Tom Mendoza enters his second season at the helm of Marquette Volleyball in 2026 after being named to the position in March 2025. Mendoza is the sixth head coach in Marquette history.

In his first season at the helm, Mendoza guided the Golden Eagles to an 18-11 overall record and an 11-5 mark in BIG EAST play, highlighted by a first-round NCAA Tournament victory over Western Kentucky.

Mendoza has 10 seasons of NCAA Division I head coaching experience, including seven seasons at the University of South Carolina (2018-24) and two at High Point University (2016-17).

At South Carolina, Mendoza oversaw a significant program turnaround, leading the Gamecocks to four NCAA Tournament appearances (2018, 2019, 2021, 2024). His first two seasons produced the program’s first back-to-back 20-win seasons in nearly two decades and its first NCAA appearance in 16 years. USC also recorded double-digit Southeastern Conference wins in each of his first three seasons.

Under Mendoza’s leadership, USC earned NCAA Tournament victories over Colorado in 2018 and then-No. 10 Colorado State in 2019, marking the program’s first win over a top-10 opponent since 2006. Overall, his teams notched 11 wins over AVCA top-25 opponents during his tenure in Columbia.

Mendoza’s squads also excelled individually and academically. Five players earned All-SEC honors from 2018–24, highlighted by two-time AVCA All-American Mikayla Robinson. In 2024, outside hitter Riley Whitesides earned All-SEC recognition after averaging 4.47 kills per set, the second-highest single-season mark in program history. Each of Mendoza’s teams at USC earned AVCA Team Academic Awards, and Gamecock student-athletes collected 74 SEC Academic Honor Roll selections in his first six seasons.

At High Point, he led the Panthers to back-to-back Big South Conference championships and earned AVCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors in 2017 following a perfect 16-0 regular-season conference campaign.

He compiled a 106-90 record during his seven seasons at South Carolina and a 47-18 mark in two seasons at High Point.

Prior to becoming a head coach, Mendoza spent six seasons at Creighton University (2010-15), including the final three as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. He was part of five NCAA Tournament teams, multiple conference championships, and Creighton’s transition into the BIG EAST. Mendoza also served as an assistant coach at Evansville and as a volunteer assistant at Michigan State, helping both programs reach NCAA Regionals.

A native of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, Mendoza was a three-year letter winner and 2004 NAIA All-American setter at Newman University before finishing his collegiate career at Lewis University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in management information systems in 2007.

Mendoza and his wife, Megan, have two dogs, Ace and Jay.

THE MENDOZA FILE

Year	School	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Conf. W	Conf. L	Conf. Pct.	Postseason
2016	High Point	23	10	.697	11	5	.688	NCAA First Round
2017	High Point	24	8	.750	16	0	1.000	NCAA First Round
2018	South Carolina	20	10	.667	10	8	.556	NCAA Second Round
2019	South Carolina	20	12	.625	11	7	.611	NCAA Second Round
2020-21	South Carolina	12	10	.545	12	10	.545	--
2021	South Carolina	14	15	.483	6	12	.333	NCAA First Round
2022	South Carolina	13	15	.464	7	11	.389	--
2023	South Carolina	11	16	.407	5	13	.278	--
2024	South Carolina	16	12	.571	7	9	.438	NCAA First Round
2025	Marquette	18	11	.621	11	5	.688	NCAA Second Round
	10 Seasons	171	119	.590	96	80	.545	Seven NCAA Appearances

Name	Title	Phone	Email Address	Year	Alma Mater
Tom Mendoza	Head Coach	288-8292	thomas.mendoza@marquette.edu	Second Year	Lewis (2007)
Ethan Pheister	Associate Head Coach	288-8294	ethan.pheister@marquette.edu	Second Year	Ball State (2010)
Stef Jankiewicz	Assistant Coach		stefanie.jankiewicz@marquette.edu	Second Year	Illinois State, 2020
Kennedy Fabian	Assistant Coach & Director of Operations		kennedy.fabian@marquette.edu	First Year	Minnesota, 2018

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