FORT MYERS, Fla. – After a national search, FSW Director of Athletics George Sanders announced that Thais Baziquetto-Allen has been selected to lead the Florida SouthWestern volleyball program, which is set to start competition in the fall of 2019. Baziquetto-Allen comes to FSW after spending the last three seasons as the head coach at Seward County CC in Liberal, Kan.
In her three years as the head coach with the Lady Saints, Baziquetto-Allen amassed an overall record of 86-28 (.754), while going 43-5 (.896) in Jayhawk West play.
“We are very excited to add Thais to the FSW Buccaneer athletics family,” said Sanders. “She was an outstanding player in the FCSAA and is a proven coach in the NJCAA. We feel that FSW can provide her with the tools and assets to build a successful program from the start.”
“I want to thank Director of Athletics George Sanders, Provost and VP of Academic Affairs Dr. Jeff Stewart and the search committee for putting their trust in me to lead the FSW Volleyball program,” said Baziquetto-Allen. “In short time, FSW Athletics has become a powerhouse at the NJCAA level and I look forward to continuing that with our Volleyball program. I am excited to get to campus and get going in recruiting our first Volleyball Bucs and meet the wonderful community of Fort Myers!”
Baziquetto-Allen was one of just three NJCAA coaches to receive an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 Award in 2017. She was joined by Iowa Western's Alicia Williams and Arizona Western's Lorayne Chandler, and she is one of just eight NJCAA coaches all-time to get the award. The AVCA’s Thirty Under 30 Award was created in 2009 to honor up-and-coming coaching talent at all levels of the sport. To qualify for the award, nominees had to be 30 years old or younger in 2016.
Last season, Baziquetto-Allen led the Lady Saints to a 33-2 record and an unblemished 16-0 mark in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) play, winning their first back-to-back Jayhawk West titles since 1999-2000. The Lady Saints tied the program record for highest ranking, reaching No. 3 in the NJCAA National Polls. Seward placed a program record six players on the Jayhawk West All-Conference team, with Baziquetto-Allen winning Coach of the Year and setter Giovanna Kuntze winning Most Valuable player. Kuntze was also named 1st Team NJCAA All-American, marking back-to-back years that Baziquetto-Allen had coached All-Americans.
Baziquetto-Allen led the Lady Saints to a historic season in 2016 as Seward captured their first Jayhawk West Conference Championship since 2009 with a 14-2 record, as well as leading the Lady Saints to their first Region VI Championship since 2003. In their first NJCAA National Tournament berth since the 2003 season, the Lady Saints finished in 11th place. Baziquetto-Allen led five Lady Saints to All-Conference selections and the first All-American for Seward County since 2008.
In her first year at Seward CC (2015), Baziquetto-Allen led the Lady Saints to one of their most productive years in recent memory, leading them to their most conference wins since the 1998 season and to their first Region VI Tournament Championship game appearance in five seasons. Seward finished 26-15 in 2015, going 13-3 in Jayhawk West Conference play. Baziquetto-Allen guided three All-Conference players in her first season and all three Lady Saint sophomores signed four year scholarships at the end of the season.
As an assistant with the Lady Saints in 2014, Baziquetto-Allen coached three All-Conference players for Seward and helped the Lady Saints to a third place finish in the Jayhawk West standings with a 23-19 overall record.
Prior to getting to Seward CC, Baziquetto-Allen served as the head coach at Liberal High School. She was 97-57 in four seasons as the leader of the Lady Redskins. In 2013, Baziquetto-Allen guided Liberal to a 23-18 record and a second place finish in the Western Athletic Conference. In 2012, Baziquetto-Allen led Liberal to a 28-14 season and just one win short of a WAC Championship. For her efforts in 2012, Baziquetto-Allen was named the WAC Coach of the Year.
Prior to her four year stint at Liberal, Baziquetto-Allen was an Assistant Coach at Lamar Community College in Colorado. In her only season with the 'Lopes, Baziquetto-Allen helped Lamar to a 26-win season, which included her recruitment of three All-Conference players.
As a player, Baziquetto-Allen starred at Western New Mexico University and St. Petersburg College. At Western New Mexico she was named to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-Academic Team as a senior and graduated with honors from WNMU. As a student-athlete at St. Pete she helped the Titans to a 26-9 record during her sophomore season and was on the President's Honor Roll.
A native of Guarulhos, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Baziquetto-Allen brings a strong international background to FSW. Before coming to the United States as a collegiate student-athlete, Baziquetto-Allen played at the highest club level of amateur volleyball in Brazil and still remains with a number of strong connections in the Sao Paulo area.
The Baziquetto-Allen File:
- Seward County C.C. (Head Coach): 2015-2018
- Seward County C.C. (Assistant Coach): 2014-2015
- Liberal High School (Head Coach): 2010-2014
- Lamar C.C. (Assistant Coach): 2009-2010
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FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN
The Florida SouthWestern State College athletic program is a member of the Florida College System Athletic Association (FCSAA) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The Buccaneers are one of 25 schools in the NJCAA Region 8 and are one of six schools in the Suncoast Conference. Florida SouthWestern State College currently supports four intercollegiate athletic programs (Baseball, Softball, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball), with Volleyball coming in the fall of 2017.
Baseball and Softball began their regular season competition in 2016 at the City of Palms Park in Fort Myers. Located on the Thomas Edison (Lee) Campus in Fort Myers will be the brand new Suncoast Credit Union Arena (completed in fall 2016), where FSW’s men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams will compete.
THE NJCAA
The movement to form a unique sports association dedicated to America’s two-year colleges arose in 1937 when several track and field coaches gathered in Fresno, California. A year later, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rejected a petition from 13 two-year colleges in California to grant their teams and athletes permission to compete at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.
In the spring of 1938, following the NCAA’s rejection, those same 13 two-year colleges gathered again in Fresno to organize and form an association that would promote and supervise a national athletics program exclusively for junior and community colleges…and the rest is history.
On May 14, 1938, the first constitution of the National Junior College Athletic Association was accepted by its charter members and the organization held its first national championship event a year later in May 1939.
The NJCAA has played a vital role in collegiate athletics for the past eight decades and continues to be the leader in championing academic and athletic opportunities for student-athletes. This section of the association's website is dedicated to celebrating the NJCAA's rich history and tradition as the national governing body of two-year college athletics.
For more information on the NJCAA log on to www.NJCAA.org.
THE FCSAA
The Florida College System Activities Association, Incorporated (FCSAA) is a statewide non‑profit corporation regulating, coordinating, and promoting intercollegiate activities in: Athletics, Brain Bowl, Forensics, Music, Student Government, Student Publications, and Theatre.
Membership in the Florida College System Activities Association is open to any of the 28 colleges in the Florida College System. Each member institution is represented in the policy‑making deliberations of the Association through that institution's President or other designated representative. The institutional representatives constitute the FCSAA Presidents Assembly, the ultimate authority in FCSAA.
For more information on the FCSAA log on to www.TheFCSAA.com.
NJCAA REGION 8, THE SUNCOAST CONFERENCE & THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
Member colleges of the NJCAA are allotted to a specific NJCAA Region upon membership to the association. Unlike other collegiate organizations that defer to conference affiliation, the NJCAA guarantees each member college's membership within the regional structure of the association. In most cases, region assignment is based upon geographic location of the college.
The region structure of the NJCAA is the primary method used by all sponsored sports of the association in determining qualification for national championship tournaments. In certain sports, two or more regions are partnered to form a competition 'district', which is then used for national championship qualification. The organization of districts varies per sport and is formulated every two years under the authority of the association's board of directors.
FSW is in Region 8 and is joined by ASA College Miami (Region 8 only; non-FCSAA member), Broward College, Chipola College, College of Central Florida, Daytona State College, Eastern Florida State College, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Gulf Coast State College, Hillsborough Community College, Indian River State College, Lake-Sumter State College, Miami Dade College, Northwest Florida State College, Palm Beach State College, Pasco-Hernando State College, Pensacola State College, Polk State College, Santa Fe College, Seminole State College of Florida, South Florida State College, St. Johns River State College, St. Petersburg College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota and Tallahassee Community College.
The Bucs are also in the Suncoast Conference with Hillsborough Community College, Polk State College, South Florida State College, St. Petersburg College and State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota.
The women’s basketball program is Southern Conference with Broward College, Eastern Florida State College, Indian River State College, Miami Dade College and Palm Beach State College.
For more information on Region 8 log on to www.TheFCSAASports.com.