Ex-Vaquero Jon Newton named volleyball coach

Former SBCC player Jon Newton has been named head coach of the men's volleyball team.

Newton was a 6-foot-6 middle blocker for the Vaqueros in 2010. He transferred to Ohio State and played three seasons with the Buckeyes (2012-14), who won NCAA titles in 2011 and 2016. He was named to All-Academic teams by the Big Ten and Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.

"We decided that Jon was the right person to lead the program, in part, because he has first-hand experience in attaining the ultimate goals of our student-athletes," said Vaquero athletic director Ryan Byrne. "He is a product of our system who went on to play for one of the top NCAA programs at the highest level in the country. He also had tremendous academic success and completed his degree to pursue his passion in coaching.

"Jon clearly has a deep passion for coaching, is a very hard worker and will be an excellent mentor to our student-athletes."
 Newton graduated from Ohio State in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in Education. His major was Sport and Leisure Studies with a minor in Exercise Science.

"It's a huge honor and I'm really excited to coach at the college level," said Newton, who spent the last two years as head coach of the San Marcos High boys volleyball team. "I played at SBCC and it's great to come back and coach there.

"I have high expectations for Vaquero volleyball. The goal of every player is to get to a four-year university, so the first goal is to help the student-athletes get to the next level. In terms of competitive success, our goals are to win conference and go to the playoffs."

Newton played at San Marcos High from 2006-09 and was first-team All-Channel League his senior year as well as team MVP.

He was a volunteer assistant for the UCSB women's volleyball team in 2014 and has previously coached sophomore and JV teams at San Marcos.

He's currently coaching the Girls 14 squad for the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club. The team will compete in the 42nd AAU Junior Nationals on June 16-26 in Orlando, Fla.