Bear Grassl

Bear Grassl is the Head Women's Volleyball Coach at Sonoma State University.

Bear Grassl heads into his 22nd year and 21st season as the head volleyball coach at Sonoma State. Approaching the 2023 season, Grassl and his squad look to carry the momentum from their 2022 campaign after finishing with a 21-9 overall record and making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. The Seawolves were dominant at home with a 12-1 record and were able to upset top seed Cal State LA in the conference tournament to reach the championship match.

The four-time CCAA Coach of the Year has registered an overall record of 356-214 in 20 seasons at the helm of the SSU program, including a 245-151 record in conference play.

During th 2017 season the Seawolves advanced to the NCAA Division II West Regional tournament where they drew No. 1 California Baptist in the first round. Sonoma led the match 2-1, the top ranked seed rallied back to force a fifth set and knock the Seawolves out of the regional running.

In 2016, Sonoma State went 15-12 and finished second in the CCAA North Division standings with a 12-6 mark, but the Seawolves missed the NCAA tournament, ending an eight-year streak of appearing in the national postseason event.

In 2015, the CCAA Coach of the Year guided the Seawolves to their second straight CCAA title, their first CCAA Tournament championship in the conference's inaugural postseason event, and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship Tournament for the eighth straight season, compiling a program-best 26-4 record.

In 2014, Grassl took the program to new heights, capturing the CCAA title for the first time in Sonoma State history and becoming the first team other than Cal State San Bernardino in nine seasons to win the CCAA banner. The Seawolves continued on to the NCAA West Regional in Nampa, Idaho as the No. 7 seed, and after upsetting No. 2 Alaska Anchorage and No. 6 Cal State San Bernardino in the first two rounds, they captured the regional championship after a 3-1 win over No. 8 seed Dixie State to advance to the NCAA Division II Championships in Louisville, Ky. Despite taking a 2-0 lead over Southwest Minnesota State in the national quarterfinal, Grassl and company saw their magical season come to an end after losing the next three sets in heartbreaking fashion.

The Seawolves, however, placed two of their players on the All-America Team, including the 2014 CCAA Most Valuable Player, senior Kelsey Hull, and the 2013 CCAA Most Valuable Player, junior Caylie Seitz. Hull was also later named the 2014-15 CCAA Female Athlete of the Year despite missing the first six games of the 2014 season due to injury. She finished the year with the fourth-most kills per set (3.67) and points per set (4.38) in the conference while leading the CCAA in service aces with 40 (an average of 0.46 per set). Defensively, she recorded the third-most digs on the team with 289 (an average of 3.32 per set), to go along with 37 total blocks (0.43 blocks/set) and a .943 serve reception percentage.

In 2013, Grassl led the Seawolves to their most-ever wins in a season, sporting a 26-6 record, including an 18-4 mark in CCAA matches. Sharing CCAA Co-Coach of the Year honors with longtime Cal State San Bernardino coach Kim Cherniss, Grassl guided Sonoma State to just its third NCAA postseason victory in the team's history with a 3-0 triumph over Western Washington in the first round of the 2013 NCAA tournament, but the Seawolves would see their record-breaking year come to an end with a 3-0 loss to Cherniss' Coyotes in the regional semifinal.

Also in 2013, Grassl coached the program's first CCAA Most Valuable Player in sophomore outside hitter Caylie Seitz, who led all outside hitters in the west region with a .330 hitting percentage and ranked among the top five in the CCAA in kills (443) and points per set (4.3). She also ranked eighth among outside hitters in the nation in hitting percentage and 16th in the nation in kills per set. Her 443 kills also broke the SSU sophomore kills record of 401 that was set in 2009. Seitz, along with three of her teammates -- Kelsey Hull, Madelyn Densberger and Hayley Ross -- earned AVCA All-American recognition in 2013, the most in program history.

The 2009 Seawolves got out to the best start in program history, winning their first 11 matches on their way to a 23-8 overall record and their highest national ranking ever. Led by a core group of local players and a roster that featured a pair of All-Americans, the Seawolves advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, where they were upset by Cal State L.A..

The Seawolves then burst on to the scene in 2008 when they won 14 of their first 15 matches. As the season went on, Sonoma State stayed close in the CCAA title race but went 9-5 the rest of the season and finished tied for second in the conference (15-5). However, the Seawolves had a stellar home record, going 14-1 on the hardwood of the Seawolf Gym. Sonoma State also appeared in the NCAA Division II West Regional Tournament for the first time since 1993 but a first-round loss to conference-foe Chico State knocked the Seawolves out of national title contention.

Grassl took the reigns in 2002 and led the Seawolves to a 15-14 record. He repeated the feat in 2003 (15-14) and then went 14-12 in ‘04. In 2005 and 2006, the Seawolves struggled in the win column playing in the tough California Collegiate Athletic Association with a young squad.

In addition to his success on the court, Grassl's teams have also displayed exceptional effort in the classroom in recent years, earning numerous Academic All-District honors, among other prestigious scholastic awards. In 2011, one of his players (Keala Peterson) earned the nation's top scholastic honor -- the Capital One Academic All-America of the Year Award -- as well as the CCAA's Female Scholar Athlete of the Year honor.

A 1991 graduate of Sonoma State, Grassl was head coach at El Molino High School from 1992-2001. During that span, he guided the Lions to six Sonoma County League championships, seven North Coast Section titles, five Northern California championships and one California state championship, in 1999. His career coaching mark at El Molino was an impressive 267-78.