Samantha Nichols enters her first season as an assistant coach with the UT Southern volleyball program in 2026, bringing a decorated collegiate playing career and extensive coaching experience at the high school and club levels.
A native of Cypress, Texas, Nichols developed her game in a competitive homeschool league with the Texas Tornados, where she served as team captain and earned All-American honors in her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. She helped lead the program to a national championship in 2015. She also competed with Houston Juniors Volleyball Club throughout her high school career as a middle blocker.
Nichols continued her playing career at the University of Mobile, where she became one of the most accomplished middle hitters in program history. She set multiple school records, including single-season blocks, career solo blocks, and total career blocks, while reaching the milestones of 500 career blocks and 1,000 kills.
During her senior season in 2019, Nichols led the conference in hitting percentage and was named Player of the Year. Her collegiate honors also include Second-Team All-Conference recognition in 2016 and 2017, All-Freshman Team honors in 2016, and First-Team All-Conference selections in 2018 and 2019.
Nichols graduated from the University of Mobile in May 2020 with a degree in kinesiology and exercise science.
Following her playing career, Nichols gained coaching experience at the high school level as the junior varsity head coach and varsity assistant at Ocean Springs High School, along with serving as a varsity assistant coach at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School.
She has also built an extensive resume in club volleyball and enters her eighth year with Lower Alabama Volleyball (LAV). Nichols has coached a variety of teams within the program, including the 17 Local Black and 12 Regional Black teams in 2022, as well as the 17 Regional and 16 Local teams in 2024.
Nichols’ background as an elite middle blocker and her experience across multiple levels of coaching provide a strong foundation in player development as she begins her tenure with the Firehawks.
