Bio

Drew Schaeffer enters his third season as head coach of the Mitchell College women's volleyball program in 2020-21. 

Mitchell volleyball has grown by leaps and bounds during Schaeffer's short tenure. Last season the program notched a school record for wins and finished 14-12 overall, posting a winning record for the first time in the school's NCAA Division III era. The Mariners also went 4-3 in New England Collegiate Conference play, earning the fourth seed and a first-ever home game for the NECC Championship. Mitchell then defeated fifth-seeded Becker to record its first postseason win before nearly pulling off an upset against top-seeded Eastern Nazarene College in the semifinals. 

Schaeffer's first recruiting class played a prominent role in the team's success. He stacked his roster with talent from all over the country, bringing in 13 newcomers to bolster the program. The influx of players produced competitive practices that translated into better performance on the court. Seven of the nine players who saw the most playing time were new, and rookie Olivia DeLoach was recognized with all-conference honors.  

Schaeffer, who was hired in March 2018, made his collegiate head coaching debut with the Mariners later that fall. Under his guidance, Mitchell won a pair of conference games and qualified for the New England Collegiate Conference Championship as the eighth seed.

Schaeffer served as an assistant coach at Southern Connecticut State University for two seasons before joining the Mariners. Southern Connecticut State made tremendous strides in Schaeffer’s two years with the program. The Owls capped a historic 2017 season by advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in its first-ever appearance, finishing with an overall record of 24-11. While at SCSU he coached the NE-10 player of the year and multiple all-conference selections, including an AVCA All-American honorable mention.  

Prior to joining the SCSU staff, Schaeffer spent six years as a coach at both the scholastic and club levels. He was the head volleyball coach at Oak Hall School in 2014 where he led the team to its first playoff appearance since 2010 and finished the season second in its district.

Prior to Oak Hall, he served as head varsity volleyball coach at West Port High School in Ocala, Fla., and helped lead the Wolf Pack to back-to-back district titles in Class 8A and District I. Schaeffer also help set a school record of 21 wins in 2012.

 A native of Ocala, Schaeffer possesses a bachelor’s degree in zoology/pre-veterinarian medicine from the University of Florida and a teaching certification in high school biology and chemistry.