Heather Gearhart

About Heather Gearhart

Heather is the Head Coach at Winthrop University for the Women\'s Volleyball Program. She oversees all aspects of the Winthrop Program. She is currently entering her fourth season as Head Coach at Winthrop. Prior to Winthrop, Heather was the Marketing Director at Oasys Sports in Pineville, North Carolina. She was also the Assistant Coach at the University of Akron with the Women’s Division 1 Volleyball Program. The Zips\' 2019 campaign saw the most wins since 2012, the longest winning streak since 2010, the first conference tournament appearance since 2012, and the first winning season since 2012. Previously in the athletic realm, she was the volunteer assistant coach at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville. Heather was a part of the program\'s single-best season turnaround in school history, finishing second in the Southeastern Conference and reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament under the leadership of first-year head coach Eve Rackham. As a Marketing Specialist at PetDesk, working in the veterinary SaaS industry. She handled inbound lead management within the company\'s CRM, assisted in advertising and tradeshow campaigns, and worked closely with different departments. Heather earned an MSc in Marketing from the University of Nottingham in Nottingham, England while acting as captain of the Women\'s Volleyball Performance team. She received her MSc with Merit.Heather received her B.A. from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill where she was on the Women\'s Volleyball team as a libero/defensive specialist. She helped the team to their first ACC Championship since 2008, and the first-ever appearance in the Elite Eight during the 2014 season.She graduated in seven semesters with a BA in Exercise and Sport Science-Sport Administration along with a minor in Coaching Education

Experience

1. Head Volleyball Coach

   Winthrop University

   Dec 2022 — Present · Rock Hill, SC, US

   2025 Big South Conference Coach of the Year- 2025 Big South Conference Regular Season Champions seed in conference tournament- 2025 Big South Conference Awards: Player of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Two 1st Team All-Conference Selections, Two 2nd Team All-Conference Selections, One Honorable Mention All-Conference, One All-Freshman All-Conference, One Academic All-Conference- 2025 Big South semifinals appearance.720 overall winning percentage- Most wins at home in 6 years- 2024 Big South Tournament Runner-Up- 2024 NIVC Tournament Automatic Qualifier- Coached: 2024 Setter of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year, 2 First Team All-Conference Selections, 1 Second Team All-Conference Selection, 1 Honorable Mention All-Conference Selection, 3 All-Freshman Team Members, 2 All-Conference Tournament Team Honorees, All-Academic Team- Set a program match attendance record in home opener- Power 4 win vs Virginia Tech- Ticketing revenue increased from Y1 to Y3 by over 2023 Big South Tournament Runner-Up- 2023 NIVC Tournament Automatic Qualifier- Coached: 1 First Team All-Conference, 2 Second Team All-Conference, 1 Honorable Mention All-Conference, 1 all-freshman all-conference, 1 All-Academic All-Conference, CSC Academic All-District- 20••••24 AVCA All-Academic Team- 2023 VBMagazine Coaching Hotshot- Power 5 win vs South Carolina

Education

• University of Nottingham

  Master’s Degree with Merit, Marketing

  2016 — 2017

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  Bachelor’s Degree, Exercise and Sport Science-Sport Administration

  2012 — 2015

Skills

• Microsoft Office
• Sports Coaching
• Public Relations
• Photoshop
• Adobe Photoshop
• Event Planning
• Time Management
• Fitness
• Public Speaking
• Multitasking
• Teamwork
• Microsoft Word
• Social Networking
• Powerpoint
• Microsoft Excel
• Marketing
• Sports
• Recreation Planning
• Social Media
• Sports Marketing
• Digital Photography
• Leadership
• Athletics
• Facebook