Nebraska has hired BYU’s Jaylen Reyes as an assistant volleyball coach, John Cook announced Friday.
Reyes replaces Tyler Hildebrand, who left NU last month for a director position with USA Beach Volleyball. Reyes, who also played at BYU, has been an assistant with the men’s program there for the last three seasons. His duties with BYU included player development and he also served as recruiting coordinator.
Cook said in a press release he reached out to one of his “closest advisers in the volleyball world,” who recommended the “rising star” Reyes. He said Reyes separated himself from other candidates during the interview process.
“We wanted someone who was willing to crawl here just like Andy Dufresne in the movie, ‘The Shawshank Redemption,'” Cook said. “Our players and the Husker Nation will love his energy, passion and ability to teach the game.”
Reyes will join the Husker program at the conclusion of the BYU men’s volleyball season next month. He will fill Hildebrand’s role on the NU staff, coordinating game plans and scouting reports while assisting in coaching all positions.
“I would like to thank Coach Cook for this amazing opportunity to be a part of the Nebraska volleyball family,” Reyes said in a press release. “I look at this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Reyes helped lead BYU to the national championship match each of the last two seasons. He coached four AVCA All-Americans during that span.
Reyes was BYU’s starting libero from 2012-15, receiving All-America honorable mention as a senior. He’s the program’s leader in games played (431) and second in career digs (762).
He’s the son of a volleyball coach. His dad, Tino Reyes, was head women’s volleyball coach at Hawaii from 2010-15 and spent 17 years as associate head coach of the school’s men’s program.
“Jaylen has grown up in a gym,” Cook said. “Coaching volleyball is in his DNA.”
