Connor Zimmick was named as an assistant volleyball coach at App State in January of 2022 and was elevated to associate head coach on March 4, 2023.
As associate head coach, Zimmick guided App State to its first Sun Belt East Division title and appearance in the NIVC Tournament since 2018. During the 2024 season, the Black and Gold went 18-10 (11-3 Sun Belt) and earned the East Division’s No. 1 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament, making the semifinal round for the first time since 2018. The Mountaineers also won seven consecutive matches from Oct. 24 to Nov. 14 and recorded their first victories over James Madison since the Dukes joined the league and the first set of victories over Coastal Carolina since the 2018 campaign.
With Zimmick’s guidance, Maya Winterhoff became the seventh Mountaineer in program history to earn AVCA All-Region honors as well as First Team All-SBC accolades for her efforts on the court after leading the team with an average of 2.85 kills per set and leading the league with a hitting percentage of .372. Winterhoff also rounded out the league’s top-10 in the blocks category with 108 (18 solo, 90 assists) on the season. In addition to Winterhoff’s success, Elise Marchal made an immediate impact in her freshman season, earning App State’s second SBC Freshman of the Year honor since the Mountaineers joined the league. Additionally, Marchal collected Second Team All-SBC accolades alongside Addison Heidemann and Ava Leahy. In her freshman season, Marchal led the team with 35 aces, tallied nine double-doubles, and averaged 2.19 kills per set. Leahy finished the season among the Sun Belt’s top-10 in hitting percentage (.303) and averaged 2.21 kills per set. Zimmick helped the Mountaineers to a team hitting percentage of .226, averaging 12.8 kills per set, as well as 215 (46 solo, 338 assists) blocks on the season.
In his second season coaching the Mountaineers, Zimmick helped the Black and Gold to a record of 14-15 (4-12 Sun Belt), and a 10-4 record at the Holmes Convocation Center. The Black and Gold tallied 10 sweeps on the season and posted nine consecutive wins from Aug. 25 to Sept. 9. During the 2023 season, the Mountaineers recorded 1,275 kills (averaging 11.7 per set) as well as 251 blocks (62 solo, 378 assists). Under Zimmick’s direction Maya Winterhoff earned her second consecutive Second Team All-SBC nod and led the team with 130 blocks on the season and made 239 kills last fall. She also led the Sun Belt and ranked nationally in the top-50 in the hitting percentage category (.374) and ranked fifth in the SBC and among the NCAA's top-50 in the blocks category. The Mountaineers finished among the top-10 in the Sun Belt in blocks per set, hitting percentage and total blocks over the 2023 season.
During the 2022 campaign Zimmick helped the program to an 18-10 (11-5 Sun Belt) record. App State won 11 of its last 12 matches in the regular season, recording the best stretch of play for the Mountaineers since a program-tying 16 straight wins in 2015. The Mountaineers also went 9-2 at the Holmes Convocation Center and clinched seven five-set matches. Under Zimmick’s coaching, middle blocker Maya Winterhoff earned the program’s first Sun Belt Freshman of the Year award and finished the season on the All-SBC Second Team along with outside hitter McCall Denny. Denny and fellow outside hitters Lulu Ambrose and Madison Baldridge earned CSC Academic All-District honors. The Mountaineers recorded 1,378 kills on the season and totaled 231 blocks. Winterhoff finished the season third in the SBC for season hitting percentage (.376), while Sarah Missroon ranked third in the league for blocks, totaling 93 on the season and in league-only play.
Zimmick joined the Mountaineers after serving as an assistant coach for two seasons at Butler. While there, he was involved in player development, match scouting and recruiting for the Bulldogs, helping them earn a spot in the NIVC in 2021.
Prior to Butler, Zimmick served as a graduate assistant at Kentucky for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, seeing the Wildcats advance to the NCAA Regional Semifinals both years.
At the club level, Zimmick was the 17s National Head Coach for Lexington United Volleyball Club, leading them to a fifth-place finish out of 98 teams at the AAU Nationals. He also coached at Capital Volleyball Academy in Madison, Wis. for three seasons.
Zimmick graduated from Wisconsin in 2018 with a degree in communications and earned a masters in Sports Leadership from Kentucky in 2019. At Wisconsin, he was a student manager for the volleyball program, seeing the Badgers advance to the NCAA Regional Finals in 2016 and the NCAA Regional Semifinals in 2017.
Zimmick resides in Boone with his wife, Molly, and son, Jack.
