By Kenny Lannou
Executive Associate Athletics Director for communications
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Jason Mansfield, who has been a part of seven NCAA Final Fours and one national championship during stints at Stanford and Washington, will be formally introduced as the ninth head volleyball coach at Kansas State at 1 p.m., Wednesday, in the Steel & Pipe Theatre of the Vanier Family Football Complex.
The press conference will be broadcast live on Facebook (K-State Sports) and is open to the public. A replay of the press conference will also be available at k-statesports.com. Fans and media can enter Gate A of Bill Snyder Family Stadium and proceed to doors of the Vanier Family Football Complex on the north end of the stadium.
One of the most experienced and accomplished assistant coaches in the country, Mansfield has mentored a total of 25 individual players that have earned 65 All-America honors during his 20 years of coaching and has coached five athletes that have gone on to compete in the Olympic Games for Team USA.
In his five seasons at Washington, Mansfield helped the Huskies advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament four times, the Elite Eight in 2019, and then to the Final Four in the spring of 2021. His work with the outside hitters netted seven All-America honors for three Huskies: Kara Bajema, Samantha Drechsel, and Claire Hoffman, with Bajema and Drechsel each garnering first-team status. Bajema broke the UW single season kills record in 2019 and ranked fourth in the NCAA with 597 and has since gone on to a stellar pro career overseas and a spot on the U.S. Senior National Team. Hoffman landed on the second team in 2020 and 2022 and was a third-team selection in 2021. With her third All-America honor, Hoffman joined an elite group of Husky outside hitters with three or more All-America honors.
As an assistant coach at Stanford working with AVCA Hall of Fame Head Coach John Dunning, Mansfield coached 17 different All-Americans, four National Players of the Year, and four future Olympians (Logan Tom, Ogonna Nnamani, Foluke Akinradewo, Alix Klineman). The 2004 squad won the national championship, while the Cardinal advanced to the Final Four six times in 14 total NCAA Tournament appearances with Mansfield on staff.
At Illinois (2016-2018), he coached three more All-Americans in two seasons and another future U.S. Olympian in Jordyn Poulter. The 20 All-America players he coached at Stanford and Illinois combined for 46 total AVCA honors. In his second and final season at Illinois, the Fighting Illini advanced to the NCAA Round of 16, upsetting Washington in the second round.
Mansfield also compiled a stellar run as a club coach with the Vision Volleyball Club from 2000 to 2016 with his teams earning seven Junior Olympic medals, 26 Junior Olympic All-Tournament selections, and the club producing 19 Volleyball Magazine "Fab 50" recruits. His first volleyball coaching experience came at Foothill Community College from 1997-99.