Jesse Mahoney - Volleyball Coach - University of Colorado Athletics

Arkansas

Sep 12 (Fri)

6 PM

Photo by: Mark Mahan

Jesse Mahoney

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
jesse.mahoney@colorado.edu

Jesse Mahoney, who has led the Buffs to three NCAA appearances, is in his 10th season (2025) as head coach of the Colorado volleyball team. He was named head coach on Dec. 17, 2015, after coaching previously at Denver Univeristy.

Under his leadership, Mahoney’s Buff teams have produced a 141-126 (.528) record. Colorado returned to the Big 12 in the 2024 season, going 13-17 overall and 6-12 in conference. After the conclusion of the regular season, sophomore outside hitter Ana Burilovic was selected to the All-Big 12 Second Team, and sophomores defensive specialist/libero Avery Bolles and outside hitter Sydney Jordan were both named to the CSC Academic All-District Team.

In 2022, Colorado went 20-11 and was 12-8 in the Pac-12 to finish fifth in the regular season standings, and the Buffs made it to the NCAA First Round. Previously, in 2019, Mahoney brought the PrepVolleyball.com 10th-ranked volleyball class to CU with eight new players. In 2018, Colorado made an NCAA First Round appearance, going 18-14 on the season and 10-10 in conference. In 2017 -- Mahoney’s second season coaching Colorado -- the Buffs made their first NCAA Sweet 16 appearance since 1997 and won over 23 games for the first time since 1993 with a 24-10 overall record (12-8 Pac-12). In 2016, the Buffs went 14-15 in Mahoney’s debut season.

In addition to the team’s success, several Buffs had outstanding individual seasons. Junior outside hitter Alexa Smith became CU’s first AVCA Second Team All-American and was also named to the AVCA All-Pacific South Region and All-Pac-12 Teams.

Freshman setter Brynna DeLuzio had one of the best freshman seasons for a Buff, earning AVCA All-America honorable mention honors in addition to the VolleyballMag.com All-Freshman Team and PrepVolleyball.Com All-Freshman Second Team. DeLuzio was the first Buff to earn the AVCA Pacific South Region Freshman of the Year award and was also selected to the AVCA all-region honorable mention team. She was a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honoree and earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors.

Three other Buffs earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention status: junior middle blocker Naghede Abu, senior right side hitter Joslyn Hayes and junior outside hitter Frankie Shebby. After the conclusion of the 2023 season, rising sophomore outside hitter Lily Dwinell was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.

Prior to coming to CU, Mahoney spent the previous four seasons at the University of Denver, where he guided the Pioneers to an 88-41 mark, including back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances (2014, 2015). The Pioneers finished with a 27-8 mark this past fall after falling to No. 5 Washington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2014, DU was 27-7, its season ending in the first round of the tournament, on that occasion to No. 13 Colorado State, also in the first round. The Pioneers accumulated a 46-18 conference mark with Mahoney at the helm, winning the Summit League regular season championship the last two seasons with identical 13-3 league records; Denver also claimed the postseason tournament title both years. The 2014 crown was the school’s first in the sport after joining the league in 2013, in which Mahoney coached the Pioneers to a 10-4 league mark and runner-up finishes in both the regular season and the postseason tourney. That team was 17-13 overall, as was his first team at DU in 2012, when the Pioneers were members of the Western Athletic Conference (with a 10-8 mark in conference play).

While at Denver, Mahoney coached 17 all-conference selections, including a pair of 2014 AVCA Division I Honorable Mention All-Americans. His 2014 recruiting class was tabbed No. 28 by PrepVolleyball.com. Nationally, the Pioneers’ offense was ranked in the top 25 in hitting efficiency three times (2013-15) and this fall the defense cracked the top 25 in opponent hitting efficiency.

Prior to his success at DU, Mahoney served as an assistant coach at Colorado State (2005-11), including four as the associate head coach. In his time under head coach Tom Hilbert, the Rams participated in seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments and won five Mountain West titles. CSU complied a 162-51 record during his time on the staff. While with the Rams, he helped to assemble three recruiting classes ranked in the top 25 by PrepVolleyball.com. His primary responsibility in practice was working with the middle blockers and CSU was ranked nationally in the top 10 in blocking five of his seven seasons. He tutored two All-American middle blockers as well as multiple All-Conference and All-Region performers.

Mahoney joined the staff at CSU after six seasons as the head coach at Fort Hays State, where the Tigers recorded a 107-82 overall record under his direction. FHSU tallied an impressive 56-12 record over his last two years there (2003-04), which included a 31-5 mark and No. 11 final national ranking in 2004.

His first varsity coaching position was as an assistant coach at Colorado Christian, which followed his first foray into the profession – the head coach of the CU men’s club volleyball team from 1995-98. Mahoney has also coached in the club circuit as a member of the Front Range Volleyball Club, guiding the 18-Black to the 1998 USA Junior Rocky Mountain Region title.

Mahoney, a Boulder native, is no stranger to the University of Colorado, having earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 1995 and a Juris Doctorate degree from CU’s Law School in 1999. He is married to the former Gwen McEntyre and the couple has three children: Macy, Griffin and Declan.