Sean Cleary

The 2023 season will be Coach Cleary's first season at the helm for Franciscan.

In his first season as Franciscan Head Coach, he led the Barons to their first winning season in program history. Grace Wallace was named Second Team All-PAC, and Rani Hebert earned PAC Honorable Mention recognition. The Barons' 11.20 kills per set was the best in a season in program history while team blocking was improved significantly as well.

In July of 2023, the Franciscan Athletic Department is proud to announce that Sean Cleary has been named Head Women's Volleyball Coach. He will become the third Head Coach in program history, as the 2023 season will be their 16th season of NCAA Division III competition. 

"We are very excited to have Coach Cleary lead our program at Franciscan," said Assistant Athletic Director Alexis Basil. "He has a long history of success at nearly every level of play, and I know he can continue to elevate our program in years to come." 
 
My excitement about the position and opportunity to have the honor of being the Head Women's Volleyball Coach at Franciscan University, comes from my history of coaching and knowing the story behind not only Franciscan and its family-oriented culture, but the entire PAC conference and all of the incredible institutions involved and the respect that I have for so many of the programs and the coaches within the conference. I have had the pleasure and privilege to be a fan and supporter of this conference and so many of its great programs, while being able to see some of my very own athletes move onto very successful academic and athletic careers within the PAC.

Cleary comes with over 30+ years of coaching a playing experience mostly throughout western Pennsylvania. Most recently he served as Head Women's Volleyball Coach at Penn State Beaver for the last three seasons. Last season, he led the Lions to a 10-win season in the United State Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). He has also coached at the high school, middle school, and club levels. He is currently the Director and Head Coach for Pittsburgh Juniors Volleyball Academy.

"I feel blessed to become associated with such an amazing university, volleyball family, and athletic department," said Cleary. "It is a dream come true and I am excited to enter this chapter of the Franciscan Barons Volleyball story with so many wonderful young student-athletes. The future is bright and I am honored to be a part of this family."
 

Year by Year Results at Franciscan

Year Record Pct. PAC PAC Tournament
2023 13-12 .520 4-6 / 7th
Total 13-12 .520 4-6





Updated 11/21/23