Courtesy of Newberry College Athletics
NEWBERRY — Newberry College announced that the school will sponsor men’s varsity intercollegiate volleyball next year.
Current women’s volleyball coach Kiko Santos will become the Director of Volleyball and oversee both sports with support from his staff.
“We are thrilled to announce this latest addition to our department and have full confidence in Coach Santos and his ability to grow and lead both volleyball programs,” said Newberry College Athletics Director Sean Johnson.
“The addition of men’s volleyball is an idea supported by both Dr. Scherrens and our Interim President Dr. David Harpool,” said Johnson. “This is another opportunity to offer a different group of students the opportunity to attend Newberry College and compete in intercollegiate athletics. At the same time we will maintain our overall student-athlete population while offering roster relief in certain areas and moving forward with our goal of improved retention and graduation.”
Santos was named the Wolves women’s head coach in March of 2023 and brings a wealth of experience as both a coach and player to both programs.
“I am extremely excited about the addition of men’s volleyball to Newberry College and honored to lead the new program,” said Santos. “The addition of our men’s program will help our women’s team to grow as well. The men’s game offers different playing styles and strategies exposing our women’s program to different possibilities within the game. Both teams can benefit from one another greatly.”
Before leading the Wolves women’s team the past two seasons, Santos was women’s volleyball head coach at NCAA Division 1 UNC Asheville for 12 seasons and NCAA Division 2 women’s program at Barry University (Fla.) for three seasons.
A native of Brazil, Santos was a standout setter for the University of Nevada-Reno club team from 1992-1996. His club team was ranked fifth nationally by USA Today. In 1998, Santos played for the Reno Volleyball club team as both a setter and outside hitter, leading the team to the USAV national tournament in Tucson, Ariz.
His men’s coaching experience includes stops in Brazil, Iceland, Poland, Switzerland and Reno. Santos coached the Stjarnan Club team in Reykjavik, Iceland. He led the club to a 7-3 record in 2000 and a first-place finish in the fall tournament. The team also finished runner-up in the Icelandic Cup and Icelandic Championships. Santos has also worked with the men’s and women’s Brazilian national teams, which are among the best in the world.
The Wolves are expected to play their first varsity game in early January of 2026.