Coaching Staff

Chad Willis ♦ Head Coach

Volleyball had one of its most successful seasons in recent memory after finishing the year 23-9 (.719) and earning a trip to the Great Eight of the NIVC. It was the team's first 20-win season since 2013 and the first two postseason wins in program history. The team's ten wins in conference play were the most it has had since joining the Sun Belt. The Eagles led the conference in total blocks and hitting percentage, while finishing second in blocks per set, which was eighth in the NCAA. Reagan Barth was named to the All-Sun Belt First Team, and the .719 winning percentage was best in the conference.

The 2022 campaign saw Georgia Southern post its second consecutive winning season in home matches (8-4) and its second straight campaign with a .500 or better winning percentage in conference play (7-7). The Eagles ranked 18th in the country and first in the Sun Belt in aces (1.84/set) and ranked first in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.176) and second in digs (15.30/set).

Georgia Southern finished the 2021 campaign with a 17-11 record, the most wins for the program since the 2013 season, and the Eagles' nine Sun Belt victories were the most since joining the league in 2014. The Eagles also collected 11 home wins, the most since 2013, when GS went 13-2 in Hanner Fieldhouse.

The 2020 campaign was highlighted by the Eagles setting a school record and Sun Belt Tournament 5-set record with 27 blocks in a 3-2 win over Troy. It was the Eagles' first Sun Belt Tourney win since joining the league, and Mya Wilson went on to be named second-team All-Sun Belt. Georgia Southern finished the campaign ranked second in the Sun Belt in blocks with 2.47 per set.

A 16-year volleyball coaching veteran at the Division-I level, Willis came to Statesboro from Appalachian State, where he spent six seasons as the associate head coach. The Mountaineers went 22-9 and 13-3 in the Sun Belt in 2018, won the SBC East Division and advanced to the league tournament championship contest. Appalachian State posted 100 wins during Willis’ time there, notched 20-plus victories three times, advanced to the Sun Belt championship twice and earned a bid to the 2018 National Invitational Volleyball Championship.

In addition to serving as Appalachian’s recruiting coordinator, Willis coordinated the Mountaineer offense and trained the outside and middle hitters. The Mountaineers’ 2017 and 2018 recruiting classes were tabbed by PrepVolleyball as highest honorable mention for the nation’s top recruiting class, and Appalachian has ranked in the top 4 in hitting percentage in the Sun Belt in three of its five seasons in the league, leading the conference with a .272 mark in 2015.

Four Mountaineers - Paige Brown, Emily Corrigan, Jess Keller and Ashton Gregory – were named All-Sun Belt in 2015, and four more - Becky Porter (Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year), Emma Longley, Emma Reilly and Kara Spicer – earned the accolade this past season.

Willis spent eight seasons in Winston-Salem, where he served as an assistant coach at Wake Forest before being promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2012 campaign. In addition, Willis served as the team’s recruiting coordinator and assistant camp director.

During his time at Wake Forest, he was primarily responsible for coaching the setters and coordinating offensive systems and mentored two All-ACC setters in Erin Borhart and Kelsey Jones. He was part of a staff that led the Demon Deacons to a school-record-tying 10 ACC wins in 2005.

A 2005 graduate of James Madison University, Willis was the starting setter for JMU’s men’s club volleyball team where he helped lead his squad to three top-10 finishes at the national tournament while earning All-America honors twice. He was the head coach for women’s club volleyball at James Madison while spending two seasons as a student assistant coach for the Dukes’ varsity women’s program, where he was part of a staff that led JMU to a Colonial Athletic Association title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2000.

Willis spent a season at Elon, where he helped lead the Phoenix to a 19-14 record in 2004 before joining the Wake Forest staff for the 2005 campaign.

Chad and his wife, Caroline, a former libero at North Carolina, have two children, Aidan (10) and Maddie Grace (7).

Lexi Uhrhan ♦ Assistant Coach

Lexi Uhrhan joined the volleyball staff ahead of the 2023 season and is entering her second season as an assistant coach.

Efrain Negron ♦ Associate Head Coach

Efrain Negron is in his sixth season at Georgia Southern and has been instrumental in the resurgence of the program. He was promoted to associate head coach following the 2023 season.

Volleyball had one of its most successful seasons in recent memory after finishing the year 23-9 (.719) and earning a trip to the Great Eight of the NIVC. It was the team's first 20-win season since 2013 and the first two postseason wins in program history. The team's ten wins in conference play were the most it has had since joining the Sun Belt. Under Negron's guidance, the Eagles led the conference in total blocks and hitting percentage, while finishing second in blocks per set, which was eighth in the NCAA. Reagan Barth was named to the All-Sun Belt First Team, and the .719 winning percentage was best in the conference.

The 2022 campaign saw Georgia Southern post its second consecutive winning season in home matches (8-4) and its second straight campaign with a .500 or better winning percentage in conference play (7-7). The Eagles ranked 18th in the country and first in the Sun Belt in aces (1.84/set) and ranked first in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.176) and second in digs (15.30/set).

Georgia Southern finished the 2021 campaign with a 17-11 record, the most wins since the 2013 season, and the Eagles' nine Sun Belt victories were the most since joining the league in 2014. The Eagles also collected 11 home wins, the most since 2013, when GS went 13-2 in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Before arriving in Statesboro, Negron spent two seasons at Clemson, serving as the defensive coordinator and helped the Tigers engineer a 12-win improvement from 2017 to 2018. Clemson won eight of its last 11 matches to post a 19-15 record last season, its most wins since 2012. In 2017, Negron mentored freshman libero Madi Howell, who tallied 373 digs, the second most by a freshman in school history.

Negron served as a volunteer assistant coach on the 2015 Appalachian State staff with Willis and helped the Mountaineers to a 22-8 record (13-3 Sun Belt) and a runner-up finish at the Sun Belt Championship tournament in Hanner Fieldhouse. Negron trained the Appalachian State liberos and defensive specialists, and was responsible for team defense and serve receive. The Mountaineers led the conference in digs per set that season, with a 16.58 average.

Following his time at Appalachian, Negron assisted in all aspects of the program, including recruiting, practice planning and game preparation, at Bowling Green in 2016. He was responsible for the individual development and training of the team’s liberos and defensive specialists, as well as team defense and serve receive. The Falcons led the MAC in digs per set in 2016, with a 17.67 average, which ranked ninth in the nation. He coached Madeline Garda, the national leader in digs per set (6.66) to MAC Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference honors.

Negron was a four-year starter at libero for Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, N.C., from 2010-13, where he was a three-time All-Conference Carolinas selection. He set the Lees-McRae school record in digs, digs per set and reception percentage and sits in the top-5 statistically in the NCAA for career digs. He represented USA Men’s Volleyball as a libero at the Asian Pacific Volleyball Cup in Japan during the summer of 2012. Negron graduated from Lees-McRae with a degree in Sports Science in May of 2014.