Robert Poole, from Enfield, England, will enter his third season as Head Coach for the Golden Eagles Men's Volleyball program for the 2026-27 season and his 5th overall with the program.
A former AVCA Coaches 4 Coaches Scholarship recipient and AVCA Thirty under 30 honoree, Poole helped guide the continued progression of the Golden Eagle Men’s Volleyball program into an emerging EIVA contender. Since arriving at UC, he has played a key role in the program’s development through athlete-centered coaching methods, professional level preparation systems, and a clear volleyball identity built around international Sideout principles, tactical discipline, and long term player development. Coach Poole’s volleyball philosophy has been shaped by his international playing background, professional coaching experience, and work in the analytics side of the game in scouting, video analysis and practice design. Combining these experiences with the foundations left by former Head Coach Luke Reynolds, Poole has continued to build a program capable of competing physically and tactically in the EIVA. That progress was on display during the 2026 season in the programs run to the EIVA semi-final and subsequent 5-set loss to Penn State.
As a program, UC Men’s Volleyball have continued to strengthen their identity of tempo First Ball Sideout systems, a balanced offence and European Blocking systems culminating in the program being ranked among the top 3 in the EIVA in points per set, assists per set, digs per set, opponent hitting percentage and service aces per set. Using Poole’s prior international playing and coaching experience, the Golden Eagles have leaned on a global volleyball vision, with over 14 different nations representing the program over the last 5 years. Poole’s ultimate goal is to see a pathway created from the Collegiate environment to Professional Volleyball, a pathway that has been followed by over 15 athletes in his past 4 seasons at the University of Charleston
The 2026 season saw the Golden Eagles improve on their 2025 results, with the program posting a 14-15 overall record and 4-8 in EIVA play. The proof of such improvement was the tough 5 set loss to Penn State in the EIVA semifinals. With the program continuing to build on the previous year, the Golden Eagles took leaps forward in multiple statistical categories, finishing third in the EIVA in points per set, second in assists per set, second in blocks per set, second in service aces per set, third in digs per set, and second in opponent hitting percentage. The program had 1 All Conference 2nd Teamer in Lucas Torres, with multiple others earning the Honorable Mention Accolade.
In 2025, his first season in charge, the Golden Eagles secured 5 wins in EIVA regular season conference play, matching the previous record in conference play. The team also secured a landmark first win in program history against Penn State at Rec Hall, finishing up the season 12-17. The program had 3 All Conference athletes in Kai Cousins (First Team, Freshman OTY), Paul Stommel (First Team) and Max Nissen (Second Team), along with CJ Raines as Honorable Mention. The team ranked as
one of the highest EIVA First Ball Side Out % teams. Multiple athletes from the 2025 season signed professional contracts, highlighted by setter Paul Stommel signing for the VolleyGoats in the German Bundesliga as the starting setter.
The 2024 Season was a year of firsts for the program, including the first ever post-season victory in a 3-0 sweep of Princeton and first program win at NJIT. The program earned a national ranking early in the 2024 season and was a mainstay in the Division 2 Polls for the whole season. 2 Athletes broke school records in Poole’s second year with the UC Program, with Curtis Raines breaking the record for Career-Digs and Garret Schnitker breaking the record for Career Kills.
During Poole’s first season working with former Head Coach Luke Reynolds, the Men’s Volleyball team also broke multiple school records as the program recorded 22 wins and 7 losses, including a 14-game win streak in the beginning of the season where the team did not drop a set. This was followed up by First Ever wins in program history against George Mason, NJIT, Lincoln Memorial and The Ohio State University. The UC program in 2023 also ranked nationally for the first time ever, reaching as high as 13th in the AVCA D1/2 Coaches poll. The team was also ranked 1st in the D2 polls for much of the 2023 season.
Throughout the 2023 season statistically the UC Men’s Volleyball team ranked Nationally in the NCAA Top 3 for Blocks per set, Opposition attack efficiency and Attack efficiency. Along with the team success the program was also recognized with three 1st team All EIVA, two 2nd All EIVA, and two Honorable mentions All EIVA. The program also had an AVCA Player of the Week in Diego Villafane.
Prior to working at the University of Charleston, Coach Poole was an Assistant coach for Wolfdogs Nagoya in the V-League in Japan under US coach Chris McGown. Poole had various roles in scouting, video analysis and on court coaching. He helped the professional team to finish 2nd in the League and win the Emperors Cup, working with players that have competed on the various stages of International Competition. Poole has three years professional experience playing in several countries including Germany, Holland, and Estonia. During his career, Poole also had the honor of representing his home country whilst playing for the English Junior and Senior national teams for both beach and indoor volleyball. Prior to his professional career, Poole spent some time in the states at the University of Mount Olive (2014-2018) as an opposite and outside hitter. During his collegiate career, Poole led the nation in aces per set in 2018, compiled over 1000 kills, and was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-American team in his junior and senior seasons. Poole went on to graduate from the University of Mount Olive with a major in Chemistry along with minors in physics and biology.
