Pittsburg State Sports Information
PITTSBURG — Pittsburg State University Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Jim Johnson announced today (Mar. 13) that Megan Besecker has been hired as the Gorillas head volleyball coach.
Besecker becomes the 12th head coach in program history. She succeeds Jen Gomez who resigned from the position earlier this week to become the Athletics & Activities Director at Pittsburg High School. Gomez had served as Pitt State’s head coach for nine seasons, from 2016-2024.
“I am extremely excited and honored for the opportunity to join the Pitt State family,” Besecker said. “A big thank you to Jim Johnson and (Deputy Athletic Director) Natalie Cullen for trusting me to be the next leader for Pitt State Volleyball. I look forward to working with this team and the community of Pittsburg!”
Besecker comes to Pittsburg State after serving the past two seasons as head coach at Barton Community College in Great Bend, where she guided the Cougars to back-to-back Kansas Jayhawk Conference titles and a fourth-place finish at the 2024 NJCAA National Tournament.
Overall, Besecker compiled a 58-10 (.853) record at Barton, including a 33-4 mark this past fall. She was selected the KJCCC and the AVCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year, while also garnering the AVCA’s 30 Under 30 Award recognition in 2024. During her two-year tenure at Barton, Besecker coached one All-American, two KJCCC Player of the Year honorees, a KJCCC Freshman of the Year and seven first-team All-Conference honorees.
Prior to Barton, Besecker served as an assistant coach at Florida SouthWestern College for one season, helping head coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen lead the Bucs to a 27-1 record and the NJCAA Division I National Championship in 2022. Florida SouthWestern captured Suncoast Conference and FCSAA State Championships along the way. She helped coach the 2022 NJCAA and AVCA National Player of the Year in Barbara Koehler.
Besecker also served as an assistant coach at MIAA rival Emporia State University in 2021 after spending the 2019 and 2020 seasons as head coach in her hometown at Liberal (Kan.) High School.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for Pittsburg State University to embrace and welcome one of the rising stars in the intercollegiate volleyball coaching ranks into the Gorillas family,” Johnson said. “Megan Besecker is a dynamic young coach who has succeeded at a high level as a player, assistant coach and head coach at multiple levels. Her vision for the immediate future and long range future of the Pitt State volleyball program strongly aligns with our vision, so we certainly are excited.”
Besecker earned an associate’s in science degree from Garden City Community College in 2017 and a bachelor’s of science degree in sociology from Tougaloo College in 2019.