As a volleyball player at the University of Minnesota, Becky Egan was relentless, helping to shepherd the transition to the Golden Gophers’ eventual rise as one of the premier teams in the Big Ten.
 
She now hopes to do the same thing for Hamline University. The Bloomington, Minn. native, who has been the head volleyball coach at Eastview High School for the past 11 seasons, has been named the new head coach for the Pipers. She replaces Audrey Ludwig, who left to be an assistant coach at Division I University of Maryland.
 
“Becky has a clear understating of what it will take to be successful at the collegiate level and more importantly in the MIAC,” said HU athletic director Jason Verdugo. “She is a teacher first and foremost. We’re thrilled to have her on board and a member of the athletic department.”
 
Egan, whose husband Jim is an assistant baseball coach and works with the football team as well at Hamline, played for the Golden Gophers from 1994-97. (See above picture) Her 5,918 assists in her career ranks second all-time in Minnesota history and third among all Big Ten players. She was first team All-Big Ten in her final season there.  But numbers only tell part of the story. Her knowledge of the game and her ability to translate that to her players has won her the respect of the volleyball community.
 
“I’m excited for the opportunity to be at the college level,” Egan said. “The MIAC is a terrific conference. I’m looking forward to the challenge of elevating Hamline to compete with the top D-III programs in the country.”
 
 “Becky gets the art of coaching,” said Geoff Carlston, Ohio State head coach who hired her as an assistant at Concordia (St. Paul) in 2000. “She can challenge them to be extraordinary and still be there for them on a personal level.” Brady Starkey, current Concordia coach, concurs. “She is the rare person who can take what she knows and train her players to play like she did,” he said.
 
Egan has been the head coach at Eastview High School since 2002. The Lightning made their only trip to the MSHSL state tournament under her tutelage in 2008, finishing as the AAA runnerup. She also served as the co-head strength coach at the school. She spent four seasons as the Volleyball Club Director and the head coach of the Eastview Athletic Association U14 team. She also was an assistant coach at Concordia from 2000 until taking the Eastview High School job.
 
Prior to her on-court exploits for the Golden Gophers, Egan was a stalwart player for Bloomington Jefferson, playing in three straight state volleyball tournaments. In her senior season, the Jaguars advanced to the AA championship game for the only time in school history. She was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame in 2006.
 
She inherits a team that, despite having no seniors on it, went 18-12 overall last year. The 18 wins were the most by a HU volleyball team in 17 years.