The longest tenured coach in Northwestern State volleyball history, Sean Kiracofe is in his 10th season in Natchitoches. During the 2022 season he became the program record holder for career wins and earned his 100th career victory in a 3-0 sweep of Grambling on Sept. 12, 2023.
The Demons recorded their fifth .500 or better season during conference play under Kiracofe in Southland Conference play during the 2023 season, the most by one coach in program history. They earned their seventh trip to the SLC Tournament in nine seasons in 2023.
Kiracofe’s wealth of knowledge as a blocker has helped NSU produce six of the top 10 blocking seasons during his tenure. In 2021, Jaylibeth Garcia-Rosa produced the then eighth highest single-season in total blocks of 99. A year later, the freshman duo of Reaghan Thompson and Jordan Gamble became the first teammates to record 100 or more blocks in a single season in school history. And in 2023, Thompson broke the school single-season record for blocks with 164. Thompson ranked in the top 10 nationally in total blocks and blocks per set on the season and as a team the Demons ranked 15 in the NCAA in blocks per set at 2.71. Thompson and the Demons have led the Southland Conference in blocks each of the past two seasons.
Thompson’s 148 total blocks in 2022 were, at the time, the second most in a single season as she also became the first player to record multiple kill-block double-doubles in the same season or career, leading her to an all-conference selection and LSWA Freshman of the Year honor. She now holds both the first and third best single-season total blocking performances and the first and fourth best single-season averages for blocks.
Kiracofe-coached players now account for eight of the top 13 best single-season block totals in program history.
His emphasis on defense was also proven by libero Ashlyn Svoboda and six-rotation outside hitter Symone Wesley being the first teammates to record 500 digs in the same season during the 2022 campaign.
Wesley’s defensive prowess came one year after she earned the Demons’ first Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year award. She totaled more than 300 digs and nearly matched that in kills with 292 for the season. She was the only player that season to rank in top 10 in both kills/set and digs/set.
NSU had one of its best seasons in program history in 2019 under Kiracofe. Behind the outstanding senior leadership of four-year stars Alexis Warren, Megan Lohmiller and Kourtney Seaton the Demons recorded their 5th 20-win season and second postseason appearance.
Guiding those key players along with Hannah Brister who turned in one of the best offensive seasons in NSU history, earning the first Southland and Louisiana Player of the Year awards for NSU, Kiracofe was the easy choice for Louisiana Coach of the Year in 2019.
In 2017, the Lady Demons posted double-figure conference victories for just the fourth time in program history while producing the Southland Conference Libero of the Year (Channing Burleson) and first-team all-conference selection Reagan Rogers.
Along with Burleson and Rogers earning All-Southland and All-Louisiana acclaim during their junior seasons, Kiracofe shepherded fellow junior Madeline Drake to one of the strongest defensive performances by a middle blocker in school history. Drake’s 101 block assists ranked third in school single-season history at the time and put her within striking distance of a top-three career finish in block assists.
In 2016, the Demons increased their win total by five from Kiracofe’s first season and returning to the Southland Conference Tournament after a one-year absence.
Kiracofe’s squad did so by relying on underclassmen such as Burleson, who tallied the fourth-highest single-season dig total in program history (572) and freshman middle blocker Kourtney Seaton, whose 89 block assists were the most by a freshman in school history and the third-highest single-season total in school history, until Thompson established new program-bests of 116 block assists in her freshman season of 2022.Â
In his first season at NSU, Kiracofe helped mold middle blocker Glynna Johnson into a first-team All-Louisiana selection. Kiracofe’s aggressive mentality paid off as the Lady Demons ranked 11th nationally in aces per set (1.69). Individually, Natalie Jaeger finished the season sixth nationally in aces per set (0.50).
 Kiracofe came to Northwestern State armed with a reputation of being a technician, a developer of talent and an architect of successful programs.
Kiracofe became the 14th head coach in NSU program history on April 7, 2015, after his second stint as an assistant at SMU.
 Kiracofe brought a decorated resume to the position, having coached at SMU, UNLV, Montana State and UTEP in a career that has spanned more than a decade.
Kiracofe spent his last four-year stint at SMU primarily developing middle blockers and coordinating the team’s blocking strategy and efforts.
The results of Kiracofe’s expertise were clear.
In 2011, his first season after returning to SMU, Kiracofe tutored Courtney Manning, the NCAA’s leader in blocks (184). Kiracofe produced the top blocking team in the American Athletic Conference in 2014 and the 2011 Conference USA leaders in that category.
A native Texan, Kiracofe helped lead SMU to a 48-14 record in his final two seasons in Dallas and coached a pair of first-team all-conference middle blockers. Under Kiracofe’s direction, SMU’s Caroline Young was a three-time, first-team all-conference selection and an honorable mention All-American.
Kiracofe’s experience, which also includes collegiate positions at UNLV, Montana State and UTEP alongside club positions with Tejas Volleyball Club, North Texas High Performance and the Austin Metro Volleyball Club, gave him an introduction on the various skills needed to run his own program.
Kiracofe is a 1999 graduate of Texas Tech with a bachelor of arts in political science and a minor in history. He was a four-year starter and a two-year captain for the Red Raiders club team, which he helped lead to top-25 rankings in 1998 and 1999.
His junior career was spent with the Austin Juniors club team that competed in the Junior Olympics each year from 1990-94. He became the first male from the state of Texas to be named to Volleyball Monthly’s FAB 50 list, doing so in 1994.
Kiracofe began his coaching career in 1999 with the Austin Metro Volleyball Club. He spent four years with Austin Metro before joining Swanson’s staff at UTEP in 2002.
After spending one year with the Miners, Kiracofe began his first stint at SMU.
In five seasons with the Mustangs, he produced a pair of all-conference middle blockers and a freshman all-conference middle blocker.
Kiracofe then spent two seasons at Montana State where he was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. During his tenure with the Bobcats, he guided Kyla Hendry to an honorable mention all-conference season.
He moved to UNLV for one season, maintaining his dual role as assistant and recruiting coordinator with the Rebels, before returning to SMU.
Kiracofe and his wife, Kerri, have two children – a son, Walker, and a daughter, Reese.
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