Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Southeast alumna accepts coaching job at Butler

Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Andrea Baylin celebrates with her teammates at Houck Fieldhouse during a competition during her career at Southeast. Baylin was mostly an outside hitter, but could play libero if needed. Submitted photo

Southeast Missouri State volleyball alumna Andrea Baylin has accepted an assistant coaching position at Butler on Aug. 10 after graduating from Southeast in 2015 with honors and an Ohio Valley Conference Academic Medal of Honor. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology with minors in coaching and social work. Baylin is beginning her second year of graduate school at Butler and plans to graduate in 2018 with a master's in school counseling and a license for mental health counseling.

Butler is part of the Big East Conference, one of the nation's top volleyball conferences. Baylin has worked summer volleyball camps with the Bulldogs for the past two years, and has created good relationships with their coaches, landing her the position.

"I honestly didn't even have this job on my radar," Baylin said. "I got really lucky with the opportunity and having connections with the school."

Baylin was a three-time team captain while playing for the Redhawks and recorded more than 1,000 digs in a Redhawk uniform.

Baylin insisted her success was due to her coaches putting so much effort into her.

"My coaches at Southeast cared so much about me as a young woman even more than just a machine of an athlete," Baylin said. "I've learned so much about truly caring about players because my coaches truly cared about me, and that made all the difference."

During her senior campaign, Baylin led the team with 314 kills while appearing in 113 of 116 total sets. She was second on the team with 19 aces and also recorded the second most digs on the team with 353.

The skills Baylin is transferring over to Butler are both mental and physical.

"A lot of people get so wrapped up in wins and losses, and players start to be misled on where their worth really lies," Baylin said. "I am at Butler to help these women with volleyball, of course, but I'm also really hoping to show them that their worth is far more than their volleyball skills or what their coach thinks of them. My coaches in college were great about that."

Southeast volleyball coach, Julie Yankus, is in her sixth season at Southeast and coached Baylin for four years. Through five seasons as the head coach of the Redhawks, Yankus has compiled an overall record of 63-68 and an OVC record of 39-29.

"When I got a phone call from Butler's head coach, Sharon Clark, I simply told her that Andrea is someone that the players will respect and respond to really well," Yankus said. "She has had a really great understanding of the game of volleyball even when she was a freshman at Southeast, and seeing her where she is now is no surprise to me."

Baylin has brought skills she learned while competing for Southeast to Butler, but has also learned many new abilities even though it has been just three weeks since she began.

"I've seen volleyball from the other side of it," Baylin said. "After all that my coaches have done for me, I'm really seeing how sacrificial they are with their time and lives to coach at the Division-I level."

Baylin's coaching career with Butler begins with the team's season-opener Sept. 26 against Gonzaga at the Utah Classic in Salt Lake City.

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