(photo by Travis Bernhard)
Fredonia State Women's Volleyball Head Coach Geoff Braun on Tuesday was named 2025 SUNYAC Coach of the Year following a season which saw him record his 500th career win.
Braun, in his 26th season as Blue Devil bench boss, was honored by his coaching peers based on his team's third-place finish, which exceeded many expectations. The Blue Devils were 6-3 in the conference, 12-16 overall, and earned their first playoff berth in four years after being picked to finish sixth in the SUNYAC coach's preseason poll.
It was the fifth time Braun has received the conference coaching award. His first came in first in 2003, followed by consecutive awards in 2007 and 2008, and his fourth in 2017.
"This is truly a group effort," Braun said about the latest honor. "I give credit to Brinn (Shaughnessy), our assistant coach, and to the athletes for buying into our team culture and setting their own expectations high. We had a lot of fun this year."
The fun was on full display Nov. 1 in a 3-1 win over Oneonta, a victory which secured third place for the Blue Devils and gave their coach career win No. 500. He completed the season with an overall career mark of 501-352 after entering the season 34th in wins among all active NCAA Division III coaches.
Assistant Director of Athletics P.J. Gondek, who also serves as head coach of men's soccer, reflected on the significance of his Braun's milestone achievement: "Having been a colleague of Coach Braun for more than two decades," Gondek said, "I have seen first-hand on how to run a top-notch college volleyball program. Five hundred wins means that you have been consistently competitive in one of the top D-III athletic conferences in the country. Even more impressive over this time period has been his consistent leadership and mentorship of his athletes."
