Villanova Univeristy Athletics

(LAST UPDATED: 12/9/25)

Villanova head coach Josh Steinbach finished up his 19th season at the helm of the Villanova volleyball program in 2025. His career record of 306-251 (.549) stands alone as by far the most victories among head coaches in the history of the program.

The 2007 BIG EAST Coach of the Year and 2015 AVCA East Coach Region Coach of the Year has led the Wildcats to five conference quarterfinal and five semifinal appearances, one BIG EAST runner-up and an NCAA Tournament berth in addition to 12 winning seasons.

2025 saw Steinbach lead the Wildcats to one of the best seasons in program history, posting a 20-win campaign with a second straight BIG EAST semifinal appearance. The 'Cats earned a pair of AVCA All-Region and unanimous All-BIG EAST nods under Steinbach's oversight in addition to nine conference weekly awards.

Steinbach earned his 300th career victory on Oct. 17 of 2025, becoming the 74th active Division I head coach at that time to reach 300. In 2022, the VU head coach picked up career win 250 in a five-set victory over Georgetown on Nov. 10, following up number 200 which came in the 2018 season.

Steinbach was named the 2015 AVCA East Coach Region Coach of the Year after coaching the Wildcats to a 25-9 record, earning the program’s second-ever NCAA Tournament bid. Villanova’s 25 wins in a season were the most in a season since the 1993 team won 26. The 2015 squad went 14-4 in the BIG EAST and finished in second place on the season, its highest finish since 1997. 

The start of Steinbach's tenure at Villanova was an extremely successful one as he led his 2007 squad to a 17-12 record, a 9-5 mark in BIG EAST play and the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Championship. He was named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year for his efforts and the Wildcats had multiple players selected to the all-conference first team for the first time in 15 years.

While successful on the court, Steinbach’s teams have always performed well in the classroom, earning the AVCA Team Academic Award nearly every year since he has been a head coach. 

Most recently before coming to Villanova, Steinbach was the assistant coach at Wright State from 2005-07. His responsibilities there included serving as recruiting coordinator, overseeing the team's video breakdown of opponents and on-court coaching duties. Prior to his Wright State experience, Steinbach was an assistant at the University of Cincinnati from 2003-05. He also held assistant coaching positions at Penn State and San Diego Mesa Community College.
 
Steinbach played collegiate volleyball at both San Diego Mesa Community College and George Mason University. After earning his Associates Degree from San Diego Mesa Community College in 1999, he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Penn State University in 2002.
 
A native of State College, Pa., Steinbach has two sons, Bennett and Carson.