Castaneda said. "I would like to thank Director of Athletics John Cohen, Scott Wetherbee, Jared Benko and head coach David McFatrich for giving me the chance to contribute to the success and growth of the volleyball program. I'm ready to roll up my sleeves, hit the ground running, build amazing relationships with the student-athletes and recruits, and help take the program to new heights."
Prior to joining UGA's staff, Castaneda spent three years at Wake Forest, where worked primarily with the middle blockers and liberos along. Castaneda was instrumental in a trio of Demon Deacons earning ACC honors while signing numerous top 150 recruits throughout his tenure. Castaneda also stayed heavily involved in the Winston-Salem volleyball community, taking the role of head coach of the Deacon Volleyball Academy.
Castaneda's first assistant coaching position came at North Texas, where he helped the team achieve a 43-29 record over two seasons. Castaneda's time culminated with a spectacular 2012 season, as the Mean Green tied the school record with 26 wins and advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship game for the first time in the program's history.
He also had a hand in a number of star individuals at UNT. Castaneda aided with the development of middle blocker Courtney Windham, who earned all-conference first-team honors and finished the year as one of the nations top blockers, earning a spot in the top 15 for total blocks nationally. Under his guidance, three of the Mean Green student-athletes garnered conference awards, including one of the nation's best attackers, Carnae Dillard, being named the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year in 2012.
Prior to his time in Denton, Castaneda rose through the ranks of the Baylor program throughout six seasons with the Bears. During his stints as a team manager, graduate assistant coach and director of volleyball operations, he was responsible for Baylor's video exchange, Data Volley, facilities preparation and many other facets of the program's day-to-day operations. As the program's graduate assistant coach, he helped the Bears advance to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 2009.
Adding to his volleyball coaching experience, Castaneda has also been an assistant coach for Team North Texas and Team Carolina Flight of the USA Premier Volleyball League, a regional indoor pro league sanctioned by USA Volleyball. Along with his participation on the PVL, Castaneda served as an assistant for the USA A2 program. He has completed the levels I and II of the Coaches Accreditation Program of USA Volleyball and is a certified Data Volley instructor.
A native of Bogota, Colombia, Castaneda earned both his bachelor's (2008) and master's (2010) degrees from Baylor University.
"Diego's strengths are his strong recruiting ties, his experience in the Big 12 and ACC, and his great work ethic," McFatrich said. "He has a "rolls up his sleeves and gets to work" attitude and is very well organized. On the court, he will help us in many areas, but will focus mainly on our serve-pass game."
Assistant Coach Garrett Bitter
Bitter comes to Starkville after spending last season as an assistant with the Stony Brook Seawolves. In his year at Stony Brook, Bitter helped produce a pair of America East All-Conference honorees, as McKyla Brooks was named All-America East First Team and Maria Poole earned All-America East Rookie Team laurels. The Seawolves finished the year second in the America East in hitting percentage (.197), total assists (1,274), total kills (1,382) and total attacks (3,736).
"It's an honor to be able to join the Mississippi State volleyball staff and have the opportunity to coach in such a dominant league like the SEC," Bitter said. "I'm thankful to athletic director John Cohen, coach David McFatrich and the entire administration for this opportunity to be a part of the MSU family. I am also extremely grateful for the leadership and teachings of my previous mentors and coaches. Their knowledge, leadership and character were key in leading me to Mississippi State. This volleyball program is certainly on the rise and I am excited to become a part of this family and help take it to even greater heights."
A star setter in his own playing days, Bitter was responsible for the growth and development of star Stony Brook setter Morgan Kath, who finished the season second in the league with 926 assists and third with 9.65 assists per set. Kath wrapped up her sophomore campaign standing fourth on the school's all-time assists per set list and seventh on the total assists chart.
Three years before heading to New York, Bitter served as an assistant at IPFW. While with the Mastodons, Bitter worked primarily with the program's setters while also overseeing offensive gameplanning, scouting, recruiting and video analysis. In his first season in 2013, IPFW setter Madison Spence led the Summit League with 11.01 assists per set. In 2015, Bitter coached freshman setter Madison Jaqua to a Summit League All-Freshman team honor.
Coaching experience for Bitter dates back to 2007 when he first started working with the Sports Performance Volleyball Club in his hometown of Aurora, Ill. He most recently served as the head coach of the boys 16 and 14 Runbirds after serving as an assistant coach for the boys 17 Mizuno's for two years.
Bitter has been involved with multiple camps throughout his volleyball career, including Attack/Pass, Boys All Skills, Setting Academy, 1st Contact Academy, Middle Blocker Academy and Collegiate Setting camps. He also spent five years as the head coach for the Boys Summer Program of the Sports Performance Volleyball Club.
On top of working with the Sports Performance Volleyball Club, Bitter also spent time at Waubonsie Valley (Ill.) High School, where he coached boys' volleyball in the spring of 2013. He was an assistant coach for the varsity program and was responsible for training setters as well as working with liberos on defensive strategies. Bitter also coached the Geneva (Ill.) High School girls squad.
As a player, Bitter began his volleyball career at Waubonsie Valley High where he was a four-year letterwinner and a two-time team captain. Bitter was an all-conference selection at the setter position and he also led his team to a conference and regional championship in 2006.
His career continued at IPFW while also participating on multiple teams at the Sports Performance Volleyball Club. He was a 2010 MIVA Academic All-Conference selection as a Mastodon and a two-time team captain on the club scene.
Bitter holds both a bachelors and masters degree from IPFW, graduating in 2012 with a bachelors in mathematics teaching before gaining his masters in educational leadership in 2015.
"Garrett has a very good mind for the game of volleyball, which has immediately helped us in the gym," McFatrich said. "He sees the game well and has a great teaching manner. He does well in both individual and group training session and also has strong recruiting ties, which will help us greatly in that regard."
For more on Mississippi State volleyball, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateVB." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."
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