Men's Volleyball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- theo.edwards@csun.edu
- Phone:
- 4512
Theo Edwards, CSUN’s associate head coach since 2019, was named the successor to Jeff Campbell in 2022 and completed his second season as CSUN’s head men’s volleyball coach in 2024.
Edwards is 25-32 in two seasons as head coach and led CSUN to the semifinal round of the 2024 Outrigger Big West Championship last season, the furthest the Matadors have advanced in the postseason since 2018.
The Matadors finished the 2024 season with an overall record of 13-16 and were ranked 14th in the final AVCA/NVA Top-20 Poll of the season. CSUN also finished 3-7 in the Big West as three Matadors (Kyle Hobus, Donovan Constable, Jalen Phillips) were named All-Big West. Hobus and Constable went on to earn AVCA All-America honors while Phillips was named a Freshman All-American by Off The Block.
In Edwards’ first season, the Matadors moved back into the AVCA national rankings, earning a No. 15 ranking on Feb. 6, 2023. Following CSUN’s 3-2 victory at home over No. 6 Stanford (Feb. 3), the Matadors earned a then-season-high 19 points in the NVA/AVCA Men’s Division I-II Coaches poll to re-enter the Top-15 for the first time since the 2020 season.
CSUN was last ranked among the top-15 on Jan. 13, 2020 when the Matadors were No. 13 in the 2020 preseason coaches poll. Prior to that, CSUN had been ranked in the AVCA Top-15 for 62 consecutive weeks and 262 of the last 289 weekly polls dating back to the 2002 season.
Then, following a dominating 3-0 sweep on the road at No. 10 Stanford on Mar 3, the Matadors improved to 12-5 on the season while receiving a season-high 91 points to move up to a No. 12 national ranking. It marked a high point for CSUN in 2023 and was the Matadors’ highest national ranking since ranking 11th in the final poll of the 2019 season.
CSUN, which received votes in four of the first five polls of the 2023 season, had three student-athletes earn All-Big West honors in Edwards’ first season as Kyle Hobus was named first-team for the second consecutive season, Griffin Walters and named honorable mention and Malcolm King earned All-Freshman Team accolades.
Edwards completed his 12th season on Campbell's coaching staff in 2022. He was promoted to associate head coach in August 2019 and served as the program's recruiting coordinator. He has been instrumental in CSUN's top recruiting classes over the last several years as the Matadors have brought in a host of AVCA Top 50 high school players. 
The Matadors returned to the MPSF Tournament in Edwards' second season on the bench after struggling in a 7-22 season in the CSUN alum's first season (2011). The Matadors have since posted double-figure win totals in eight of his 12 seasons on the coaching staff while bringing in some of the finest recruiting classes in CSUN men's volleyball history over the past 10 years.
Edwards also gained coaching experience on the international stage, earning a silver medal as an associate head coach with USA Volleyball at the 2014 Pan Am Cup in Tijuana, Mexico. He then garnered gold and silver medals serving as an assistant coach for USA Volleyball's U19 Youth National Team at the 2017 FIVB World Championships in Bahrain and the Pan Am Cup in Guatemala City in 2022. He has also worked with the USA Men's U21 Junior National Team (2013) and USA Volleyball's High Performance Training Team, where he won a gold medal.
Edwards has recently spent time coaching volleyball at the club level as the Associate Club Director with SC Legends in Chatsworth. As Technical Director, he oversees coaching development for a 28-member coaching staff and serves as recruiting coordinator. Before that, Edwards coached with Bones Volleyball Club in Thousand Oaks from 2015-18. He has also hosted volleyball clinics around the country as the lead coach for Gold Medal Squared Elite Volleyball.
As a four-year letterwinner for the Matadors, Edwards had his finest season as a senior in 2010 as the Matadors reached the NCAA Tournament semifinals. He was the team captain of the squad that became just the second CSUN team, and first since 1993, to reach the NCAA Tournament. The Matadors won 23 matches for the second time in three seasons and tied for second in the MPSF, their highest finish ever.
He led the 2010 team with 379 kills and a 3.32 kills per set average during his senior season. The Matadors finished the season with a No. 3 national ranking, its eighth consecutive top 10 final national ranking. The remarkable 2010 season also saw the Matadors earn the No. 1 ranking for three straight weeks from Feb. 1-15.
CSUN made history in Edwards' sophomore season (2008), becoming the first team in school history to achieve a No. 1 national ranking at the Division I level. Then, on Mar. 17, following a 3-2 win over No. 5 Pepperdine, the Matadors earned 227 points – including seven first-place votes – to tie Penn State for the top spot in the CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Top-15 Poll.
The Matadors earned the No. 1 national ranking twice in Edwards' junior season in 2009 (Mar. 2, 9) when CSUN went on to win 24 matches, which still stands as a program record.
Edwards completed his four-year Matador career, appearing in 62 matches and 189 sets. He amassed 494 kills (2.61 kills per set) on 1,220 attacks while contributing 26 aces, 200 digs and 102 total blocks.
A five-time Dean's List honoree from 2006-2010 and a CSUN Varsity 'N' academic recipient from 2006-2010, Edwards earned his bachelor's degree in social and behavioral sciences in 2010 and a master's degree in cultural geography in 2021.
Edwards and his wife, Kate have two children, Oliver, and Rain, and reside in Northridge.
