JONESBORO, Ark. (4/8/16) – Arkansas State assistant coach Tristan Johnson has been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association's “Thirty Under 30” awards list the organization announced Friday.

This award was created in 2009 to honor up-and-coming coaching talent at all levels of the sport. To qualify for the award, nominees had to be 30 years old or younger in 2015. Johnson was one of 12 Division I coaches to receive the honor.

Johnson, who is just 23 years of age, will be going into his third season with the program in 2016 and second as a full-time assistant after spending 2014 as the team's graduate assistant coach. His primary responsibilities include coaching the team's back row and libero along with other aspects of implementing the team's game plan. He is the school's first recipient of the award since it was created.

“I am extremely honored to be a recipient of the Thirty Under 30 award from the AVCA,” Johnson said. “I would first like to thank (A-State) head coach David Rehr and (A-State assistant coach) Tori Mellinger, and our team here at Arkansas State. Their unwavering support and work ethic drives me to be a better person and coach on a daily basis.”

The 2015 season was a monumental success that saw A-State register a 28-2 record, a perfect 16-0 mark in SBC play, a conference tournament championship, and its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1999 and fifth overall in program history.

The team had an average of 16.29 digs per set to rank second in the conference while libero Markie Schaedig was 13th in the nation in digs per set with 5.42. The junior libero was also named the SBC Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year for the second straight season.

“Tristan has been a key part of our program and the success we've had the past couple of years,” Rehr said. “The fact that he's been able to accomplish so much in this sport at such a young age is an amazing thing and something you don't see very often at any level of any sport. The sky is the limit for him as a coach. He's a great person too and I get to see it every day at practice and off the court as well. We've got an amazing staff here at Arkansas State and we definitely wouldn't be where we are without him.”

In Johnson's first season the team went 21-10 and advanced to the SBC Tournament semifinals. He was responsible for a defense that averaged 18.29 digs per set to rank second in the country and also was key in helping Schaedig win the 2014 SBC Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year award. Additionally, Schaedig led the entire nation with a 6.68 digs per set average and set the school record for digs in a season with 762.

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