Natalie Reagan Officially Named The Sixth Long Beach State Head Women’s Volleyball Coach In Program History
11/26/2024 1:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
After leading the Beach to an 18-win season and a Big West Championship appearance Reagan earns Long Beach State Women’s Volleyball Head Coaching job.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – As Long Beach State heads into the Big West Women's Volleyball Championship, LBSU Executive Director of Athletics, Bobby Smitheran, announced Natalie Reagan as the sixth head coach in program history.
"Natalie Reagan has rightfully earned this opportunity to lead our historic women's volleyball program into the future," said Smitheran. "In the past three years at the Beach, Natalie has consistently demonstrated a passion to compete at the highest levels and a desire to take the program to new heights, while always showing her dedication to the wellbeing and development of her student-athletes.
"During her tenure as the interim head coach, Natalie displayed great leadership in building a culture that echoes the priorities of Long Beach State Athletics. There's no better evidence of that culture in the one hundred percent retention of the current roster and the signing of an outstanding recruiting class.
"Off the court, Natalie has done a great job of engaging our proud Beach alumni and the tremendous volleyball community in the City of Long Beach and beyond. I have great confidence in Coach Reagan's ability to lead our women's volleyball program and build upon the successes of the current season, and I am thrilled to appoint her to the permanent position as head coach."
Amid her second season overall with the Beach, Reagan has led the squad on an interim basis throughout the 2024 campaign. With Reagan at the helm, Long Beach State secured a No. 4 seed in The Big West Championship after posting an 18-10 overall record and a 12-6 league mark during the regular season.
In her tenure at the Beach, Reagan has coached three All-Big West First Team Selections, four All-Big West Second Team Honorees, two Honorable Mention selections, and one All-Freshman Team selection, as well as the 2023 Big West Setter of the Year in Zayna Meyer.
This season, Reagan earned her first-career win on September 5 in a four-set victory over Northwestern. The win kicked off a four-match winning streak for the Beach, marking the first time LBSU went on a four-match winning streak during the preseason since 2015. Reagan's team earned a key victory over Washington State as it was the first time in program history Long Beach State defeated the Cougars when playing in Long Beach. The sweep was also the first time an opponent handed the Washington State a straight-set loss this season.
"I am so grateful for the opportunity to continue to lead the Long Beach State Women's volleyball program," said Reagan. "I would like to thank Executive Director of Athletics Bobby Smitheran for his confidence in my ability to build on the success of this team and lead the Beach back to a national contender in women's volleyball.
"I am excited to continue developing our young women into champions on the court and leaders in the community. This opportunity could not be possible without the help and guidance of my staff – Bjarne Huus, Jordan Molina, Jon Parry, and Blake Omartian. The staff and I will continue to work tirelessly to build a thriving culture and lead this program to new heights."
The 2024 campaign built on a solid 2023 season in which Reagan was instrumental in guiding Long Beach State to its first 20-plus win season since 2016. The Beach went on to make an appearance in The Big West Championship match as the squad concluded in the 2023 season with a 21-10 overall record and a 13-5 conference mark.
Under Reagan's tutelage, Long Beach State earned several historic wins throughout the preseason. The Beach took down defending National Championship and top-ranked Texas in four sets at the Walter Pyramid to open the 2023 season. LBSU also picked up a 3-1 win over Indiana marking the program's first victory over a Big Ten opponent since 2015. Finally, Long Beach State swept Arizona on the road to mark the program's first road sweep over a Pac-12 opponent since 1992.
In addition, the Beach had a very successful conference season as well. On September 29, LSBU earned a long-awaited win over Hawai'i as they downed the Rainbow Wahine in three sets to snap an 11-match losing streak which dated back to 2016 against the 'Bows. The sweep was Long Beach State's first such victory over Hawai'i since 1997.
Reagan came to Long Beach State after serving as the head coach at Harvard-Westlake. While coaching the Wolverines, she helped Harvard-Westlake win the Division I Southern Regional Championship, the highest division state championship of any sport at Harvard-Westlake. For her efforts, Reagan was named AVCA All-Region Coach of the Year, and was an AVCA Thirty Under 30 award winner.
Prior to her time at Harvard-Westlake, Reagan worked at Loyola Marymount as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for four years. At LMU, Reagan helped the Lions win their first NCAA Tournament match since 2015. She also brought in back-to-back Top 30 recruiting classes. Additionally, she was responsible for scouting and analyzing opponents, while also training the Lions in defense and blocking.
Previously, Reagan worked at Nebraska as the team's technical coordinator. During her stint at Nebraska, she was part of three NCAA Tournament teams and helped the Huskers capture the 2015 National Championship.
Reagan played collegiately at Oregon State before transitioning into a coaching role as the assistant director of volleyball operations. In that role, Reagan assisted with practice setup, ran DataVolley, and statistical analysis.
Additionally, Reagan has gained experience coaching with USA Volleyball as an assistant coach and technical coordinator. She worked with the 2016 USA National Team and PanAm Cup Teams.
Reagan and her husband, Kevin, reside in El Segundo.
"Natalie Reagan has rightfully earned this opportunity to lead our historic women's volleyball program into the future," said Smitheran. "In the past three years at the Beach, Natalie has consistently demonstrated a passion to compete at the highest levels and a desire to take the program to new heights, while always showing her dedication to the wellbeing and development of her student-athletes.
"During her tenure as the interim head coach, Natalie displayed great leadership in building a culture that echoes the priorities of Long Beach State Athletics. There's no better evidence of that culture in the one hundred percent retention of the current roster and the signing of an outstanding recruiting class.
"Off the court, Natalie has done a great job of engaging our proud Beach alumni and the tremendous volleyball community in the City of Long Beach and beyond. I have great confidence in Coach Reagan's ability to lead our women's volleyball program and build upon the successes of the current season, and I am thrilled to appoint her to the permanent position as head coach."
Amid her second season overall with the Beach, Reagan has led the squad on an interim basis throughout the 2024 campaign. With Reagan at the helm, Long Beach State secured a No. 4 seed in The Big West Championship after posting an 18-10 overall record and a 12-6 league mark during the regular season.
In her tenure at the Beach, Reagan has coached three All-Big West First Team Selections, four All-Big West Second Team Honorees, two Honorable Mention selections, and one All-Freshman Team selection, as well as the 2023 Big West Setter of the Year in Zayna Meyer.
This season, Reagan earned her first-career win on September 5 in a four-set victory over Northwestern. The win kicked off a four-match winning streak for the Beach, marking the first time LBSU went on a four-match winning streak during the preseason since 2015. Reagan's team earned a key victory over Washington State as it was the first time in program history Long Beach State defeated the Cougars when playing in Long Beach. The sweep was also the first time an opponent handed the Washington State a straight-set loss this season.
"I am so grateful for the opportunity to continue to lead the Long Beach State Women's volleyball program," said Reagan. "I would like to thank Executive Director of Athletics Bobby Smitheran for his confidence in my ability to build on the success of this team and lead the Beach back to a national contender in women's volleyball.
"I am excited to continue developing our young women into champions on the court and leaders in the community. This opportunity could not be possible without the help and guidance of my staff – Bjarne Huus, Jordan Molina, Jon Parry, and Blake Omartian. The staff and I will continue to work tirelessly to build a thriving culture and lead this program to new heights."
The 2024 campaign built on a solid 2023 season in which Reagan was instrumental in guiding Long Beach State to its first 20-plus win season since 2016. The Beach went on to make an appearance in The Big West Championship match as the squad concluded in the 2023 season with a 21-10 overall record and a 13-5 conference mark.
Under Reagan's tutelage, Long Beach State earned several historic wins throughout the preseason. The Beach took down defending National Championship and top-ranked Texas in four sets at the Walter Pyramid to open the 2023 season. LBSU also picked up a 3-1 win over Indiana marking the program's first victory over a Big Ten opponent since 2015. Finally, Long Beach State swept Arizona on the road to mark the program's first road sweep over a Pac-12 opponent since 1992.
In addition, the Beach had a very successful conference season as well. On September 29, LSBU earned a long-awaited win over Hawai'i as they downed the Rainbow Wahine in three sets to snap an 11-match losing streak which dated back to 2016 against the 'Bows. The sweep was Long Beach State's first such victory over Hawai'i since 1997.
Reagan came to Long Beach State after serving as the head coach at Harvard-Westlake. While coaching the Wolverines, she helped Harvard-Westlake win the Division I Southern Regional Championship, the highest division state championship of any sport at Harvard-Westlake. For her efforts, Reagan was named AVCA All-Region Coach of the Year, and was an AVCA Thirty Under 30 award winner.
Prior to her time at Harvard-Westlake, Reagan worked at Loyola Marymount as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for four years. At LMU, Reagan helped the Lions win their first NCAA Tournament match since 2015. She also brought in back-to-back Top 30 recruiting classes. Additionally, she was responsible for scouting and analyzing opponents, while also training the Lions in defense and blocking.
Previously, Reagan worked at Nebraska as the team's technical coordinator. During her stint at Nebraska, she was part of three NCAA Tournament teams and helped the Huskers capture the 2015 National Championship.
Reagan played collegiately at Oregon State before transitioning into a coaching role as the assistant director of volleyball operations. In that role, Reagan assisted with practice setup, ran DataVolley, and statistical analysis.
Additionally, Reagan has gained experience coaching with USA Volleyball as an assistant coach and technical coordinator. She worked with the 2016 USA National Team and PanAm Cup Teams.
Reagan and her husband, Kevin, reside in El Segundo.
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