THE ADAMS FILE

Personal Information

Full Name: Tyler Adams
Born: June 14, 1984
Hometown: Casselberry, Florida
College: UCF, 2008
Wife: Jenny
Son: Evan
Daughter: Cora

Coaching Experience

2009:
UCF, volunteer assistant coach
2010-18:
North Carolina, assistant coach
2018-2021:
Tennessee, assistant coach
2022-Present:
Tennessee, associate head coach

Playing Experience

2003-08:
UCF Men's Club Volleyball
2009:
FC Schuttorf (Germany)

2023 VolleyballMag.com's College Coaches Hotshots selection

Tyler Adams concluded his seventh season at Tennessee in 2024 and his third as associate head coach. He is responsible for practice planning, team training, generating scouting reports, video breakdown and statistical analysis.

"Tyler has been an invaluable member of our staff since we arrived on Rocky Top four years ago," Rackham Watt said. "We have a shared vision and are continuing to build each season toward our goals. Tyler is loyal, hardworking and truly committed to making our program the best it can be. I cannot express how grateful I am to have a staff with continuity, which Tyler and Gavin have given us. It is exciting to announce Tyler's well-deserved promotion, and I look forward to growing professionally alongside him for many years to come."

Nine Lady Vols have earned All-American status (hitters Erica Treiber, Tessa Grubbs, Breana Runnels, Morgahn Fingall, Jenaisya Moore and Nina Cajic, libero Yelianiz Torres, middle blocker Danielle Mahaffey and setter Caroline Kerr), including nine selections during the last four seasons, with the help of Adams' coaching. Under his guidance, UT has been represented on the AVCA All-Region list 15 times and the All-SEC team on 12 occasions.

Adams has coached two athletes to National Player of the Week status, as Erica Treiber earned the prestigious honor in 2018 and Morgahn Fingall received the distinction in 2022 and 2023. Lady Vols have collected 62 SEC weekly awards during his tenure on Rocky Top, including 10 defensive recognitions.

Team success has surged as well thanks to Adams' contributions. Tennessee ascended into the top 20 of the national rankings during his first season, which culminated in a second-place SEC finish and an NCAA Tournament victory. Since then, the Big Orange has been ranked inside the top 20 in five different seasons, including being as high as No. 8 during the 2023 campaign. The Lady Vols have recorded 15 wins over ranked opponents dating to that 2018 season.

In 2024, Adams helped Tennessee advance to a fourth straight NCAA Tournament after losing three All-Americans and five starters from the previous season. Outside hitter Nina Cajic earned All-America second team honors from the AVCA after breaking the Tennessee single-match record and SEC modern era record for kills (42) as well as UT's 25-point rally-scoring era record for aces in a match (7) and aces per set (0.39) in a single season. She ranked third in aces (41), fourth in kills per set (4.31) and seventh in kills (448) for a single season in school history during the 25-point rally-scoring era.

Caroline Kerr garnered All-America honors for a second year in a row, becoming the first setter in program history to earn the recognition in multiple seasons. The All-SEC selection finished with 1,069 assists. Middle blocker Keondreya Granberry received her first AVCA All-Region Team nod after ranking second nationally and leading the SEC in hitting percentage (.455) to go along with leading the team in blocks (91) for a third straight season.

The Big Orange enjoyed one of the best seasons in in program history in 2023, advancing to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2005, hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and earning the program's best-ever national seed at No. 10. The Lady Vols finished second in the SEC, which produced a conference-high eight NCAA Tournament teams, with a 15-3 record, and they defeated five ranked opponents throughout the season. The team reached as high as eighth in the AVCA rankings, which marked the highest regular season ranking and second-best ranking ever in program history. Four individuals garnered All-America status from the squad.

Tennessee swept 19 opponents in 31 matches on the year, marking the second-highest total for a single season in program history and the most since having 20 in 1983. UT boasted one of the country's elite offenses, ranking inside the top five nationally and leading the SEC in kills per set (2nd/14.75), assists per set (3rd/13.60) and hitting percentage (4th/.304). Defensively, the Lady Vols paced the SEC in kills per set allowed (11.39) and assists per set allowed (10.78), while ranking second in the conference in both opposing hitting percentage (.194) and aces per set allowed (0.82).

In 2022, Adams helped with the development of SEC All-Freshman Team honoree Keondreya Granberry after the middle blocker posted 149 kills,103 blocks and 22 digs on the year. She led the Lady Vols in kills 10 times throughout the year, and she recorded 16 matches with five or more kills and eight matches with five or more blocks.

The 2021 campaign witnessed the Lady Vols earn their 24th 20-win season in program history and make their 16th NCAA Tournament appearance. Tennessee finished the year 20-10 overall and 11-7 in SEC play as it placed fourth in the league. UT traveled to Ohio State for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Big Orange defeated North Carolina in four sets in the opening round before falling to No. 9 seed Ohio State in four in the second round.

Adams' blockers finished with an SEC-best 3.01 blocks per set, which also ranked second nationally in 2021. Middle blocker Danielle Mahaffey was tabbed an AVCA and VolleyballMag.com All-American after a stellar season. She registered a career-best 139 blocks and averaged 1.38 blocks per set – setting a 25-point rally-scoring era single-season Tennessee record.

Mahaffey's average ranked second in the SEC and eighth in the nation in 2021. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native also set a career-high with a .380 hitting percentage.

Senior Ava Bell occupied the other starting middle position and finished the season with 151 kills, a .397 hitting percentage and a career-high 118 blocks. She ended 2021 with a 1.24 blocks per set average - a mark that ranked fifth in the SEC and 39th nationally.

The 2020-21 season presented many challenges for teams across the country, including the Lady Vols as the UT volleyball program had to deal with adjusting schedules and an unprecedented fall and spring schedule. Tennessee earned three victories versus top-16 opponents during the season. In the SEC, the Lady Vols were second in the conference in digs, third in kills and blocks and were fourth in the league in hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage.

Two Lady Vols nabbed postseason honors in 2020-21, as junior Lily Felts was tabbed to the All-SEC Team and Bell landed AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region list. In addition to her AVCA honor, Bell ranked fourth in the SEC in blocks during the 2020-21 season, averaging 1.08 blocks per set. Bell also finished seventh in conference play in hitting percentage at .353. During the season, four players earned conference weekly honors.

The Lady Vols played their best volleyball of the season at the end of the 2019 campaign, as Tennessee won five of its last six matches with three victories coming on the road. Despite one of the toughest schedules in the country, the Lady Vols finished with a winning record both overall and in conference play, marking the first time since the 2011 and 2012 season the Big Orange accomplished the feat in back-to-back seasons.

Grubbs led the team with 4.06 kills per set, earning her All-SEC honors for the second consecutive season. She became the first Tennessee player to accomplish this feat since Kelsey Robinson in 2011 and 2012.

Grubbs, who had a career-high 29 kills in the season opener against No. 6 Illinois, became the 22nd member of the 1,000-kill club while totaling the fourth most kills in the rally-scoring era and the most in the 25-point rally-scoring era. She ended her career ranked eighth in program history with 1,413 kills.

Adams served as the acting head coach for two matches in 2019 including a three-set sweep against Alabama on Nov. 22. He accumulated a 7-2 record as the acting head coach during the 2018 & 2019 seasons.

In his first season at Tennessee, Adams played a key part in the largest single-season turnaround in program history. The Lady Vols had a 14-win increase overall from 2017 to 2018, 11-win increase in Southeastern Conference play and an eight-place jump in the conference standings. After being picked to finish 10th in the league, Tennessee captured 16 SEC wins and a second-place finish in his first season on staff.

Adams served as the acting head coach over the last seven matches of the 2018 campaign. The Lady Vols went 6-1 over the course of those matches with the lone loss coming in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It marked the 10th time in program history Tennessee has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Over the final seven matches of the season, Adams helped guide the Lady Vols to ranked wins over No. 23 Missouri and a sweep over No. 13 Florida. It was the first time since 1988 and just the second time in program history Tennessee swept the Gators.

In total, the Lady Vols captured four-ranked wins in 2018, the most of any SEC team and the only team in the conference to have a winning record against the AVCA Top-25.

After coming back from 2-0 sets down to defeat Georgia in five sets in October, Tennessee entered the AVCA Top-25 poll for the first time since 2012. The Lady Vols would climb as high as No. 19 in the polls as they were ranked in the final five polls of the season.

After a 26-win season, third most in UT history in the rally scoring era, Tennessee was selected to the NCAA Tournament for the 15th time in school history and the first time since the 2012 season.

In Adams first season on Rocky Top, Treiber, Grubbs and Felts all earned postseason honors. Treiber and Grubbs both earned All-SEC Team and AVCA All-Southeast Region honors while Felts garnered SEC All-Freshman honors.

PRIOR TO TENNESSEE
Before coming to Knoxville in 2018, Adams spent eight seasons on the bench at UNC, the last seven of which he spent as an assistant coach after serving as a volunteer assistant his first year. The Tar Heels earned NCAA Tournament berths in seven of the eight seasons he was on the staff in Chapel Hill.

Adams and the Tar Heels coaching staff guided UNC to a 29-4 campaign in 2016, marking his second ACC championship with a stellar 19-1 record in conference play. North Carolina received its highest AVCA (6) and RPI (5) rankings in program history that season and advanced to NCAA Regionals for the second time in three years while defeating a program-record three top-10 teams.

In 2014, the Heels went 29-3 with a perfect 16-0 record at home en route to the program’s most wins since 2002. North Carolina earned a series of new program highs during that remarkable campaign, including a No. 7 AVCA Coaches Poll ranking, a No. 5 NCAA RPI ranking and a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

UNC also reeled off 20-straight victories in 2014, the longest streak in program history. The season ended for the Tar Heels in the NCAA Regional finals in Minneapolis—marking the program’s deepest-ever NCAA Tournament run.

In 2013, Adams helped guide UNC to a program-record 15-0 start. That season was capped by the program’s 15th NCAA Tournament berth. The Tar Heels finished 2013 with a 27-5, recording their most wins since 2002.

In addition to his coaching duties at Carolina, Adams worked in several different roles over five years with USA Volleyball. In 2014, Adams traveled with the Men’s Junior National Team to compete in the NORCECA U21 Championships in El Salvador. He served as the technical coordinator and video analyst for the team, which captured the bronze medal in a highly competitive tournament.

Adams also has extensive experience with the USA Women’s National A2 program, which is made up of the top collegiate women’s volleyball players in the country with at least one year of college eligibility remaining. In 2012, he worked with the team in Columbus, Ohio, serving as a technical assistant. And in 2010, Adams helped lead the USA Volleyball A2 Blue National Team to gold at the USA Volleyball Open National Championship in Phoenix, Arizona.

In 2011, Adams worked as an assistant at the USA High Performance Championships with the Select Age Division A2 program, and he has also worked boys’ and girls’ USA High Performance tryouts.

Prior to joining the UNC staff in 2010, Adams served as a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater, Central Florida, for two years (2008, 2010). In between his coaching stints, Adams played and coached professionally in Germany, guiding the Oberliga professional volleyball team FC Schuttorf to a 17-1 record and the league championship in 2009.

A 2008 graduate of UCF with a degree in Psychology, Adams played five years for the Knights’ club volleyball team. He was honored by the NIRSA as a second-team All-American in 2008. From 2006-08, he served as a player/coach for the club team, before taking over as head coach in 2009. Tyler is married to his wife, Jenny, who also played middle blocker at UCF.