COACHING STAFF
Kevin Carroll
Associate Head Coach
Colorado State volleyball and Head Coach Emily Kohan announced Monday the addition of Kevin Carroll as Associate Head Coach ahead of 2025 season.
Carroll joins the Rams after seven seasons with the Cincinnati Bearcats where he was also the Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Kevin and his family (Stephanie, Boden and Juniper) to the Ramily,” Kohan said. “He has a decade of premier recruiting experience, high-level volleyball IQ and most importantly, a natural ability to connect with the players. I am excited to learn from him and have him make an immediate impact on the 2025 team and beyond. GO RAMS!”
“I am excited to join the CSU volleyball program as the new associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. This is an incredible opportunity for my family and me to be part of this historic program and the beautiful community of Fort Collins,” Carroll said. “I would like to thank Emily Kohan for this opportunity. I am eager to get in the gym with the team! Go Rams!”
Carroll brings in 10 years of coaching experience after playing for his alma mater, UC Irvine where he was part of the 2009 and 2012 national championships as a player while also winning the 2013 national championship as an assistant coach for the anteaters.
After transitioning out of UC Irvine into the women’s side of college volleyball, Carroll spent two years as an assistant coach with West Virginia where he implemented the team’s recruiting philosophy both nationally and internationally. Scouting was an integral part of his role as well as developing middle blockers and pin attackers.
At Cincinnati, Carroll was elevated to associate head coach/recruiting coordinator in 2023. He played a major role in the signings of back-to-back top-40 recruiting classes (2023, 2024). The 2024 class ranked fourth in the Big 12 Conference and 37th in the nation, according to Prep Dig.
The 2023 recruiting class was the highest-ever in Cincinnati history (No. 21). Carroll was instrumental in landing middle blocker Zeta Washington, who was the Bearcats' highest-rated recruit. She was ranked No. 6 for her position and No. 31 overall for the Class of 2023.
The level of Bearcats volleyball continued to rise in 2019. UC went 15-1 in conference play to earn the outright American Athletic Conference regular season title and make its third NCAA postseason appearance in four years. The team advanced to the second round of the tournament for the sixth time in program history and faced No. 2 ranked and No. 6 seed host Pitt. In a thrilling five-set match, the Bearcats pulled off the win over Pitt and advanced on to NCAA Regional play as one of the final 16 teams for the first time in school history. At the next stage, the magic was barely cut short as UC lost 3-2 to national powerhouse Penn State at the Stanford Regional by a slim margin.
After the conclusion of the 2019 season, UC was the NCAA Division-I statistical champion in kills per set and assists per set and received its first postseason ranking, coming in at No. 19 in the nation.
In 2018, UC earned the second NCAA Tournament at-large bid in conference history and went on to defeat Illinois State 3-0 in the Milwaukee regional. The team finished the season 26-8 after losing in the second round to No. 15 Marquette. UC finished the year ranked 12th in the nation in hitting percentage, 24th in assists per set and 25th in kills per set and ranked 24th in the nation in RPI.
With the Rams, Carroll will specialize as the team’s recruiting coordinator as well as working with the team’s backrow defense and pin hitters
Ted Kopacz
Assistant Coach
The Colorado State volleyball program added Ted Kopacz as an assistant coach in January ahead of the 2024 season.
"I am thrilled to have Ted joining the Ramily. I knew we were looking for great energy in this hire and Ted has a wonderful, upbeat personality that will serve our team both in the gym and with recruiting," Kohan said. "His passion and love for the game come out in everyone conversation and interaction."
"I am ecstatic to be joining the Colorado State program! CSU Volleyball has a long and storied history of success that few programs can match, and the passion and loyalty of the fan base is unrivaled in the state," Kopacz said. "I want to thank Coach Kohan for the opportunity to be a part of her staff, and I also want to thank Sonja, Bri, and the entire team for welcoming me into the Ramily. I'm excited to get to work with them and everyone in the Colorado State Athletic Department as we continue to strive for greatness and new heights. Go Rams!"
Prior to the Rams, Kopacz spent the last two seasons as an Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at the University of Nebraska Omaha. At Omaha, he mentored the setter position and assisted in the development of offensive game-plans. Kopacz helped Omaha to their first D1 NCAA tournament appearance and 1st Summit League Championship last season.
Kopacz started his college coaching career at the University of Colorado in January of 2021 as a Volunteer Assistant Coach. With the Buffaloes, he assisted with the training of first contact and floor defense and helped design scouting reports and prepare the scout team.
The Libertyville, Illinois native played collegiate volleyball at Indiana University where he was a captain and earned All-Big Ten and All-MIVA honors. Kopacz graduated from Indiana with a degree in Informatics and Computing with a specialty in Sports Marketing and Management.
After graduation in 2016, he worked in Benefits Administration, most recently as a Senior Account Manager at bswift, while coaching several different clubs and high school teams in the Chicagoland area.
Bri Olmstead
Director of Volleyball Operations
Former Rams standout Bri Olmstead enters her 17th season as a full-time member with the Colorado State staff in 2023, and 12th as the program's Director of Operations. She is responsible for all off-the-court duties, including scheduling, travel logistics and the organization of CSU's summer camps. She is the program's first-ever director of operations, a position which was created prior to the 2012 season.
After working with former Head Coach Tom Hilbert for all 17 seasons with the Rams, Olmstead was assured her position would remain the same when current Head Coach Emily Kohan was announced to be Hilbert's successor in December 2022.
Olmstead, formerly Bri Frech, first joined the Rams as a player in 2003 after spending her freshman and sophomore seasons at Salt Lake City Community College. During the 2003 and 2004 seasons, Olmstead was a consistent starter for the Rams, earning All-Mountain West (2004) and MW Championships honors (2003, 2004) while leading CSU to NCAA bids both years and a combined 56-9 record (.862). As a junior, CSU advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinals, and during Olmstead's senior season, the Rams were ranked as high as No. 9 nationally. Olmstead was a rare six-rotation middle blocker due to her exceptional serving and passing ability.
Today, she still ranks first in CSU volleyball history with 0.41 aces per set, totaling 92 over her two-year career. Her 1.22 career blocks-per-set average ranks eighth, and her .956 reception percentage ranks seventh. In 2003, she recorded 51 service aces, the sixth-most in CSU single-season history. Olmstead holds several of CSU's top individual single-match marks, as well, including a .654 hitting percentage (19-2-26) against Florida A&M on Aug. 30, 2003 (fourth-best for five-set matches), seven aces vs. New Mexico on Nov. 15, 2003 (tied-second for three-set matches) and 10 block assists on two occasions (tied-second for three-set matches).
Off the court, she was an outstanding student-athlete, something she's been able to carry over as a member of the Rams staff. Olmstead was a two-time Mountain West Academic All-Conference selection, and in 2003-04 became the program's first-ever Mountain West Scholar-Athlete.
In 2005, Olmstead served as a student-assistant for the Rams while completing her degree. She then played professionally in France for MVS La Rochette during the 2006 season. Her club finished second in the French league that year.
Olmstead returned to Fort Collins in 2007 to pursue a career in coaching. She was the team's video and statistics coordinator during the 2007 season, before joining the staff full-time as an assistant coach from 2008-11. As an assistant, her emphasis was on first-contact defense, serving and scouting.
She tutored the school's top libero, Katelin Batten (2006-09), who holds the CSU record for career digs (1,783). On the serving end, CSU set a program record for serve percentage in 2011, effectively serving at a 92.4 percent rate. The statistic began being tracked in 2001, and from 2009 to 2011, all under Olmstead, CSU had its top three percentages at the time.
From 2008-11, CSU won three conference titles and advanced as far as the 2009 NCAA Round of 16. CSU's overall record with Olmstead on the bench as an assistant coach was 98-24 (.803), including at least one NCAA tournament victory each year. Of Olmstead's 12 seasons with CSU, in any capacity, the Rams have won 10 regular-season conference titles, in addition to three conference tournament championships in four tries. CSU has played in the NCAA tournament all 12 seasons with Olmstead.
A native of Eschwege, Germany, she received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from CSU in 2005. She is married to Charlie Olmstead and has two daughters Lilly and AJ.