VCU VOLLEYBALL ADDS BAKER AS ASSISTANT COACH
2-23-09

RICHMOND, Va. – Nathan Baker has been named assistant volleyball coach at Virginia Commonwealth University, the school announced Monday.

Baker joins Head Coach James Finley’s staff after outstanding recent stints at the University of West Alabama and Tusculum College.

“Nathan’s brings with him a high level of experience as head coach, as well as a passion for the game and a record of winning,” Finley said. “He will help VCU volleyball take another step forward.”

In 2008, Baker served as head coach of Division II West Alabama in Livingston, Ala. and led the Tigers to a 22-11 record and third place finish in the Gulf South Conference. It was just the fifth 20-win season in the history of the UWA program.

Six of Baker’s West Alabama players earned All-GSC recognition, a school record. Additionally, West Alabama posted a team grade-point-average over 3.0 and placed nine players on the Dean’s List.

Prior to his tenure in Livingston, Baker directed Tusculum in Greenville, Tenn. during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. In two years with the Pioneers, Baker racked up 48 victories. His 2006 squad finished 23-10, a 14-win improvement over the previous season. That team also captured nine Southern Athletic Conference victories, the program’s most since joining the league in 1998. Tusculum improved on both of those marks in 2007, finishing 25-9 overall and 11-3 in the SAL.

From 2003-06, Baker worked as an assistant coach at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C.

Baker began his coaching career at Colorado Northwestern Community College in Rangley, Colo. He also served as a student assistant at Martin Methodist College, where he earned a bachelors degree in human science.

Baker joins a VCU program that finished 19-13 in 2008 and placed second in the Colonial Athletic Association.