Colorado State hires top assistant Emily Kohan as Rams' new volleyball coach

The search for Colorado State University’s new volleyball coach ended right where it began.

CSU announced Tuesday that it has hired Emily Kohan, an assistant coach in the program for the past seven years and the associate head coach for the past four.

She replaces Tom Hilbert, the winningest coach in any sport in CSU history, who retired last month after 26 years at CSU and 34 years as a head coach.

“Though we knew Emily and her qualifications ahead of this search process, it was still important for us to identify the best candidate to take on the challenge of leading one of the nation’s preeminent volleyball programs,” athletic director Joe Parker said in a news release announcing the hire.

“In the end, Emily’s experience with our team, the championship culture that has been established around it, and her love and familiarity with the importance of community support and engagement were all powerful indicators that she was the right person for this opportunity.”

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Kohan, 35, a native of Swink, Colorado, came to CSU in 2016 from Oregon State, where she had been an assistant coach for seven seasons.

Kohan played college volleyball at Iowa, where she was the libero and a four-year team captain. She was No. 2 in career digs (1,929) and No. 12 in service aces (97) on Iowa’s all-time lists when her playing career ended.

She graduated in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and minor in Spanish.

“It is truly a dream opportunity to represent Colorado State as the next head volleyball coach for this storied program,” Kohan said in the news release. “I would like to thank Joe Parker, Shalini Shanker and Steve Cottingham for their thoughtfulness throughout this entire process to ensure our team is taken care of. Also, a big thank you to Tom Hilbert for mentoring me over the past seven years to understand what makes this program special and how to be a good steward as he passes the torch.”

Hilbert was one of just five active coaches at the NCAA Division I level with 800 or more career victories when he announced his retirement last month with a career record of 811-236.

That included a 637-164 record at CSU while building one of the largest fan bases for college volleyball in the country. CSU has ranked among the top 20 in annual attendance for the more than 20 consecutive years.

Under Hilbert, CSU qualified for 23 NCAA Tournaments, reaching the Sweet 16 six times and winning 18 Mountain West regular-season titles.

"Emily has worked very hard and she understands what it takes to be good at Colorado State," Hilbert said. "And she has a great relationship with players, so I think she’s probably the best candidate when it comes to continuity of culture.

"As we know, continuity and culture are the factors that keep programs solid."

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Kohan and her husband, Patrick, have one child, a daughter, Evie, 2.

“The Fort Collins community loves this team, and my family equally loves the Fort Collins community – Pat, Evie and I are blessed to call this place home,” Kohan said. “I speak for our whole group, staff and players, when I say we’re ready to work to build on the legacy of Colorado State volleyball and bring home more championships.”

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado State volleyball hires top assistant as new head coach