South Carolina Athletics Director Jeremiah Donati announced that volleyball head coach Tom Mendoza would be leaving the program on Sunday evening.
Mendoza has accepted the head coach position for the University of Marquette Golden Eagles of the Big East Conference. Mendoza leaves South Carolina after being the head coach for seven seasons.
Mendoza made his mark in his first year as South Carolina head coach in 2018, winning 20 games and earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The bid snapped a 16-year drought for the program. He led the Gamecocks to the NCAA Tournament three more times, with the most recent being a first-round loss to the University of Dayton this past season.
Mendoza is the third winningest coach in South Carolina history with 106 career wins. He became the third coach in school history to win 100 games for the program in October of 2024.
Mendoza is the fastest head coach in school history to reach 50 career wins, a landmark he met in a February 2021 win against Missouri. He has the most wins in program history against ranked teams and has the second-most conference wins in program history.
Mendoza has produced five All-SEC players in his time with the Gamecocks, with the most recent being 2024 All-SEC member graduate student outside hitter Riley Whitesides.
Mendoza inherits a strong Marquette program that finished 16-2 in the Big East last season and 25-9 overall. He replaces longtime Golden Eagles head coach Ryan Theis, who left for the University of Florida after 11 seasons with Marquette.
The national head coaching search for South Carolina will begin immediately following the departure of Mendoza. Assistant coach Brittany Farrell will assume day-to-day duties as interim head coach during the spring semester.