Jeff Hulsmeyer

Jeff Hulsmeyer begins his eighth season as Florida State’s associate head coach in 2022. Among his primary day-to-day duties are the continued development of the Seminoles’ setters, recruiting and maintaining the communication flow with future student athletes as well as the institution of the training program for the team as prioritized by head coach Chris Poole.

“I have personally known Jeff since he started coaching,” said head coach Chris Poole. “We both got into Division I Volleyball about the same time in the late 80’s. In fact, we coached against each other in the Sun Belt Conference. His teams were always exceptionally well prepared for matches.”

Leading up to game day during the season, Hulsmeyer plays an integral role in the match prep and scouting of opponents for Poole. He also works primarily with the Florida State setters

In 2022, the Seminoles had a season like no other that included many injuries and many different lineups. The Seminole overcame the inconsistency in the lineup with another NCAA Tournament appearance after finishing 19-11 and 11-7 in conference play. The Seminoles fell in the first round to Northern Iowa. For the second consecutive season, five Seminoles earned All-ACC honors. Emma Clothier, Audrey Koenig, Khori Louis and Emily Ryan were all named to the All-ACC Second Team while Audrey Rothman was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team. Ryan was also named to the AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention.

Hulsmeyer was integral in helping the Seminoles to their first 20-win season since 2016 in 2021. FSU fielded its youngest team since 1999, finished 20th in the NCAA RPI and earned 11 wins against the RPI Top 100.

Graduate transfer setter Olivia Dailey recorded 477 assists in FSU’s shortened 18-match season in 2020, while Tessier added 129 assists. FSU’s middle attack was aided by quality setting in what was a highly efficient 2020 season on the offensive end.

His experience in the setting game included the tandem of Brianne Burkert and Hailey Luke in 2016. His tutelage of Burkert resulted in her being named to the ACC All-Freshman Team in 2015, and becoming the eighth setter in FSU’s rally scoring history to hand out at least 700 assists in 2016 as she recorded a team-high 771 assists (6.17 assists/set).

Hulsmeyer’s work with Luke allowed the junior enjoy the best statistical season of her career as she dished out 729 assists (5.98 assists per set), including 453 assists in league matches. The combination of Hulsmeyer’s offensive schemes with the dual threat of Burkert and Luke allowed Florida State to post the best hitting percentage (.271) against ACC opponents in his first year on the bench.

Hulsmeyer brought his wealth of coaching experience to Florida State after serving as an assistant at Kansas State for six seasons (2009- 14), helping the Wildcats to three NCAA Tournament appearances including a Sweet 16 berth in 2011 after being selected to finish eighth in the Big 12.

In 2014, the Wildcats teetered in-and-out of the AVCA Top 25, finishing with a record of 22-9 after falling in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Utah. Hulsmeyer served as the offensive and recruiting coordinator at Kansas State, working heavily with the setters in practice while acquiring some of the top recruiting classes in the country according to PrepVolleyball.com.

Hulsmeyer served as the head coach for Georgetown College, where he produced a record of 75-14, leading the Tigers to a No. 5 national ranking in 2007. In both seasons at the helm he was named the conference and region coach of the year while helping a pair of players to NAIA All-America honors.

Prior to an assistant coaching job at Illinois (1996-98) and a four-year head coaching stint at Purdue (1999-2002), Hulsmeyer worked for Arkansas State and Western Kentucky—two teams in the Sun Belt Conference, capturing three titles and two Coach of the Year awards.

While at the helm of Arkansas State (1993-95) he led his team to the crown in all three seasons while remaining perfect in regular season conference play in addition to a pair of NCAA Tournament bids.

After a season at Western Kentucky as a graduate assistant, Hulsmeyer took over as the head coach in 1990, turning the program around and finishing with a 32-9 record following a season that had a losing record. While at the helm (1990-93) Hulsmeyer led Western Kentucky to a pair of runner-up finishes in the Sun Belt Conference.

During parts of his coaching career began, Hulsmeyer played indoor and professional beach volleyball from 1989-95 while recruiting on the East Coast.

Hulsmeyer graduated from Kentucky in 1988 with a degree in political science. He is married to the former Michelle Hall of Halstead, Kan. She was a two-time All-American volleyball player for Barton County Community College before she went on to play at Arkansas State where she helped her team to the NCAA Tournament in both seasons. The couple have four children, Zach, Ben, Hannah and Jack.