Nicole Lantagne Welch announced Wednesday that she is retiring as the head coach of the UC Santa Barbara women’s volleyball program after 10 years at the helm.
UCSB immediately promoted Matt Jones to take over the position. Jones has been the associate head coach for the last two seasons and served as the team’s defensive coordinator the previous three years.
Welch took charge of the UCSB program in 2013, replacing the legendary Kathy Gregory who retired after a 38-year career.
In her first season, Welch guided the Gauchos to their first Big West Championship in eight years and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010.
Her best season was in 2019, when the Gauchos went 23-6 and won their first NCAA Tournament match in 15 years, beating Texas State. They then nearly upset No. 2-ranked Texas in the Round of 32, falling in five sets in Austin.
After the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gauchos came back in 2021 and finished 17-3 in the Big West (20-11 overall), their best conference mark since 2004. Last season, they went 16-4 in the Big West and 20-10 overall.
Her overall record at UCSB was 144-116, a winning percentage of .554.
Welch’s teams excelled in the classroom. All nine of her squads earned American Volleyball Coaches Association’s All-Academic Team accolades.
“I would like to thank Nicole for her remarkable leadership and service to student athletes, women’s volleyball at the campus and national level and women in sport,” said Director of Athletics Kelly Barsky in a statement. “I have such admiration for her and recognition of the tremendous accomplishments during her tenure by our Gaucho women’s volleyball program on and off the court. We will miss her on the sideline but celebrate her in retirement and look forward to still seeing her at lots of Gaucho events.”
A native of Encinitas, Welch has coached volleyball at the Division 1 level for 29 years. She was the head coach at the University of Miami for 13 years and served as an assistant at Texas A&M, Ohio University and her alma mater Maryland.
Welch and her husband, Wesley Paul Welch, have two children, daughter Riley and son Ayden, who both are student athletes at San Marcos High.
“After 29 years of collegiate coaching, including the last decade for our beloved Gauchos, I have decided to retire from coaching,” Welch said in a statement. “While much of my focus and time will now be moved to my family, I will take with me unbelievable memories, growth and relationships.”
For Welch, coaching at UCSB was a dream realized. She had a connection with the university as her late grandfather Joseph coached the Gaucho baseball team in 1949 and was a longtime professor in the Department of Health and Physical Education. He served as the chair of the department from 1956-62 and 1965-66. He retired in 1974 as a Professor Emeritus.
“Having family connections to UCSB and Santa Barbara, it had always been a dream of mine to coach for the Gauchos and give my everything to this storied program,” she said.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled and proud to pass off the reins to Matt Jones. Matt has been a huge part of the success of the past six years and has taken on more responsibilities each year he has been here. He is ready for this special moment and I look forward to seeing the program flourish under his leadership.”
Jones, who also hails from from the San Diego area (La Jolla), has been coaching in Santa Barbara for several years. He was the men’s volleyball coach at SBCC for three seasons and coached youth teams with the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club.
He played collegiately at Harvard for four years and was twice named the team’s captain. He earned all-conference honors as an outside hitter.
He later served as an assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s programs for one season before arriving at UCSB.
“Matt was being highly recruited to a variety of institutions during this off season, and to be able to retain and elevate Matt to continue serving our department, campus and community in the head coaching role is an honor,” said Barsky. “He is committed to the holistic development of student athletes, engagement with our community and will continue to grow the legacy of success in the women’s volleyball program on and off the court.”
Jones thanked Welch “for giving me the opportunity to grow as an assistant coach in this program and now for supporting me to carry on the UC Santa Barbara women’s volleyball legacy built by both her and Kathy Gregory before her.
“I also want to thank Director of Athletics Kelly Barsky for entrusting me with this amazing responsibility. I am honored to take over as the head coach of this program and I am excited for the challenge to elevate us into the upper echelon of collegiate women’s volleyball. We will uphold a standard of excellence in the classroom, on the court and in the community.
“My expectant wife, Alyssa, and I love both UCSB and Santa Barbara and we look forward to building our family within this greater Gaucho Family.”