HAMILTON, N.Y. — Entering her sixth year with Colgate's Volleyball program, Michelle Meehan has been promoted to Associate Head Coach.

"Michelle is one of the best coaches in the United States," expressed head coach Ryan Baker. "I could speak forever about what she brings to the program. Her work ethic is unmatched. Her passion for the game and for our players' development is unmatched. She has an obsession about volleyball that allows me not to be as obsessed which I love. She is a single-minded focused human being that can eliminate all distractions and do what it takes for our program to be successful, which is I think highly, it's a skill level that you have to have if you want to be great that she does have. I'm extremely proud and humbled and excited that she is recognized for everything that she's brought to our program in the last five years."

Meehan has helped the volleyball program become four-time Patriot League Tournament Champions and Regular Season Champions, the longest consecutive streak in program history. 

In the 2024 season, Colgate finished 19–11 overall and 14–2 in conference play. In her last five seasons with the team, she has helped the team reach new heights on the court, in the classroom, and throughout recruiting. 

"She's why she's so deserving of this position is because she makes my job easier," Baker said. "She allows me to spend time on other areas that are important for a head coach right. She is an unbelievable recruiter year in and year out. She's bringing this talent and she pours her heart into recruiting and spends countless hours to make sure that we're getting the best players athletically, academically, and culturally. She watches hours upon hours upon hours of film to improve our scouting and improve our training. She's taking a lot off my plate that allows me to have time to spend with the players in settings where I'm creating better connections because she's handling so many things that are not seen at the moment. I've had many great assistants before Michelle but she has created a whole new standard of what a high level assistant is."

Over the course of Meehan's time here, she has helped develop three Patriot League Players of the Year, three Setters of the Year, two Scholar Athletes of the Year, 11 first team selections, five second team selections, 10 Academic All-Patriot League selections, and 11 weekly award honors. 

Aiding the staff, Meehan helped Ryan Baker earn back to back Coach of the Year awards (2022, 2023) through her wealth of knowledge, experience, and commitment to the program.  

"I am so grateful to Ryan for this promotion," said Meehan. "His leadership and mentorship to me since the minute I stepped on campus has allowed me to grow within my time here. He means so much to me and I am grateful to him for this honor. I think the biggest thing I take is that it's always our players. I like to think that our staff over the years have contributed to that, but the biggest thing to me is our players' success. Our players work so incredibly hard. They care about it. They're committed, and I'm just a helping hand for them in all of this stuff. So I'm getting a promotion, but I am very aware that it's our players who win matches, and we just help build them and prepare them for that moment, but they're the ones that win it."

A selfless mentor, Meehan credits all her success to the coaching staff that surrounds her and the players that make up the core foundation of the team. 

With the 2025 season approaching, Meehan understands that there are goals to reach but how to focus on them is what will help the team reach a new level.
"Winning a championship is really big for this program; five in a row would be awesome," Meehan said. "The overall goal of what we've been trying to do is win a first round game in the NCAA tournament. We've shifted our mentality a little bit as a program where we're speaking a lot about process-oriented goals. Everyone knows in the back of their mind the championship and the NCAA is the end all, but we're trying to focus on our team. Bigger picture, what can we be doing today that's going to help us prepare for Binghamton, and then next week Colorado State and things like that. The overall goal, it's hard to measure this, but just what is the potential of this team and how can we as a staff get them to reach that potential throughout the season."