Leslie Flores-Cloud announced the addition of Collin Cohen to her coaching staff in February 2019. The start of the 2020 season will be his second with the Eagles.
In 2019, the Eagles finished 6-24 overall and had a four-win improvement from 2018 in Big Sky Conference play. The Eagles rewrote the record books on several occasions, including 16 service aces against Saint Louis which is sixth all-time in program history.
When conference play came, the Eagles knocked off Southern Utah at home who was at the top of the conference at the time. Eastern also beat Idaho State for the first time since 2011 and followed up with only its sixth-ever win at Sacramento State. The Eagles also grinded out a five-set victory over Montana.
Cohen also helped coached Catelyn Linke, who averaged 4.62 digs per set which is tied for third all-time in EWU history and ranked third in the conference at the end of the season. Ana Paula Zandona ranked inside the top-ten in the conference all season in assists per set. Additionally, freshman
Nicoletta Capizzi totaled the most kills by a freshman since 2015 with 208 and
MaKenna Davis led the Eagles with 32 service aces, good for .34 per set and seventh in the Big Sky.
Off the court, the Eagles earned their eighth-straight AVCA Academic Team Award.
Cohen joins the Eagles after a one-year stint as a volunteer assistant at the University of Utah where he helped coach the Utes to a 19-14 overall record and a berth to the NCAA Tournament where they advanced to the second round before falling to No. 4 BYU.
At Utah, Cohen was instrumental in helping with summer camps for the Utes. He also assisted with the scouting of opponents, strategic match planning for opponent’s rotations and coached the defenders in practice.
"I'm really excited to be hired on by Eastern Washington University for this coming 2019 season,” said Cohen. “We have a great staff and I'm happy to be able to join the program and be able to work with Leslie Flores-Cloud and Kelly Bonja. There are a lot of things we are looking to do this upcoming season and I'm thrilled to be a part of it."
Prior to Utah, Cohen served as the head men’s volleyball coach at Missouri Valley College after assisting with the women’s program for a season. Cohen helped in all aspects with scouting and practice planning, fundraising, recruiting, academic evaluations, camps and oversaw team travel.
Cohen played collegiately at Santa Barbara City College for two seasons before transferring to Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne where he finished his eligibility.
He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Purdue Fort Wayne in 2015 before receiving a Master’s degree in English for Second Language Learners at the University of Central Missouri in 2018.
