BOONE, N.C. – Chad Sutton, a rising star in the coaching world, has been named the 10th head coach in App State Volleyball history, Director of Athletics Doug Gillin announced Friday.
App State will hold a press conference to formally introduce Sutton next week. Details will be announced soon.
“Chad Sutton has a track record of success everywhere he’s coached,” Gillin said. “His values align with our core values of academic integrity, competitive excellence, social responsibility and world-class experience. We are excited to welcome him, his wife, Valerie, and their baby boy, Brody, to the App Family. Chad is a winner. We’re looking forward to him leading App State Volleyball to championships.”
Sutton will arrive in Boone after a record-setting head coaching tenure at Mercer, which followed successful stints as an assistant at Coastal Carolina and Purdue.
“App Nation, I am excited to be your new head coach and am ready to take this program over the top,” Sutton said. “I want to say thank you to Chancellor Heather Norris, Director of Athletics Doug Gillin, Senior Associate Athletics Director Erika Cheung and everyone involved in the hiring process for giving me this opportunity. We are ready to climb.”
Sutton boasts a career record of 42-19 in two seasons as a head coach at Mercer. During the 2024 campaign, Sutton led the Bears to their best record in program history (26-7), the program’s first outright SoCon regular season title, and first postseason appearance in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). Under his tutelage, Skye Ekes was named SoCon Player of the Year and Brooke Phillips collected SoCon Setter of the Year honors. He also guided Ekes to the program’s first American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American honor as well as an AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention. The Bears had six All-SoCon selections.
In his first season at the helm of Mercer’s program, Sutton led the team to a 16-12 (12-4 SoCon) record, marking the program’s best record for a first-year head coach since 1996, which spanned six coaches. He elevated the Bears to second in the SoCon regular season standings. The 2023 campaign was highlighted by Mercer’s first win at Samford in nearly three decades and its most road wins in 15 years. Individually, two Bears collected first-team All-SoCon accolades.
No stranger to the Sun Belt, Sutton served as the top assistant coach at Coastal Carolina for the 2022 season. While in Conway, S.C., Sutton helped guide the Chanticleers to 17 victories and a second-place finish in the SBC East Division. The Chants ranked among the league’s top five in hitting percentage, assists and aces. CCU’s campaign was highlighted by a pair of All-SBC selections, seven sweeps and a six-game win streak.
Sutton made a stop in West Lafayette, Ind., where he was a volunteer assistant coach at Purdue for the spring 2021 and fall 2021 campaigns. While with the Boilermakers, he helped the program to 42 victories and back-to-back appearances in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament. Sutton helped the team to a 26-7 record in the fall 2021 season, which was also the season the Boilermakers led the NCAA with 372.5 blocks and rose to No. 4 in the AVCA Top 25. The Boilermakers entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 6 seed – the highest seeding in the program’s history.
Sutton’s coaching journey began at the high school level, as he served as the head coach of the Cardinal Mooney High School court and beach volleyball teams from 2016-20. On the court, the Cougars tallied 100 victories over five seasons including a runner-up finish at the 5A State Tournament and a 3A State Championship title the next year. He was a five-time Sarasota Herald-Tribune Coach of the Year honoree and elevated the Cougars from the nation’s 3,232nd-ranked prep program to the 23rd-ranked high school program. Cardinal Mooney also made three consecutive appearances in the semifinals of the Sunshine State Athletic Conference State Championship in beach volleyball. For his efforts, Sutton was a Florida Athletic Coaching Association All-Star Coach honoree.
From 2017-19, Sutton was a club director for the Sarasota, Fla., location of the Orlando Tampa Volleyball Academy. Over two years, he led his AAU squad to five top-five finishes at the AAU Tournament. He also guided his team to more than 10 top-three finishes at the national championships and national qualifying events. Additionally, he served as the Director of Volleyball Events for the Nike Tournament of Champions from 2020-23. The Tournament of Champions was originally established in 1997 as a high school girls’ basketball event and expanded to include girls’ volleyball in 2009.
Sutton, who is a USVA-accredited volleyball coach, earned an associate’s degree from Manatee (Fla.) in 2007 and earned a bachelor’s degree in sport management from Florida State in 2009. Sutton married two-time All-American (Purdue) Valerie Nichol in 2023. They recently welcomed a new baby, Brody, to their family.
The Mountaineers will round out their spring slate with a 2:30 p.m. match against High Point at the Holmes Convocation Center on Saturday. App Nation will have the opportunity to meet Sutton following Saturday’s spring match at the team’s Raise the Roof event. Tickets are available and Raise the Roof is slated for 5:30 p.m. at the McKinney Alumni Center.
CHAD SUTTON AT A GLANCE
Coaching Experience
2017-19: Orlando Tampa Volleyball Academy | Club Director, Sarasota Location
2016-20: Cardinal Mooney (Fla.) High School | Head Coach
2020-23: Nike Tournament of Champions | Director of Volleyball Events
2020-21: Purdue | Volunteer Assistant Coach
2022: Coastal Carolina | Assistant Coach
2023-25: Mercer | Head Coach
Alma Mater: Florida State, 2009
App State Announces Chad Sutton as Head Volleyball Coach
