Bre Henry Named Ole Miss Volleyball Head Coach
Henry won national championships as both a player and coach
OXFORD, Miss. — (Release) With national championship pedigree and her success at Ole Miss, Bre Henry was the clear choice after a national search to guide the Rebel volleyball team into the future and was named permanent head coach Friday by Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Keith Carter.
Henry won national championships as both a player at Long Beach State and on staff at Nebraska. Thrust into a challenging role as Ole Miss’ interim head coach in October, she responded by uniting the Rebels for wins against some of the SEC’s top talent.
“Bre has a tremendous background in the sport and understands what it takes to compete at the highest level,” Carter said.
“She was presented with a difficult challenge this year and responded with tremendous leadership for our student-athletes, both on and off the court. With the support and resources we have in place, we are excited to see Bre put her vision in place and build this program into one of the nation’s elite.”
Ole Miss AD Keith Carter on Bre Henry
As a student-athlete in both indoor and beach volleyball, Henry helped bring Long Beach State its first national title on the sand courts in 2013 and collected All-American honors in 2014. Before starting her coaching career, she spent two years playing professionally in the Philippines and Switzerland.
Over the course of her six seasons as a graduate assistant and assistant coach, Henry helped produce four All-Americans, 12 All-Region honorees and won the 2017 NCAA crown with Nebraska. Throughout her entire career, she has either been mentored by or worked alongside some of the top coaches in the nation, such as John Cook (Nebraska), Matt Ulmer (Oregon) and Erin Lindsey (Santa Clara) among others.
“I am beyond excited to start this new chapter of my career here at Ole Miss,” said Henry.
“The volleyball program has a strong foundation with phenomenal athletes that will lead Ole Miss Volleyball to success in the coming seasons. I am very thrilled to have the opportunity to continue working with these student-athletes and help them leave a legacy at Ole Miss, impact the SEC and positively influence the world around them.“
Bre Henry on being named Ole Miss head VB coach
Coach Henry continued, “My family and I are very excited to be staying here in Oxford and continuing to be a part of a very supportive community. My husband John and I would like to thank athletics director Keith Carter and SWA Jennifer Saxon for their confidence in me to lead and continue to impact Rebel Volleyball!”
Henry joined the Ole Miss staff as assistant coach prior to the 2022 season and was named acting head coach for the final 11 matches. The Rebels posted four wins over that span despite facing some of the top squads in the conference, including four teams that made the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Working primarily as the defensive coordinator until her promotion, Henry helped middle blockers Sasha Ratliff earn her second All-SEC and AVCA South All-Region nod and guided Payton Brgoch to the fourth-most blocks in a single season in program history. She was also instrumental in the growth of a young Rebel team that saw three freshmen see significant playing time at setter, libero and outside hitter. Under her guidance, they garnered multiple SEC weekly honors, and Aly Borellis was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team.
Prior to arriving at Ole Miss, Henry spent three seasons as an assistant at Santa Clara. During her time with the Broncos, Santa Clara produced three AVCA All-Region selections, 12 All-WCC accolades and 10 WCC all-academic nods. A proven defensive mind, Santa Clara led the WCC and ranked 10th nationally with 326.5 total blocks.
Henry began her coaching career as a graduate assistant with one of the nation’s elite programs at Nebraska. In two seasons, the Huskers went 62-11, winning the 2017 NCAA title and finishing as runner-up in 2018 while producing four All-Americans and six all-conference selections.
A former standout student-athlete at Long Beach State, Henry played both indoor and beach volleyball, earning ACVA All-American Honors for the 2014 indoor season and winning the 2013 beach National Championship. She helped lead the 49ers to a 27-5 record and a perfect 16-0 mark in the Big West Conference during her senior campaign. After graduating, Henry continued her playing career professionally in the Philippines and Switzerland in 2015 and 2016.
A Redding, California, native, Henry studied kinesiology as an undergraduate student at Long Beach State before earning a master’s in sports and exercise psychology from Argosy University in 2016 and a master’s in education administration from Nebraska in 2017.
Henry and her husband John reside in Oxford with their daughter Quinn
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
