Alyssa Broccoli Named Central Connecticut Volleyball Head Coach

Central Connecticut State University has named Alyssa Broccoli the head coach of the volleyball program it was announced Wednesday. Broccoli is the sixth head coach in the program's history and comes to CCSU having been recognized with the American Volleyball Coaches Association 30 Under 30 Award previously.

"Coach Broccoli is an accomplished leader who rose through the ranks at several levels of athletics. We look forward to watching her set the stage for our team's success," said Zulma Toro, Central's President.

"Alyssa stood out to us with her coaching philosophy and vision for the program," according to Tom Pincince, Director of Athletics. "She has a track record of developing student-athletes, both academically and athletically, that will build upon the program's foundation and reach new heights.'

"I am extremely grateful to President Zulma Toro, the search committee and Tom Pincince, for the opportunity to lead the Blue Devils," Broccoli said.  "I am eager to build relationships with our student-athletes and I'm looking forward to working toward the goals we set for our program.

Broccoli comes to CCSU after most recently serving as the Director of Volleyball and Head Women's Volleyball Coach at Drew University in Madison, NJ. In addition to her coaching responsibilities, she was tasked with managing, recruiting, and leading both the men's and women's volleyball teams since their inaugural seasons were announced in 2019.

In three seasons with the Rangers, she coached the vomen's volleyball team to a winning record during her tenure, which included 10 wins against regionally-ranked teams. Broccoli was recognized as the Landmark Coach of the Year after leading the team to a 19-9 mark in its inaugural campaign. She also mentored multiple all-conference honorees and saw her squad named an AVCA/USMC All-Academic Team. In her last season as head coach, she led the team to its first postseason appearance.

Broccoli also assisted the men's team with recruiting and as a coach at Drew. The program is currently in the midst of its best campaign, with a winning record and program-best 13 wins with four matches to play.

"I am excited to start this new challenge at Central. I believe my time at Drew has helped prepare me to take this next step in my career," said Broccoli. "My time building and growing Drew Volleyball will always be something I am proud of and thankful for. A heartfelt thank you to Christa Racine, Julian Diaz, and my Drew Volleyball family for all of their trust, love and support."   

Before building the programs at Drew, Broccoli had a highly-successful four-year run as head women's volleyball coach at Hunter College where she guided the Hawks to an undefeated 39-0 record in conference play and four consecutive CUNYAC titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. During her time at Hunter, Broccoli developed scholar student-athletes who earned All-America, All-Region, Player of the Year, Libero of the Year, and Rookie of the Year honors. Her squads were also recognized as an AVCA/USMC All-Academic Team. In addition to her coaching role, Broccoli was also an Assistant Athletic Director at Hunter.

Prior to her time at Hunter, Broccoli spent time as an assistant coach at Brandeis University, UMass-Boston, and SUNY New Paltz. She helped lead UMass-Boston to a Little East Conference regular season championship and SUNY New Paltz to a pair of NCAA sweet 16 appearances in 2012 and 2013.

Broccoli was a three-year member of the volleyball team at The College of Saint Rose where she graduated in 2010 with a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Sport Management.