AUSTIN – St. Edward's University Head Volleyball Coach Stefanie Holler has announced the return of Jared Te'o as assistant coach Thursday.
"I am overjoyed to be welcoming back Te'o to the Hilltop," said Holler. "There is no question the impact he has made on our athletes and the St. Edward's community in his previous stretch with us. Jared brings years of experience across multiple different levels, elite recruiting connections across the US, and is able to connect with people and build relationships, which is a staple of our program. I cannot wait to have him in our gym (full time!) and to continue our tradition of success within the program."
Te'o has previously spent time on the Hilltop as the Assistant Coach in 2018-2019. He continued on as the volunteer assistant coach from 2019-2020. At SEU, Te'o was primarily in charge of blocking, defense, and opponent scouting. In 2018, SEU led the Heartland Conference in blocks per set, digs per set and opponent hitting percentage. In 2018 SEU also made the conference finals for the first time in four years. In the fall of 2019, SEU transitioned to the Lone Star Conference and won their divisional title and made the conference tournament for a second year in a row. In the two years while Te'o was at SEU (2018-2019), the Hilltoppers had back-to-back 18+ win seasons which was the first time since 2011-2012.
"I'm thrilled to be returning to a volleyball program and university I respect so much," said Te'o. "I want to thank Stefanie Holler and St Edward's administration for this opportunity and look forward to working with the incredible women of SEU. I am excited to get to work. Go Hilltoppers!"
Since leaving St. Edward's, Te'o went on to be the Head Volleyball Coach at San Marcos High School (2020-2022). The program was elevated to new heights under Te'o, as he led the Rattlers to break multiple records in his two seasons there. In 2020, SMHS made it to the Texas State 6A playoffs and won their 1st round contest, which was the 1st 6A playoff win in school history and 1st playoff win in any division since 2001. In 2021 he helped build on that success and took the team to playoffs again, finishing the season with a school record 34 wins. In 2021 Te'o was chosen as the District 26-6A Head Volleyball Coach of the year.
In the Junior Volleyball club scene, Te'o has worked with some of the largest clubs in Texas across major recruiting networks in Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. He was most recently with San Antonio Juniors (2021-2022), Austin Juniors (2017-2021) and TAV in DFW from (2013-2017). At AJ, he has coached 16s-18s on both the girls and boys side helping qualify multiple teams for USAV Junior National Championships. While at AJV he has also led middle blocker training club wide and worked extensively with middle blockers and right-side attackers of all age groups. Prior to AJV, Te'o assisted two National Championship teams at TAV in 2017 (17 Open) and 2016 (13 Open). While assisting at TAV in 2017, he helped lead his team to a 102-3 record and an Open National Championship while placing two middle blockers on the 17 Open All Tournament Team.
Te'o graduated from UT Arlington with a bachelor's degree in Sociology with an emphasis in diverse populations. He currently resides in South Austin with his dog Aristotle (Ari).
