HONOLULU — University of Hawai'i women's volleyball head coach Joshua Walker completed the coaching staff for his inaugural season by announcing on Tuesday the hiring of Will McDonald as an assistant coach.
McDonald worked with Walker on the Baylor coaching staff for the last three seasons and most recently served as technical operations coordinator with LOVB Salt Lake.
"Will is the perfect person to round out this staff," Walker said. "He has a ton of experience in a lot of different aspects of the job that are paramount to a volleyball team having success. Also, his experience outside of the U.S. and his overall high character will be invaluable as well."
McDonald joins associate head coach Heather Olmstead and fellow assistant coach Kolby Kanetake on the UH coaching staff as the Rainbow Wahine enter Walker's first season as head coach.
"I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to join Coach Walker's staff and the Rainbow Wahine volleyball program," McDonald said. "Hawaiʻi volleyball is so rich in tradition, community, and prestige, and I cannot wait to get to work building the next chapter of Wahine volleyball."
McDonald brings 14 years of coaching experience developing athletes across professional, NCAA Division I, club, and international levels. During the LOVB season, his work in data and video analysis helped Salt Lake reach the league championship final while working with head coach and Hawai'i product Tama Miyashiro. McDonald's work with serving development and in-match strategy helped Salt Lake lead the league in opponent pass-in-system percentage while advancing to the final series, including an upset of the playoffs' No. 1 seed.
"We were so grateful to have Will with us last season. His hard work and expertise played a huge role in accelerating our growth at LOVB Salt Lake," said Miyashiro, an assistant coach with the 2020 gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic team. "Wishing Will and everyone in the UH Women's Volleyball program all the best this upcoming season!"
McDonald worked alongside Walker — then Baylor's associate head coach — as technical coordinator with the Bears from 2023 through the 2025 season. In providing data analytics to inform daily training, scouting and in-game decisions, McDonald helped Baylor reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament each of the last three years. He also assisted with recruiting and impacted the program by raising more than $200,000, which helped fund a 2024 foreign tour, and establishing a Board of Directors to guide long-term fundraising.
He performed a similar role at Georgia Tech in 2022 as technical coordinator with the Yellow Jackets and contributed to a run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
McDonald has also worked extensively with USA Volleyball. In 2026, he served as a performance analyst for the USA Women's National Team during the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) and the USA U21 Women's National Team at the Pan American Cup. In 2025, he worked as a performance analyst for the USA Beach team that captured a bronze medal at the World University Games.
Originally from Surrey, England, McDonald's international head coaching background includes guiding the England Women's Beach U22 team at the 2021 European Championship, as well as winning national championships as the head coach for University College London and Richmond Volleyball Club in the United Kingdom.
The Rainbow Wahine will hold their first practice of the season on Thursday and their preparations for the 2026 season include exhibition games at Hawai'i Hilo (Aug. 15) and at home against Chaminade (Aug. 17). They officially open Walker's tenure as head coach on Aug. 28 against Georgia Southern in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Coaching Experience
College
- Baylor, Technical Coordinator (2023-25)
- Georgia Tech, Technical Coordinator (2022)
Professional
- LOVB Salt Lake, Technical Operations Coordinator (2025-26)
National/International
- USA Volleyball, Performance Analyst – Women's National Team VNL & U21 Pan American Cup (2026)
- USA Beach, Performance Analyst – World University Games (2025)
- England Women's Beach U22, Head Coach (2021)
- University College London / Oxford University, Head Coach
Education
- Academy of Contemporary Music (2016), Bachelor of Music (Honors) in Professional Music Performance
Hometown
#HawaiiWVB
