Former Utah assistant Burt Fuller has been named to the Aztec volleyball coaching staff.

June 11, 2009

SAN DIEGO - San Diego State head volleyball coach Deitre Collins-Parker has announced the hiring of former Utah assistant Burt Fuller and Georgia Tech All-American Kele Eveland as members of the SDSU coaching staff. Both begin their tenure as Aztec assistant coaches with impressive credentials, one as a head coach and one as a professional player.

Fuller, who spent the previous three seasons as an assistant at Utah and was formerly the head coach at Utah State, brings a wealth of success and knowledge to the Aztec volleyball program.

In his first season with the Utes in 2006 he helped lead the Utes to a 28-4 record, which included a 16-0 conference slate and a second round NCAA Tournament appearance. Last year, he coached a Utah squad that went 26-6 overall, won the MWC title with a 14-2 mark and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

While at Utah State, Fuller led his team to two NCAA Tournament appearances and guided the Aggies to an 82-70 mark. He chalked up a pair 20-win seasons while coaching two All-Americans and 10 all-league selections.

The Aggies turned in a 21-13 record in 2005, finishing second in the Western Athletic Conference. They also took second in the WAC Tournament and earned their second NCAA Tournament berth that year.

Utah State's other NCAA Tourney showing came in Fuller's first year at the helm. In 2001, the team recorded a 20-11 mark and finished its campaign ranked No. 21 in the final AVCA poll. Fuller coached five all-league honorees that year, the most on one team in USU history.

Prior to Utah State, Fuller was a long-time assistant at national power UCLA. In his seven seasons in Westwood, Calif., the Bruins went to the NCAA Tournament six times. UCLA finished second in 1994 and made two appearances in the regional final.

Fuller's first head coaching job was with Los Angeles Pierce Junior College where he coached the women's team in 1992 and 1993. He was also an assistant on the men's team, helping them to a state title in 1992 and a runner-up finish in 1994. He also has stints as an assistant at Fresno State (1989) and Chico State (1985).

Fuller earned his recreation management degree from Chico State in 1986 and was a member of the men's volleyball program from 1984-85. Prior to that he obtained his associate of arts degree from Los Angeles Pierce Junior College in 1982. As a player at LA Pierce JC, he played middle blocker during the 1981 season and led his team to the state tournament in 1982 as an all-conference setter.

Kele Eveland, one of the most decorated female student-athletes in Georgia Tech school history and the only first-team AVCA All-America in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference, joins the Aztec volleyball coaching staff after serving as a volunteer assistant coach at her alma mater, Georgia Tech, during the 2008 campaign.

Eveland was the Yellow Jackets' starting setter from 2000-03, and finished her career ranked fourth in the NCAA record books with 6,464 assists. The 2003 ACC Player of the Year, 2000 Rookie of the Year and three-time all-ACC honoree averaged 13.38 assists per game and still ranks in the top-10 in the Tech career annals for digs and block assists. She holds the school record and three of the top seven marks in Yellow Jacket history, for assists in a season.

Following her graduation from Georgia Tech in 2004, Eveland spent four years playing professionally in Granada, Spain, before retiring in May, 2008. She was honored as the recipient of the Georgia Tech Total Person Award in 2004, recognizing the top Yellow Jacket student-athlete of the year. She also earned Academic All-America honors her senior year and was a recipient of NCAA and ACC Postgraduate Scholarships.

Eveland, 27, became the first - and only - female in Georgia Tech history to have her jersey retired when the school did so in a pre-match ceremony at O'Keefe Gym September 9, 2005.

After receiving her degree from Georgia Tech in management in 2004, Eveland went on to earn a master's degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga in 2006.