Leigh Barea

Leigh Barea is the head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

Named an AVCA Thirty Under 30 Coach in 2020, Leigh Barea was hired as the 13th head coach of the Parkside Volleyball program in January of 2018. Barea will enter her seventh season as head coach of the Rangers in the Fall of 2024. Barea has a career record of 62-102.

In her seventh year with the Rangers in 2024, Barea saw her squad finish 11-17 overall with a 7-9 GLIAC record. The GLIAC was loaded with talent, featuring nationally top-ranked Ferris State and top-15 ranked Grand Valley State. Barea guided her group into the GLIAC Tournament as the sixth seed, but their season came to a close in the GLIAC quarterfinals. Natalie Harris stole the headlines as she was named GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first Ranger to win a specialty award since 2019. Additionally, Harris earned First Team All-GLIAC honors alongside Sam Fisch. Lastly, Mariena Coon received Honorable Mention All-GLIAC recognition.

Barea's sixth season with Parkside will be one she remembers for a very long time. Barea saw her team finish 19-12 overall and 12-6 in the GLIAC. Both of those marked new highs for teams Barea has coached. In fact, the team was magnificent at home, winning 11 of 14 games at De Simone Arena. The team collected Barea's first ever win over a ranked opponent, when they took down #16 Ferris State on 10/27/23. After being picked to finish ninth in the GLIAC, Barea spun the narrative and coached Parkside to a 3rd place finish. This was the program's highest finish since joining the conference in 2018. Parkside hosted their first ever NCAA conference playoff game in program history on 11/15/23. They played host to Davenport University in the GLIAC Quarterfinals. Barea coached the team to a three-set sweep, coming back from seven and six point deficits in the first two sets. Barea's season-to-remember, was topped off with her first ever GLIAC Coach of the Year honor. In addition, Barea saw Ava Irvin earn First Team All-GLIAC honors. Natalie Harris and Sam Fisch earned Second Team All-GLIAC honors. Lastly, Karlee Lois received Honorable Mention All-GLIAC honors.

In year four with the Rangers, Barea saw her team finish 8-18 overall and 4-10 in the GLIAC. Despite missing the GLIAC Tournament for the first time during her tenure, Barea saw Jazmine Neal earn All-GLIAC Honorable Mention.

In the shortened 2020-21 season, Barea saw the Rangers finish 7-12 overall and 4-10 in the GLIAC, once again clinching a spot in the GLIAC Tournament. During the tournament, the Rangers went 3-2, making it to the final game in the consolation bracket. Barea saw two players honored at the end of the season, with Reese Rossnagel being named Second Team All-GLIAC and Hallie McGuire being named All-GLIAC Honorable Mention.

In year two with the Rangers, Barea saw her team improve by three wins in 2019 and clinch a spot in the GLIAC Tournament for the second straight season. The last time Parkside cliched a spot in its conference tournament in back-to-back years was 2011 and 2012. Finishing 11-19 overall and 6-11 in the GLIAC, the team went 3-0 at the conference crossover tournament and ended the season 3-1 in the final four matches. During the season, Barea saw senior Ann Leo break Parkside's all-time digs record and be named the GLIAC Libero of the Year.

In Barea's first season at the helm, she saw the Rangers finish 8-21 overall and 5-11 in the GLIAC, qualifying the GLIAC Tournament in the program's first year as a member of the conference. Her young team stayed tough at home, finishing 5-6 and earning some key wins over Wayne State and Grand Valley State. Barea saw three players honored at the end of the season, as Lexie Calloway and Ann Leo were named Second Team All-GLIAC and Katie Adams was All-GLIAC Honorable Mention and won the Parkside Student-Athlete of the Year award for the second straight season.

Barea, a Battle Creek, Mich., native, served as an assistant coach at Jacksonville State from July 2015 to January 2018 where she was the Gamecocks’ recruiting coordinator and was the lead contact for the academics of the program. While at JSU, Barea helped the program back to a winning tradition, as the Gamecocks made back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference Tournaments in 2016-17 and saw the team go 23-13 last season. She coached a pair of 1,000-kill club members in Allyson Zuhlke and Charis Ludkte.

Barea was a standout at Lewis University during her playing career from 2011 to 2014. She was a 4-year starting setter and three-year team captain for the Flyers. She was a three-time All-Conference honoree, two-time Academic All-Conference selection and helped Lewis to four straight NCAA appearances and three-straight regular season championships. She ranks first all-time at Lewis in assists and seventh in digs.

She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology/Pre-Physical Therapy from Lewis in May of 2015 and went on to earn her Master of Science in Sport Management from Jacksonville State in December of 2017 with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Leigh Barea's Career Coaching Record