It’s no secret the Washington State volleyball team is facing an unusual journey ahead after the departure of longtime coach Jen Greeny, the graduation or departure of most of its star players and an uncertain conference future that will include playing the next two seasons in the West Coast Conference after the collapse of the Pac-12.

But the man tasked with leading the Cougars through the upcoming rebuild is no stranger to taking the path less traveled.

About 15 years ago, WSU’s new volleyball coach, Korey Schroeder, was beginning his career as a civil engineer in Wisconsin when he realized he found the most joy and fulfillment when he was helping players improve on the volleyball court.

So the former high school All-State player and college student assistant reached out to a local high school to see if they’d allow him to volunteer as an assistant coach.

That phone call started a long journey that led Schroeder to last month being named the 13th head coach in WSU volleyball history.

“It’s exciting. Got here a year ago and came on as an assistant (and) I didn’t think after a year I’d be in this position, but certainly excited that I am and have the opportunity,” Schroeder said.

“When we moved here, we kind of fell in love with Pullman and Washington State, and obviously we’ve had a ton of success with the volleyball program in the past. It’s been an awesome sport for the (school) so it’s pretty unique and a great opportunity to take over.”

Schroeder joined Greeny’s staff as an assistant in the spring of 2023 and helped the Cougars reach their eighth consecutive NCAA tournament, where they finished with a 26-8 record after a run to the Sweet 16.

Starting from the bottom

Like many young male athletes, Schroeder mostly played sports like baseball, basketball and football when he was growing up.

That is until he decided he was “sick of getting hit on the football field” and decided to check out a volleyball camp the summer before his freshman year of high school.

He immediately fell in love with the sport and it just so happened that his school, Kaukauna High School in Kaukauna, Wis., was one of the better programs in the state. He went on to earn All-State honors in 2009 before graduating and going on to play club volleyball at University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where he also served as a club coach and student assistant coach for the NCAA Division I program.

Volleyball continued to be a big part of his life while he earned his college degree.

“There was something about volleyball that I just felt like I got to be myself,” Schroeder said. “It was by far my favorite sport I had ever played.”

Beginning a coaching journey

While he was beginning his professional career in civil engineering, his desire to return to the court returned, so he reached out to Betty Lang, the coach of Newman Catholic in Wausau, Wis.

Lang allowed him to join as a volunteer and liked him so much she asked if he could help coach in the club scene, too.

While there, Schroeder helped the team capture WIAA state championships in 2015 and 2016.

Schroeder quickly realized coaching is what he wanted to do full time. And, to his surprise, everyone around him was supportive of him pursuing his passion.

After he turned in his letter of resignation at his engineering job, his boss even left him a couple of coaching books on his desk to take with him.

Schroeder started out in college coaching as an assistant with his alma mater, UW-Platteville, which took a chance on him despite his lack of major college experience.

From there, he got a call to see if he wanted an assistant job at UW-Green Bay, where he helped the program to three 20-win seasons in five years as the team’s associate head coach/ recruiting coordinator.

“I was very grateful I was even considered for that,” he said.

Schroeder’s time in Green Bay included a Horizon League Championship in 2018 and a bid to the NCAA tournament, the program’s first appearance since 2003. His five years with the Phoenix concluded in 2022 with the team’s largest win total (23) in nearly two decades.

That led him to joining Greeny’s staff in Pullman last season.

“I think the fact that I was here for the year before and felt the support and love from the community and the university made it a really exciting chance to take the job,” Schroeder said. “I feel extremely well supported from our support staff, administration, just the amount of people in the community who have come up and said ‘congratulations’ ... made me realize this is a great place to be.”

What’s next

The Cougars are coming off their eighth straight trip to the NCAA tourney, but getting back won’t be easy.

Of the 16 players on WSU’s record-setting 2023 roster, 12 were either seniors, fifth-year players or graduate students. Many of those with eligibility remaining, like star junior setter Argentina Ung, entered the transfer portal after Greeny left. Ung will play for Arizona State next season.

Schroeder’s first tasks as coach include rebuilding the roster and building a coaching staff.

Last week, Schroeder added his first two assistants in Cassie (Thompson) Krieger of Whitman College in Walla Walla and Jason Ruppelt of Northern Kentucky.

Krieger is a native of Pullman and got her first head coaching experience at Lewiston High School while she was completing her master’s program at WSU. She is a former standout at the NCAA Division III level.

Krieger brings in 17 years of coaching experience at the Division I level.

Schroeder said he’s also looking for experienced players from winning programs in the NCAA transfer portal to join the Cougs.

He said the support the Cougs receive from the fans at often-packed Bohler Gym can help in recruiting.

“Players want to play in front of people who appreciate what they’re doing,” Schroeder said. “I think that’s a huge thing that we talk about is the support that we have. Really, nationally the support for women’s volleyball and the crowds are growing.”

Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2260, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @StephanSports.