Nickel Named National Coach of Year

Dallas College Eastfield volleyball's Phil Nickel was named the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Coach of the Year.

In his second season with the Harvester Bees, Nickel guided Eastfield to a 35-0 record and the program's second NJCAA Division III National Championship. Eastfield became the first NJCAA DIII volleyball team to go unbeaten and win the national title.

"We are super excited to have Coach Nickel lead our program," Eastfield Athletic Director Anthony Fletcher said. "He has done an unbelievable job the past 14 months, and has turned the program back in the right direction. He has done his job with passion, grace, hard work and true dedication. Coach Nickel is the ultimate true professional collegiate coach. We are super excited for the program success, and are looking forward to the future of Dallas College Eastfield volleyball." 

Nickel, who took over the program a couple weeks after the 2022 season started, turned a program that went from 8-19 in 2022 into one that dropped just six sets during the season. The Harvester Bees earned the No. 1 ranking five weeks into the season, and held that top perch the rest of the way. Nickel coached three First Team All-Americans and one Second Team All-American this season.

"I think he, 100 percent, deserves it," Eastfield's National Player of the Year recipient Azoria Davis said. "He was a hard coach, but also very compassionate. He understood us. The first time that I met him, he knew what he wanted, and he knew what type of players he wanted. He knows what he's talking about. Great coach.

"I remember when we lost our first set, Coach Nickel was a whole different person on the court. In the moment, it wasn't funny, but at the end, of course, we were like, 'Whoa, Coach Nickel just changed to a whole different person.' We weren't performing as we should have, and of course, he got mad at us, but we thought it was funny because he's never like that. We never see his bad side … rarely. Just seeing it is kind of like a shock, but me and my teammates laugh about that a lot."

Nickel had stops at NCAA Division I Houston and Illinois State and Wright State as an assistant coach. He was the head coach at NCAA Division II Wayne State University in Michigan, and also coached club in the Houston and Irving, Texas areas before taking over at Eastfield.