The 2025 season marks Tommy Gott’s sixth year as head coach of the Chico State volleyball team. A former Wildcats assistant and Chico native, Gott took over the program in 2020 following the passing of his close friend and mentor, Cody Hein. Since then, Gott has dedicated himself to honoring Hein’s legacy while building a new foundation for the program.
“I look forward to being someone who carries on a legacy, while also ushering in a new one,” Gott said when his appointment was announced in March 2020.
Since taking over in 2020, Gott has focused on rebuilding the Wildcats program while guiding it through a challenging transition period marked by a global pandemic and roster turnover. Entering his sixth season, he has steadily laid the groundwork for long-term success, with 2024 marking the team’s most competitive campaign in years. Gott’s tenure includes a 9-win season in both 2021 and 2024, and his teams continue to make academic achievement a cornerstone of the program’s identity. Over his eight-year career as a Division II head coach, he has amassed 50 wins and built a reputation for developing resilient, team-first student-athletes.
In 2024, he guided the Wildcats to a 9–16 overall record—matching the team’s best win total since 2021—and a 6–12 mark in CCAA play, the most conference wins in his tenure. Chico State’s ninth-place finish in the CCAA was also its highest since 2021.
The 2024 season included a number of bright spots: the team went 5–4 at home, marking the first time since 2017 the ’Cats finished above .500 on their home court. The Wildcats also snapped losing streaks against several longtime rivals, earning their first wins over Cal State San Marcos, Sonoma State, and Stanislaus State since 2017 or 2019. Two players—setter Claire Nordeen and outside hitter Kassandra Nall—earned All-CCAA Honorable Mention honors, and the team won three of its five five-set matches.
Beyond the court, Gott has maintained his commitment to academic excellence, extending Chico State’s streak of American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Awards to five consecutive seasons.
Gott’s head coaching career began in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed Chico State’s return to competition until the fall of 2021. That season, the Wildcats posted a 9–17 record. In 2023, he coached the team solo before bringing on assistant Chris Webb ahead of the 2024 campaign.
Before taking the reins at Chico State, Gott served three seasons as head coach at Western Oregon University, where he led the Wolves to 23 wins in the competitive GNAC. He was also a key part of the Wildcats’ coaching staff from 2009 to 2015, helping the program compile a 121–82 record and reach the postseason in 2015.
As a player, Gott starred as a middle blocker at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, helping the Rustlers to a runner-up finish at the 2009 California Community College Men’s Volleyball Championship.
Gott earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Chico State in 2012, a physical education teaching credential in 2013, and a master’s degree in intercollegiate athletic leadership from the University of Washington in 2014.
He lives in Chico with his wife, Carly, their daughters Andi and Teddi.
