Head Coach Chad Braegelmann

Chad Braegelmann enters his eighth season as head coach of the St. Cloud State University volleyball program and 22nd season overall in 2022. A two-time NSIC Coach of the Year honoree, Braegelmann has built Huskies Volleyball into a national power. Under his guidance SCSU has earned both a NSIC Tournament and Regular Season Championship, two NCAA Central Region Tournament appearances, two NSIC Tournament berths and multiple AVCA Top-25 rankings. He enters the 2022 season with a 386-248 collegiate head coaching record, 11 20-win seasons, six Conference Coach of the Year honors and has led his teams to five conference championships.

Since 2019, the Huskies are a combined 25-9 against AVCA Top-25 opponents and opponents receiving votes in the AVCA poll. In that same span, the Huskies have gone 23-3 at Halenbeck Hall and have won 26 of their last 29 home matches entering 2022.

Throughout his 22-year collegiate coaching career, Braegelmann has coached six American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Americans, 10 All-Region players, seven conference Freshmen of the Year, three conference Players of the Year, six Libero/Defensive Players of the Year and 58 All-Conference athletes.

 

Braegelmann repeated as the NSIC Coach of the Year last season, leading the Huskies to their first NSIC regular season title since 1982 and earning the program's first NSIC Tournament Championship. St. Cloud State went 27-5 with a 19-1 mark in NSIC play to finish alone atop the conference standings. The Huskies earned the No. 2 seed at the Central Regional in Warrensburg, Missouri, closed the season ranked No. 10 in the final AVCA top-25 poll and set new program standards for fewest losses and best single-season winning percentage. Braegelmann's offense was one of the most terminal units in the Nation, ranking seventh in hitting percentage (.270), 10th in assists (1576), 13th in kills (1682), 15th in assists per set (13.0) and 17th in kills per set (13.9). The Huskies' fearsome block ranked seventh in total blocks (305.0) and ninth in blocks per set (2.5) at the conclusion of the season.

 

Multiple AVCA Top-25 teams fell at the hands of St. Cloud State throughout 2021 as the Huskies were 8-3 against ranked opponents. SCSU dispatched the No. 5 (2x), 8, 9,14, 15 (2x) and 16 teams in the country over the course of their historic season, including three ranked wins in their NSIC Tournament Championship run. The Huskies swept No. 16 SMSU in the Quarterfinal, took down No. 15 Wayne State in a five-set Semifinal thriller then defeated No. 8 Winona State in four sets to earn the conference crown.

 

Several student-athletes received recognition during 2021 headlined by Kenzie Foley, who was named the AVCA Division II National Freshman of the Year, AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year and NSIC Freshman of the Year while earning First Team All-America, All-Region and All-Conference recognition after a breakout season with St. Cloud State. Maddy Torve graduated as one of the most successful setters in program history, earning First Team All-America (AVCA, D2CCA), All-Region (AVCA, D2CCA), All-NSIC, Academic All-District (CoSIDA) and Academic All-America (CoSIDA) honors while being named the NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year. Linsey Rachel became the program's first two-time All-American, adding AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, First Team AVCA All-Region and First Team All-NSIC honors to an already-stacked trophy case. Phebie Rossi ranked sixth in the nation in blocks at the conclusion of the season and earned First Team All-NSIC, AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention and AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors.

Braegelmann led the Huskies to new heights in 2019, earning NSIC Coach of the Year after helping St. Cloud State record its best season in over 20 years. Under Braegelmann's guidance, the Huskies posted an overall record of 25-7 and a 15-5 mark in NSIC play, landing them fourth place in the NSIC rankings and earning their first-ever trip to the NSIC Tournament. St. Cloud State earned its first AVCA top-25 ranking since 1997, cracked the organization's top-10 for the first time since 1996, finished No. 10 in the final AVCA top-25 poll and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Regional for the first time since 2004. St. Cloud State defeated 14 nationally and regionally ranked opponents during the season, going 10-5 against AVCA Top-25 opponents and finishing runner-up in the NSIC Tournament.

 

St. Cloud State's defense closed 2019 as one of the top units in the nation, leading the NSIC in digs and digs/set. The Huskies broke the program record for single-season digs, compiling 2213 over the course of 31 matches. Senior libero Clara Krenz became the program's all-time dig leader, concluding her impressive career with 2227. Braegelmann saw three student-athletes earn All-NSIC honors as Krenz was named the conference's Libero of the Year for the second consecutive season and earned First Team All-NSIC, AVCA First Team All-Central Region, D2CCA Second Team All-Region and AVCA All-America Honorable Mention nods. Sophomore outside Linsey Rachel earned First Team All-Conference, AVCA First Team All-Region and AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors while junior setter Maddy Torve earned Second Team All-NSIC honors and ranked top-five nationally in assists and assists/set. Finally, a program-record 11 student-athletes earned Academic All-NSIC honors in 2019.

 

2018 saw the Huskies continue to build, posting a 15-11 overall record with an 11-9 mark in NSIC play and a seventh-place finish in the conference standings. St. Cloud State defeated two top-10 nationally-ranked opponents while several individuals find success during the 2018 season. Freshman outside Linsey Rachel and junior libero Clara Krenz received Second Team All-NSIC honors in 2018 and were named the conference Freshman and Libero of the Year. Both also earned NSIC Player of the Week honors at least once during the season while seven student-athletes earned Academic All-Conference honors in Braegelmann's fourth season with the program.

 

In 2017, Braegelmann led the Huskies to a 16-14 record an an 8-12 mark in NSIC play. The 16 wins were the most for the program since 2004, when St. Cloud State posted an overall record of 19-12, and marked just the third time in the last 20 years the Huskies won more than 15 matches in a season. Sophomore libero Clara Krenz led the Northern Sun with a whopping 5.92 digs per set and earned Second Team All-NSIC honors at the end of the season, becoming Braegelmann's second All-NSIC libero in three years with the program. The Huskies defense ascended to third in the NSIC with 17.26 digs a set, limiting opponents to the sixth-fewest kills per set in the league.

 

Year two at St. Cloud State served as a rebuilding year for the program as the Huskies were 8-21 overall, 3-17 in the NSIC. Four student-athletes earned Academic All-NSIC notice in 2016. The Huskies showed vast improvement at the service line, leaping to fifth in the NSIC with 1.52 aces per set. SCSU's serve receive was seventh in the conference, allowing just 123 aces. Nicole Miller led the Northern Sun with 76 aces - 24 more than the next-best serve specialist - and averaged just over half an ace per set. Freshman libero Clara Krenz opened her collegiate career with 4.30 digs per set, landing her seventh in the NSIC.

 

In his first season with the Huskies, Braegelmann posted a 9-19 overall record with a 5-15 NSIC mark in NSIC play. St. Cloud State's defense ranked fifth in the NSIC with 16.50 digs per set, led by All-NSIC libero Brianne Stamer's conference-leading 5.46 digs a set. Stamer was one of six Huskies on the Academic All-NSIC squad while Macy Weller ranked top-20 in the conference with 0.83 blocks per set.

 

Chad Braegelmann was named the fifth head coach in St. Cloud State Volleyball history on July 6, 2015.

 

Prior to his move to SCSU, Braegelmann was the head women's volleyball coach at the University of Minnesota-Morris where he also served as the Sports Studies and Athletics Discipline Coordinator and an Assistant Athletic Director. In seven seasons at Minnesota-Morris, Braegelmann posted a 130-91 record while earning UMAC Coach of the Year honors in 2010 and 2013. His team won a share of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference title in 2013 before closing his Minnesota-Morris career with a 23-12 (12-2 UMAC) showing in 2014.

 

At Colby-Sawyer, Braegelmann departed as the all-time winningest coach in program history with a 156-80 record over seven seasons spanning from 2001-07. He guided the Chargers to Commonwealth Coast Conference Championships in 2003 and 2005 while twice advancing to the NCAA Division III National Tournament. Braegelmann led Colby-Sawyer to six conference championship match appearances with double-digit wins in all seven seasons, attaining the most single-season wins in school history in any sport. Volleyball athletes were successful off the court as well, earning the top team academic grade point average of Colby-Sawyer’s athletic programs multiple times.

 

A graduate of the University of Minnesota-Morris, Braegelmann received his master's degree in education from Northern State University.

 

A native of Richmond, Minn. and graduate of nearby ROCORI H.S., Braegelmann and his wife Natalie have four sons.