Washington State volleyball head coach Korey Schroeder came to Pullman with no expectations. He was unemployed and did not even come to the Palouse to coach volleyball. Instead, he came because of his wife, Missy Florine, who has been an athletic trainer at WSU since 2022.
“I moved out here to be with her,” Schroeder said. “I was in talks with Jen [Greeny] at that time of possibly getting on staff, but nothing was guaranteed. But I was moving out here no matter what. And then, you know, I was very grateful that Jen gave me an opportunity.”
Schroeder served just one year as an assistant in 2023, the most recent year the Cougars made the NCAA tournament, as well as Greeny’s last season leading the program before taking a job at West Virginia. Schroeder was content with staying as an assistant coach as he thought it was a great fit for him. WSU had other plans.
“That opportunity came up and I’m really grateful that I took it,” Schroeder said of taking the head coaching job in 2024. “I’m a better coach, better person. I think the program’s in a better place because we did that.”
Now, two seasons and 56 games later, Schroeder agreed to a contract extension with WSU to keep him in Pullman through the 2029 season.
Schroeder is a Midwest man, born and raised in a small town just outside of Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Schroeder attended Kaukauna High School, where he was an All-State high school selection before he played club volleyball while attending UW-Platville. Schroeder stayed in his home state as a coach up until moving to the Palouse, coaching at the high school level, his alma mater, and at Green Bay, where he helped lead the Phoenix to an NCAA tournament appearance and three 20-win seasons.
Despite spending much of his life and career in Wisconsin, there was something about Pullman that reminded him of home and motivated him to commit to WSU long-term.
“I grew up in the Midwest…[Pullman] even feels like a Midwest town,” Schroeder said. “So this is an incredible community. The people here are obviously so welcoming. I feel valued, not just as a coach, but as a person.”
Schroeder said it was a “no-brainer” for him and Florine to stay in Pullman long-term when the opportunity arose. Schroeder and WSU began extension talks around early November.
At the time of his hiring, Schroeder inherited a roster with just three returning players and a program transitioning to a temporary home in the West Coast Conference after the Pac-12 conference’s dissolution. There was no established incoming freshman class and the non-conference schedule was still in the works. The job brought nothing but uncertainty.
In his first two seasons as a head coach, Schroeder went 33-23, made the NVIC tournament in 2024 and produced seven All-WCC award winners. While yet to earn an NCAA tournament bid like Greeny-led teams of the past, Schroeder touted consistency in his staffing and depth built from the ground up to make every position group competitive going forward in helping to reshape the program.
Now, for the second time in his Cougar tenure, WSU is entering a new conference situation. While WSU never officially left the Pac-12, Commissioner Teresa Gould and former WSU Athletic Director Anne McCoy helped to rebuild the conference, which WSU will now play a conference schedule in.
The new Pac-12 will carry its fair share of challenges, as Schroeder said the depth of the conference is the biggest difference from the WCC. Utah State, Boise State, Colorado State, Texas State and Fresno State have all made recent NCAA tournament appearances, including a 24-8 showing from the Aggies this season.
For Schroeder, however, that depth in competition brings increased opportunity.
“In the conference, I think we’re looking at being able to send two to three plus teams to the tournament long-term,” Schroeder said. “Obviously for us, winning the conference championship is the goal, and it’s the easiest path to the NCAA tournament, but also for us to be like, ‘Hey, there’s another path other than winning the tournament,’ which is how we used to make it in the old Pac-12. I think we have the depth in the conference to do that, so that’s huge for us.”
Schroeder also said the stability and level of competitiveness the new Pac-12 brings will help in the recruiting sphere.
WSU’s volleyball program is not exactly at the peak it hit during 2023, when it finished No. 11 in the final ACVA poll and reached the Sweet Sixteen. Schroeder said there is still so much to the value of the program, from the 3,000-seat Bohler Gym, boasting a consistently loud student section, and to Schroeder’s knowledge, the largest Taraflex floor in the NCAA. Schroeder attributes these facility features to the continued support he has felt from the athletic department, saying “volleyball is supported,” something that has been made “very clear” at WSU.
When Schroeder walked into his office in the morning last Monday, he realized something valuable in looking at the bigger picture.
“Trying to take a step back in my view is like: this isn’t my program,” Schroeder said. “This isn’t someone’s football program. Whether you’re here for one or you’re here for 15 years, relative to the university, you’re here on pretty limited borrowed time. It’s us representing the community and the university that has longer ties to it.”
Time and time again, Schroeder has emphasized the community and program culture WSU brings. Where Greeny brought the program to national prestige on the court, Schroeder is looking to be known on the national scale for something else.
“I think the long-term goal is being nationally recognized as a place where you want to go and be part of something and that you’re going to be valued as not just a volleyball player, but as a human being, as a student, because that’s really important to us,” Schroeder said. “I don’t think anybody can leave and say they weren’t cared for as a person and valued.”
