Skinner Reaches Another Milestone with 500th Win
Kentucky volleyball head coach Craig Skinner reached another milestone in his storied career on Saturday night. With a win over South Florida, Skinner earned his 500th career victory.
Already the winningest coach in Kentucky history, Skinner was honored following Saturday’s win. A tribute video, featuring several former players, former opposing coaches, Skinner’s family and other dignitaries, was played on the video board inside Historic Memorial Coliseum. Skinner was touched by the recognition.
“It’s awfully emotional to see some of those tributes from family, my immediate family,” Skinner said. “They’ve come a long way and been with me every step of the way.”
Skinner also talked about the former players who were in the video, a group that included Madison Lilley, Avery Skinner, Leah Edmond, Kaz Brown and Azhani Tealer.
“When you have players, the caliber of people that you saw (in the video) are obviously tremendous athletes,” Skinner said. “But the quality of people that I’ve gotten the luxury of coaching over the years has been nothing short of incredible.”
After the win, Lizzie Carr spoke about Skinner.
“It’s very clear why he has been as successful as he is,” Carr said. “He’s a great figure and he cares about us so much as people, then volleyball comes after that. And that’s not found everywhere in college sports.”
Sophomore Trinity Ward added to Carr’s statement, talking about Skinner’s consistency.
“Craig shows up every day, same person, no matter what is going on in his life,” Ward said. “I feel like that’s a testament to him.”
While 500 wins is significant, that’s not the entire story. It’s how Skinner has reshaped the Kentucky volleyball program over his 22-year run.
Before Skinner’s arrival in Lexington, Kentucky had only appeared in six NCAA Tournaments. UK had won just one Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament titles (both in 1988). The Cats had finished the season in the national rankings just five times prior to Skinner’s arrival at UK.
Skinner has taken UK to the NCAA Tournament every season since his arrival in Lexington. That’s 21 trips to the postseason. The Cats have won nine consecutive SEC regular season championships and won the SEC Tournament last season, which was revived after a 20-year absence. Skinner’s Cats have finished the season ranked in the national polls 13 times, including the last 10 years.
Most importantly, Skinner won the school’s first national championship, and the first in history by an SEC program, in 2020. Skinner took the Cats back to the Final Four last season and finished as national runner-up.
Prior to Skinner taking the UK job, only six Cats had ever been named All-American. Skinner’s players have earned 55 All-American nods, including eight first-team All-Americans.
For his efforts, Skinner has been named SEC Coach of the Year seven times, including last season, and was the national coach of the year in 2020-21.
Skinner has also become a strong advocate promoting the game of volleyball and women’s sports in general. Being at Kentucky for now his 22nd season never entered his mind in 2004, when he was hired.
“No, not even close,” Skinner said. “Megan and I left Nebraska to come here and it was, well, here we go. They’re at the bottom, let’s see what we can do. And, in three to five years, let’s see if we can get out of there.”
Thankfully for the Kentucky volleyball program, Skinner didn’t leave. And now in his 22nd season, he has eclipsed another milestone in his outstanding career.
