Nicholls Names TeAna Tramel Head Volleyball Coach
THIBODAUX, La. - Nicholls State Athletics Director Rob Bernardi announced the hiring of TeAna Tramel as the new head women's volleyball coach on Wednesday. Tramel comes to Nicholls after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Washington State University. Pending approval by the University of Louisiana Systems Board, Tramel becomes the seventh head coach in the 35th year of the program.
"We are pleased to add TeAna to our staff. She brings a tremendous amount of experience having been a head coach and an assistant in the Pac-10. I know our student-athletes will benefit from her leadership and coaching experience," Bernardi said.
"There were a lot of things that attracted me to this job," Tramel said. "It's a region that I'm familiar with, and it's obviously an opportunity to be an NCAA Division I head coach in a conference and area I'm familiar with. Then, once I set foot on campus, the family atmosphere was amazing and a big draw. Coach ‘Do' (Associate Athletic Director/Senior Woman Administrator Louise ‘Do' Bonin) was real with me and told me everything about the program and the town and gave me a chance to meet with our players, and it seemed like a great place to be."
In her most recent role, Tramel was part of a coaching staff that began steadily rebuilding a WSU program in one of the premier women's volleyball conferences in the nation. In her first season in Pullman, Tramel helped the Cougars to a 10-19 (3-15 Pac-10) finish in 2008, an improvement from a 2007 season that saw just one Cougar victory in the Pac 10. Then, in 2009, Tramel helped the Cougars put together their most successful season in years.
The 2009 version of the Cougars went 18-13 (6-12 Pac-10). A 12-0 start to the season, a 12-0 non-conference record, and conference wins over Pac 10 powers Arizona, Arizona State, USC, Washington and Oregon State (twice) impressed the NCAA selection committee as the Cougars were awarded an at-large bid to the 2009 NCAA Tournament, their first in seven seasons.
Tramel's main duties with the WSU program included: running the daily training sessions, coordinating team travel, evaluating potential recruits and serving as the Cougar Volleyball Summer Camps director.
Prior to her stint on the Palouse, Tramel served as the head volleyball coach and assistant athletic director at Bethany College in Lindsbourg, Kansas. Tramel served at the helm of the Swedes for two seasons (2006 and 2007), leading Bethany (an NAIA program in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) to a school record 23 wins and their first ever regional ranking in school history. Tramel compiled a 32-26-1 record in two seasons at Bethany and went 21-15 in the KCAC.
In 2005, Tramel (then known as TeAna Crutcher) served as head coach of Cameron University in Lawton, Okla, leading the Miners to a 15-14 finish in the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference.
Before taking the reins at Cameron, Tramel served as an assistant coach at South Dakota Sate for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. A 13-19 (2-12) finish at SDSU in 2003 gave way to a 22-12 season in 2004 as Tramel helped the Jackrabbits make the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I, while also earning her masters degree in sports administration from SDSU.
Tramel began her coaching career immediately after concluding her playing career at New Mexico State. After playing two years in the Southland Conference at UL-Monroe, Tramel transferred to NMSU where she was twice named to the Sun Belt Conference's All-Academic team.
Tramel graduated from NMSU in 2003 and spent the second semester of her senior year serving as an undergraduate assistant coach for the Aggies. While still an undergrad, Tramel coordinated individual workouts, organized summer camps and assisted with strength and conditioning practices.
"I believe that every place I've been, I've taken the good with the bad, and it's helped make me who I am right now," Tramel said.
"That's what I plan on bringing to Nicholls. I've had experiences as a head coach at the NAIA and Division II levels, and as an assistant as Pac 10 school. I've played in the Southland Conference and Sun Belt Conference, and I've taken a little bit of everything from each of those places. I think all those experiences will help our team this fall."