Jordan Neal Elevated to Second Volleyball Assistant
Entering his fourth season with Arkansas, Jordan Neal has been elevated in his role on the Arkansas volleyball staff as a second assistant.
“Jordan has been a part of our staff and an important part of our growth as a program. He’s shown remarkable leadership in key areas of our system development and a keen respect for our student-athletes,” head coach Jason Watson said. “I trust him to further develop both personally and professionally with this promotion. There’s considerable excitement surrounding our program right now, and Jordan is the right person to oversee our recruiting process. Excited for him and his family to continue to be a part of Razorback Volleyball.”
Jordan will serve as a full-time assistant for Arkansas in his new role, a promotion from his position as third assistant during the 2023 slate. He will primarily oversee recruiting efforts and Arkansas’ serve/pass strategy.
In Neal’s three seasons on staff, the Volley Hogs have risen to new heights in each and made history in 2023. Arkansas reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever, put together the team’s third consecutive 20-win season, and had its most wins in a season since 1999 with 28. The Hogs hosted postseason play for the first time since 2006 with the first and second tournament rounds at Barnhill Arena, saw their highest-ever ranking at No. 8, and achieved their best record in SEC play since 2003 at 15-3, just to name a few more achievements.
Since 2021, Neal has helped coach four players to seven All-SEC honors, five to eight All-Region honors, and to Arkansas’ first two outright All-American honors in 25 years with Jill Gillen and Taylor Head in 2023.
During his time with the Hogs, Neal has also been instrumental in developing Arkansas’ setters. His guidance helped develop junior Hannah Hogue into an All-SEC and All-Region honoree in her first season as the Razorbacks’ primary setter, and she was named SEC Setter of Week five times in 2023. Hannah finished the year with 11.13 assists per set, good for sixth in the nation and third among SEC setters, and currently sits in eighth on the Arkansas program assists list with 2,047.
Neal also coached veteran setter Gracie Ryan for two of her five seasons at Arkansas. Ryan received AVCA All-South Region honorable mention designation in 2021 after she started every match for the Hogs at setter and finished the season with 11.12 assists per set, third in the SEC and ninth in all-time program history. Ryan concluded her career at Arkansas with 3,470 assists, good for fourth-highest ever, and the combination of Ryan and Hogue registered 12.74 assists per set in 2022, second-best in the SEC.
Prior to Arkansas, Neal coached at Highland High School in Gilbert, Arizona and club at Club One Volleyball and East Valley Juniors. At the club level, his teams posted three top 50 national rankings and one top 25 finish.
While at Highland High School, Jordan won the school’s first Region Coach of the Year award. His teams also won the school’s first region championship, and twice finished ranked top 5 in Arizona. In that time, Highland produced 19 All-Region Selections and 6 All-State honors. More than half of the athletes who graduated the Highland program continued their career at the collegiate level or in the coaching field.
Neal graduated from Ouachita Baptist in 2013 with a dual degree in secondary education and mathematics and also taught math at Fayetteville High School while coaching the past three seasons. Jordan is married to Audrey and has a son, Carson, and a daughter, Lily.
More Information
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