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Ariel Apolinario
Ariel Apolinario was named Lamar University head volleyball coach announced Director of Athletics Jeff O’Malley on Friday, Jan. 5.
One of the young, rising head coaches in the sport, Apolinario makes his way to the Golden Triangle after spending the previous four seasons as head coach at Navarro College where he built the Bulldogs into an NJCAA power.
“We are very excited about Ariel joining the Lamar Cardinal family,” said O’Malley. “Throughout this process, Ariel’s name kept rising to the top of the list. From the moment we began this search, there were several key traits that we wanted in our next head coach and he checked every box. He brings a ton of coaching experience with him to Beaumont from all levels of the game, has ties to the state of Texas and has experience building programs. I look forward to the future of Lamar volleyball under Ariel’s direction.”
Apolinario brings 14 years of experience at the collegiate level with him to Beaumont, including stops in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), the Mid-American Conference (MAC), Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference.
During his stay in Corsicana, Texas, Apolinario led the Bulldogs to a 99-31 (.762) overall record, two NJCAA National Championship tournaments (2020 tournament was canceled due to COVID), a Final Four appearance and a Region XIV Regular Season Title.
A former Region XIV Coach of the Year selection, Apolinario’s student-athletes reaped the benefits of his guidance. He coached 19 players who would go on to play volleyball at the next level, 21 all-conference selections, four All-Americans, a freshman of the year, a libero of the year, a newcomer of the year and a player of the year selection. In postseason play, he had three players receive either NJCAA All-Tournament honors or All-Region XIV tournament honors.
Navarro’s volleyball team had similar success in the classroom. Eleven student-athletes earned Academic All-Region honors, while the team as a whole received three USMC/AVCA Team Academic Awards.
“Four years ago, I was blessed to have someone take a chance on me to become a head coach,” said Apolinario. “During my time at Navarro, I’ve been surrounded by some great people and when your surrounded by good people good things will happen. In going through this process with Lamar, I was impressed by that same type of leadership beginning at the top with University President Dr. Jaime Taylor, Director of Athletics Jeff O’Malley and so many others.
“There is a movement happening at Lamar and many people recognize it. The leadership has a strong vision, not only for the volleyball program, but for the entire university. I’m motivated to build this program, but there is no magic button or quick fix. Obviously, everyone wants to win championships, but for that to happen we have to win in other areas as well,” added Apolinario.
Prior to being named head coach at Navarro, Apolinario spent two seasons on staff at UNLV where he served as recruiting coordinator, defensive coordinator and worked directly with the middle blockers and outside hitters. Apolinario made an immediate impact during his first season with the Rebels as UNLV posted the top turnaround in the country (14-win improvement).
During that stretch, the Rebels advanced to two NIVC tournaments – including one Final Four berth, and Apolinario’s 2020 recruiting class was recognized as a PrepVolleyball.com “Honorable Mention” haul ranked among the top 100 nationally.
Apolinario made the move west from Houston, Texas where he spent two seasons with similar results at Rice. He helped lead the Owls to an NIVC tournament appearance – the program’s first since 2009. The Owls’ 2017 signing class was recognized by PrepVolleyball.com as the “Highest Honorable Mention” landing among the nation’s top 55 classes (according to PrepVolleyball.com).
He helped coach 10 Owls to all-conference honors, four all-region selections, two AVCA honorable mention All-Americans and a player who was selected to tryout for the U.S. National Team.
Apolinario got his start in college coaching in 2010 at Union University where he assisted Keely Toomey – who would go on to be named Trans-South Conference Coach of the Year as Union won a conference regular-season title. Serving as recruiting coordinator during his time at Union, Apolinario then made the jump to the NCAA Division I level when he was hired as an assistant at Austin Peay. He spent two seasons as APSU before accepting a position at Ohio University.
In his two seasons with the Bobcats, he was part of a staff that built a Top 25 program, posted a perfect 16-0 league record on their way to a MAC regular season and tournament title and an NCAA tournament appearance.
In addition to the team honors, the Bobcats had eight all-conference selections, four all-region selections, two AVCA Honorable Mention All-Americans, a conference player of the year, defensive player of the year and league setter of the year.
“When I took the job at Navarro, the goal wasn’t to get to a certain point and then leave,” said Apolinario. “It’s always tough to say good-bye to good people, but Lamar University is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I would like to thank Dr. Taylor and Jeff O’Malley for their faith in me, and I would also like to thank my wife and my entire family because without them none of this is possible.”
A three-time all-conference selection as a player, Apolinario received his bachelor’s degree from King University in 2010.