Jason Reed is entering his fourth season as a member of the Western
Michigan coaching staff after stints at Michigan State and West Alabama.
In 2008, Reed played an integral role in leading the Broncos to the Mid-American Conference championship, its first since 2000, and the program's first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Once in the tournament, WMU defeated Dayton and No. 16 Tulane to advance to the round of 16 for the first time since 1987 and fifth time in school history. Reed continued to develop libero Caitlin Strimel as she earned her second consecutive MAC Defensive Player of the Year and earned First Team All-MAC status. Overall, the Broncos led the MAC and ranked 24th nationally with 16.88 digs per set.
In his first season with the Broncos, the team won the MAC West
championship for the first time since 2000 and reached the 20-win
plateau for the third season in a row. Reed also helped Strimel as she became the first MAC Defensive Player of the
Year in school history.
Overall, the Broncos have won three consecutive MAC West championships since Reed joined the coaching staff in 2007 and have won at least 21 matches in all three of his seasons on staff. With Reed working on the defense, Strimel was a two-time MAC Defensive Player of the Year and helped set the WMU all-time record in career digs, while Katie Eberling, Allyson Doyle and Jillian Mitchell are all in the top-10. Western Michigan has ranked in the top-50 nationally in digs per set in all three seasons Reed has been on the coaching staff.
Reed comes to WMU after beginning his second stint at his alma mater,
Michigan State, under former Broncos head coach Cathy George. Reed was
a volunteer assistant working with players on defense and was involved
with planning and working the Michigan State volleyball camps. Reed was
also a manager for the Spartans during the 2005 season where he filmed
matches and performed video scouting and editing. He helped create
weekly scouting reports as the Spartans’ audio-visual technology
specialist.
Reed spent the 2006 season as the top assistant at NCAA Division II
West Alabama for former Western Michigan and Michigan State assistant
coach Ron Arenz. Reed’s on-court duties involved working with the
Tigers’ defense and off the court he was involved in recruiting, team
travel and practice planning. Reed helped sophomore Jacquie Swan earn
Gulf South Conference East Division Defensive Player of the Week honors
during the season and helped sophomore outside hitter Allison Nail on
her way to being named to the All-Gulf South Conference East Division
Second Team.
Despite not playing volleyball in high school, Reed became a standout
libero on the Michigan State club volleyball team during his four-year
career. He won back-to-back Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and
Defensive Player of the Big Ten Tournament awards in 2005 and 2006. The
Spartans won the Big Ten Tournament in 2005 and the Big Ten regular
season championship in 2006. During the 2006 season, Reed helped MSU to
the highest national ranking in school history, No. 3, and the Spartans
were the only team to defeat eventual national champion
Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He also helped MSU win back-to-back State of
Michigan Championships in 2005 and 2006.
Reed has also been involved in club volleyball coaching the Magic City
Thunder during his stint in Alabama and he is now coaching with the
Dead Frogs Volleyball Club in Kalamazoo.
Born into a U.S. military family in Germany, Reed graduated from Battle
Creek (Mich.) Harper Creek High School in 2001 and then went on to
receive a bachelor’s in exercise science from Michigan State in 2005.
Reed and his fiance, Amanda, will be married Dec. 31, 2010, in Kalamazoo.
