GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida volleyball coach Ryan Theis announced the additions of Abby Gilleland and Ryan Walthall as Gator assistant coaches.
Both Gilleland and Walthall worked with Theis the last three seasons at Marquette.
During that time, the Golden Eagles advanced to the NCAA Tournament each season, reaching the 2023 second round and the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2022 and 2024. Marquette program records for overall victories (29) and conference wins (17) were set in 2022 and the Golden Eagles won 2022 and 2023 BIG EAST Conference regular-season titles. Golden Eagle Yadhira Anchante earned 2022 and 2024 AVCA All-America honorable mention accolades and also was the 2022 BIG EAST Conference Setter of the Year.
They Said:
“Abby’s passion towards the sport of volleyball, towards recruiting, towards the player experience really reminds me of Mary Wise to be honest. She has relentless passion towards the ability to win and how to do it.”
“I recruited her when she was sixteen and I coached her when she was eighteen-nineteen years old. I’ve known her ever since and it’s exciting to have her with me in Gainesville.”
“Ryan (refers to as Walt) is the ultimate volleyball guy. He is a great student of the game. He studies the best-effective learning strategies to make players better, and that’s his favorite part of the job.”
Ryan Theis, Florida Volleyball Head Coach
“I’m thrilled to be joining Gator Nation! This program has a storied history of success, and I am beyond excited to help build on that legacy and take it to even greater heights.”
“The passion and commitment here is truly incredible, and I’m eager to contribute to the continued growth and excellence.”
“I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to Ryan for trusting me to be a part of this incredible journey. We’ve got big things ahead and we’re fired up to get to work!”
Abby Gilleland, Florida Volleyball Assistant Coach
“I am honored and excited for the opportunity to join Ryan and his staff at Florida. I have worked for Ryan for 6 years across multiple institutions and cannot think of a better person and coach to lead the Florida Gator Volleyball program.”
“I am truly grateful and thankful for Ryan and Lindsey Thomas for their support. I cannot express enough how much I am appreciated of their efforts and unwavering commitment.”
Ryan Walthall, Florida Volleyball Assistant Coach
More on Abby Gilleland:
Prior to joining the Golden Eagles, Gilleland was an assistant at the University of Connecticut for three season.
Gilleland helped guide the Huskies to their first season with more than 20 wins since 2008 as the 2021 UConn team posted a 24-11 overall record with a 13-5 mark in BIG EAST Conference matches. The 13 BIG EAST victories were UConn’s most in program history, while its 24 total wins were its most since the 1995 campaign. The 2021 season included the program’s first win versus a ranked team, defeating then No. 19 Creighton in five sets. UConn advanced to the 2021 National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) semifinal.
Gilleland played a key role in guiding McKayla Wuensch to be named the program’s first BIG EAST Setter of the Year. Wuensch ranked second in the conference in assists per set (9.65) and upped her average to 10.20 in conference matches.
Prior to arriving at UConn prior to the start of the 2019 season, Gilleland served as an assistant coach the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2017 and 2018. Gilleland helped coach two Southern Conference All-Freshman selections, four SoCon Player of the Week selections, as well as a pair of All-SoCon Second Team honorees. Gilleland worked with the Mocs’ setters, overall offense, recruiting, in-match strategies, operations planning, and served as the academic liaison. During her time, the team posted a 3.5 GPA or higher all four semesters, nabbed 14 Academic All-SoCon selections in 2017-2018, with a student-athlete earning Google Cloud Academic All-District Team honors in 2018.
Prior to her time at UTC, Gilleland served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at The College of William & Mary. While there, her duties included organization of and follow through with the recruiting process, overall operations, as well as training setters. She coached a pair of student-athletes to the 2016 All-CAA Third Team and All-CAA Rookie Team.
Gilleland has also coached several camps in addition to two club teams over the years.
A 2016 graduate of Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in sports sciences, Gilleland was the setter and team captain for the Bobcats, who posted a 93-33 overall record and went 57-7 in the Mid-American Conference matches during her time. She still ranks third in Ohio’s record book for total assists (4,702), assists per set (10.45) and fifth in hitting percentage (.310). The 2013 Bobcats, coached by Ryan Theis, advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Ohio returned to the NCAA Tournament in Gilleland’s senior season in 2015.
A 2013 and 2014 AVCA All-America honorable mention selection, Gilleland was a two-time MAC Player of the Year (2013 and 2014) in addition to being selected MAC Setter of the Year the same seasons. The 2015 MAC Tournament MVP, Gilleland earned Academic All-MAC honors in her final three seasons. Gilleland was the MAC nominee for 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year and received the conference Medal of Excellence.
More on Ryan Walthall:
Prior to joining MU, Walthall was in his seventh season as an assistant coach with his alma mater, the Penn State men’s volleyball program, and previously was an assistant on the women’s side at Santa Barbara, Ohio University and North Florida.
Walthall’s expertise helped the Nittany Lions become one of the best serve-receive teams in the nation and ranked as high as No. 3 in the AVCA Coaches Poll earlier this spring. In the six years since his return to State College, Penn State accumulated an overall record of 110-62 (66-15 EIVA) under head coach Mark Pavlik, captured a pair of EIVA tournament championships in 2017 and 2021, and earned two trips to the NCAA Championship.
He returned to his alma mater in 2015 after coaching stops with the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club and as an assistant coach for University of California Santa Barbara. He served as the Gauchos’ offensive coordinator, helped with recruiting and handled video analysis for both scouting and player development. He also organized team travel.
Walthall arrived in Santa Barbara from Ohio University where he served as an assistant coach for the women’s volleyball team alongside Theis. With the Bobcats, he was the team’s defensive coordinator and provided scouting analysis on Ohio opponents. Walthall found early success in Ohio, as his defense led the conference in both opponent hitting percentage (.172) and blocks per set (2.75), while also tallying the fifth-most digs (16.24/set).
Walthall spent three seasons as an assistant at the University of North Florida prior to his tenure at Ohio. As the top assistant for the Ospreys, Walthall helped UNF to the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championships in back-to-back seasons. In 2011, he coached a defense that boasted the league leaders in blocking, digs and opponent attack percentage.
He started his coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach for two seasons with perennial power Nebraska. While a member of the Cornhuskers’ staff, he assisted with video scouting, film breakdown and team training during practices while also helping with day-to-day administrative office duties.
Walthall was a four-year letterwinner at Penn State under head coach Mark Pavlik. With the Nittany Lions, he was a part of four national semifinal squads, including the 2006 season when PSU advanced to the NCAA Championship final match.
During his senior campaign in 2007, he ranked 15th nationally and led Penn State with a 2.33 digs-per-set average. While he served as a defensive and serving specialist during his first two seasons at Penn State, Walthall made the move to libero as a junior and helped the Nittany Lions to a 21-8 record and a national runner-up finish.
Walthall earned his bachelor’s degree in recreation, park, and tourism management at Penn State in May 2009.
The native of Bremerton, Washington, attended Woodbridge High School where he was a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection and team MVP as a senior. At the club level, he competed for the LBC, helping the team to the 2003 Junior Olympic National Championship.
