Women's Volleyball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- dgwitt@iu.edu
- Phone:
- (812) 855-8261
Daniel Gwitt is in his fourth year as an assistant coach with Indiana volleyball and brings valuable experience as a coach and player. Gwitt is a former Division-I Women’s Head Volleyball Coach and former Men’s player at Penn State University.
In the 2021 season, the Hoosiers recorded 22 blocks against Iowa, their second most in program history in a Big Ten match. Freshman Leyla Blackwell had 13 blocks in the match to tie the Indiana program record for blocks in a five-set Big Ten match.
Gwitt helped recruit the Hoosiers 2020 freshmen class, which ranked No. 15 in the country, the highest ranked class in program history. It included the Hoosiers second highest ranked individual recruit in program history in No. 32 Tommi Stockham and two Under Armour All-Americans.
In the 2019 season, Gwitt helped the Hoosiers to an 11-2 record in non-conference action, including a win over No. 15 Kentucky in Lexington. The win over UK was the Hoosiers first win against Kentucky since 1996 and first non-conference win since 1998. Breana Edwards earned All-Big Ten Second Team Honors and was selected to the USA Collegiate National Team Gold Roster. Edwards brooke the Indiana record for kills in a match with 39 against Maryland.
Gwitt helped build momentum for Indiana volleyball as the program set an average attendance record of 1,809 fans per match, which ranked in the top-15 among all NCAA DI programs.
In Gwitt’s first year with the Hoosiers, the team went from 12-20 overall record and 1-19 in the Big Ten in 2017 to 16-15 overall and 7-13 in the Big Ten in 2018. The seven Big Ten wins were the most since the 2010 season. The team also recorded their first ranked win since the 2016 season, beating #14 Michigan and swept Ohio State.
With Gwitt primarily in charge of the defense, the Hoosiers went from 277th in total blocks in 2017 to 15th in 2018. The team also went from 273rd in blocks per set in 2017 to 36th in 2018. The Hoosiers recorded their most total blocks since the 2010 season. Bayli Lebo set the Hoosiers single season digs record with 525 in the 2018 season.
Prior to Indiana, Gwitt served as the Director of Operations and Master Coach for two of the largest and most successful clubs in Southern California. Gwitt has worked with thousands of young volleyball players throughout the United States and has helped place over 100 players in college. Over the years, Coach Gwitt has taken multiple teams to the Open Division for the Girls Junior National Championships. All of those teams have finished in the Division 1 SCVA Rankings and his most recent seventeens team finished as the top ranked team in the SCVA.
Prior to his time in the junior ranks, Gwitt was the Head Coach for The Centenary College Ladies Volleyball Team, a Division I member of the Summit League. Gwitt took over as the Interim Head Coach in 2007 and at the time Gwitt was regarded as the youngest Division I Head Coach in the Country. Dan spent three seasons as the Ladies Head Coach and by the age of 24 had coached over 70+ Division I matches. Upon the decision of the school to reclassify Divisions, Gwitt choose to head west. Throughout his time at Centenary, Gwitt was featured in Volleyball magazine including the 2008 article "Getting His Chance Instantly". Gwitt has also worked with some of the nation's top programs including Penn State, Texas and Nebraska.
A native of Eden, NY, Gwitt graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in 2007 with a degree in Communication Arts and Sciences. As a student-athlete on the Men's Varsity Volleyball team, Gwitt helped the Nittany Lions to the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Championship and advanced to the NCAA Final Four.
Gwitt resides in Ellettsville, Ind., with his wife Sydney.
