CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois Volleyball announced the addition of Chris Yates to the 2025 coaching staff Friday.
A native of Chicago, Ill., Yates spent the 2024 season as an assistant at Angelo State University, where the program made an appearance in the 2024 Division II Final Four.
“I am excited to have Chris join our staff as an assistant coach,” Head Coach Brittany Harry said. “He has spent time at some top-notch programs with winning traditions and I am excited for him to add his experiences into our program here in Carbondale.”
Before his first collegiate coaching job, Yates was heavily involved at his alma mater, the University of Dayton. As a student, he was a practice player for the school’s women’s volleyball team where he gained valuable experience with a program that won back-to-back Atlantic-10 championships and in turn made the NCAA tournament in both the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In addition to working with the women’s team, Yates held high-level positions in the Dayton Men’s Volleyball Club, holding the positions of treasurer, vice president and president. The club would rank as high as No. 16 in 2018 and No. 22 in 2019 by the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation.
He returned to Dayton in 2023 to serve as a virtual coach mentee, where he would assist in recruiting database management, provide feedback on film evaluations and scout multiple opponents every week.
“He is really good on the tech side of things and being able to add that layer for our players was really important in this hire,” Harry said.
At the high school level, Yates helped St. Ignatius High School (Ill.) to a third-place finish in the state as an assistant.
From 2020-24, Yates was the head coach for the 1st Alliance Volleyball Club, where his team won the 2023 WCNQ 17 American & Presidents Day Classic 17 Premier Championship.
