Catawba College

Brian Ford enters his fourth season as the assistant coach for the Catawba College women’s volleyball program in 2026.

A recipient of the AVCA “Thirty Under 30” award in 2024, Ford has made a significant impact across all three Catawba volleyball programs through player development, competitive growth, and operational leadership.

In his first season with Catawba women’s indoor volleyball, the team finished 12-11 overall and earned a spot in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Tournament quarterfinals. That season, libero Riley Hill was named SAC Second Team All-Conference and earned All-Freshman honors. Ford also contributed to the women’s beach volleyball program, helping lead the team through key phases of development and competition.

On the men’s side, Ford served as an assistant coach during Catawba’s inaugural men’s volleyball season, helping the team to a 13-12 record in a schedule that included nationally ranked opponents. He coached standout players Trevor Phillips and Eli Zdonek. Both were named First Team All-Conference in the Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (IVA), with Zdonek also earning Newcomer of the Year honors.

A former collegiate athlete himself, Ford was the first-ever commit to the men’s volleyball program at Queens University of Charlotte, where he appeared in over 40 matches and competed in prestigious tournaments including the 2020 Outrigger Invitational in Honolulu. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in Business.

Ford’s volleyball experience was shaped by over six years living in Europe and Southeast Asia, where he won three Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools (IASAS) medals (two gold) and trained extensively on the beaches of Sentosa Island in Singapore.

Prior to his time at Catawba, Ford served as an assistant coach for Academy Volleyball Cleveland and as the assistant general manager of Cleveland Kong, a Tier II team in the Volleyball League of America (VLA). In those roles, he oversaw team operations, athlete development, and brand strategy where he gained valuable experience in both coaching and organizational leadership.