Official Athletics Site of the St. Mary's College Seahawks

Jeremy Sands took over the reigns of the Seahawk volleyball team in July 2014, becoming the progam's 14th head coach in school history. Sands has been involved with the sport of volleyball either as a player or coach for over 20 years.

He led St. Mary's to consecutive Capital Athletic Conference semifinal appearances in 2015 and once again, the fourth-seeded Seahawks dropped a five-stter to nationally-ranked and three-time defending CAC champion, Christopher Newport University. St. Mary's finished with a 17-13 (5-4 CAC) record for its fourth straight winning season. Sands coached an all-region player in Mandy Goodspeed '16 as well as three All-CAC selections.

In 2014, he guided St. Mary's to its third consecutive winning season with a 17-10 (5-4 CAC) record. The Seahawks, as the No. 5 seed, made their first appearance in the CAC Tournament Semifinals since 2012 and took top-seeded Christopher Newport to five before succumbing to the two-time defending CAC champion. 

Sands came to St. Mary's via the United States Military Academy, where he spent six seasons as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator. He played a vital role in the Black Knights' unprecedented success, helping to lead Army to its first Patriot League title in 15 years in 2009. Sands assisted with all aspects of the program, including national recruiting, practice planning, on-court coaching, individual player development, alumni outreach and fund raising.

The Pittstown, Pennsylvania native came to West Point following a two-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. While at UCCS, he assisted in the day-to-day activities of practice, preparation, scouting and statistics for the regionally-ranked Mountain Lions. Additionally, Sands coached the Colorado Chill 17s boys' club team from 2005- 2006.

In addition to his duties at UCCS, he also served as the head coach of the men's volleyball club team at the United States Air Force Academy. In 2006, Air Force was ranked No. 1 in the nation heading into the NIRSA Volleyball National Championships while Sands was named the NIRSA National Coach of the Year and Conference Coach of the Year for his work with the Falcons.

He was given his first head coaching opportunity at Centenary College in Hackettstown, N.J. in 1997.

Sands served in the Army from 1998 until 2004. He was commissioned as an Armor Officer serving at Fort Carson, Colo., while also deploying to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. He was awarded a Bronze Star with "V" device for Valor as a result of his leadership in Iraq. His service and the actions of his unit were highlighted in the book, "A Soldier's Promise".

In 1999 and 2000, Sands was selected to the All-Army men's volleyball team. Following his six years as a member of the U.S. Army, he was selected as the All-Army men's volleyball head coach in 2005. Sands led the team at the Inter-Service Championships and was later selected to coach the All-Armed Forces squad that competed at the USA Volleyball Open, leading the team to a Bronze Medal.

He began his coaching career as a student assistant for the King's College women's volleyball team in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. In addition to working with the student-athletes at King's, he also assisted his former high school coach at Pittston Area High School.

Sands played for the King's College men's team serving as captain of the program for two years. He was also named to the All-Conference team for a program that won four conference championships and was ranked Top 25 nationally.

An active adult USA Volleyball and outdoor player, Sands is an active member of the USA Volleyball community and has completed Level I, Level II, and Level III of the USA Volleyball Coaching Accreditation Program as well as the Volleyball Conditioning Course. Sands also serves an active role in the USA Volleyball High Performance program.

He graduated from King's College in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Sands then completed the Executive Master's Program for Organizational Development and Change Leadership at Columbia University, Teacher's College in the spring of 2012. This past December (2015), he earned his MBA from the University of Maryland.

Sands and his wife, Kaitlyn, reside in Annapolis, Md., with their children, Maya and Hailey.