After five seasons at Texas A&M, Bird Kuhn will not return as head coach

Texas A&M Director of Athletics Ross Bjork announced on Monday that head volleyball coach Laura “Bird” Kuhn will not return as the head coach of Texas A&M volleyball next season.

“The goal for all our teams at Texas A&M is to perform at a consistently high level and compete for conference and national titles,” Bjork said via release. “Given the recruiting base in Texas and support for volleyball, we believe that we can and should be better and that is what the 12th Man deserves. Coach Kuhn is a great person, and we appreciate her service to Texas A&M. We wish her well in her future endeavors. We will begin a national search for a new leader of our volleyball program as we continue toward our mission of creating opportunities through championship athletics.”

In a coaching career that has spanned fifteen years, Kuhn has spent the last five years as the head coach at Texas A&M. Since being hired in December of 2017, Kuhn was just 76-60 at Texas A&M.

Kuhn’s dismissal comes following a 13-16 2022 campaign in which the Aggies were unable to reach the postseason. The Aggies suffered through a pair of losing streaks of five and six games this year.

This fall, A&M finished 11th in the Southeastern Conference with a league record of 5-13, only beating Ole Miss, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina and Missouri in SEC play.

The Aggies were a sub-par 27-30 in Kuhn’s final two seasons in College Station following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kuhn led the Aggies to the postseason just once during her tenure, a 2019 run to the Sweet 16 with All-Americans Hollan Hans and Camille Conner leading the way on the court. That season, the Aggies finished 23-8 overall (13-5 in the SEC) and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament, beating St. Johns and #21 Rice before ultimately falling to #4 Wisconsin in straight sets. Whoever assumes the position will look to snap what has become a three-year postseason drought in Aggieland.

“I’m thankful for this opportunity,” Kuhn said in a release. “I’ve learned and grown so much in my time here. I love all the players that have come through and all the people that have impacted us as a staff. Texas A&M is a really special place, and I appreciate all the energy, resources and the people. Going forward, I know they are going to be great. This is a great place, and it’s going to be a great program.”

Since the 2019 campaign, the Aggies have not finished higher than seventh in the SEC. A&M was 9-9 in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 campaign, finishing seventh. In 2021, the Aggies were 7-11 in SEC play and finished ninth in the league. Since Laurie Corbelli’s departure, Kuhn’s Aggies never finished higher than third (2019) in the SEC.

Texas A&M hired Kuhn to be a first-time head coach following Corbelli’s resignation after the 2017 season. Prior to her time in Aggieland, Kuhn served as an assistant coach at Appalachian State, Miami and Kansas. She also spent two years as the associate head coach at Kansas, with the Jayhawks compiling a 79-14 record during Kuhn’s last three years in Lawrence.

Since Texas A&M’s move to the Southeastern Conference prior to the 2012 season, the Aggies have reached the postseason six times, with Corbelli being responsible for five of those trips.

The ensuing coaching search is expected to be national and will begin immediately.