Grambling State University’s new head volleyball coach Chelsey Lucas has decided to cut the entire team.
CBS affiliate KSLA in Shreveport, La., reports Lucas notified the 19 players about the roster change on Monday. She has been the coach of the team since February.
GSU athletics communications director Brian Howard said athletic leaders knew Lucas would be making some changes to the roster, but not to what extent.
“It’s her decision to make, and she’s got some quality players coming on board. I think 13 or 14 are coming on board. So, I hate to say 'Out with the old, but in with the new' a little bit. Obviously we don’t want them to be cut or lose their scholarships or whatever that might be or whatever that might look like. At the end of the day, Coach Lucas has a goal, has a vision. We have a goal as an institution and a vision as well to win and that’s first and foremost.”
GSU athletic director Trayveon Scott issued the following statement: “Just as the transfer portal empowers student-athletes, our coaches are also empowered to make the decisions they deem necessary to advance their programs.”
According to Howard, athletic leaders wish the players whose scholarships were not renewed future success.
Maurisa Harris, a junior at GSU, said players were advised that their scholarships would not be renewed based on their performance at recent practices held this semester, and that many teammates are now scrambling to find another program to transfer to in the off-season.
Harris, a DS libero on the team for the past three years, said that on Monday every member of the team received a message from the coaching staff about individual meetings. At those meetings, each player was advised that their scholarships would not be renewed based on the performances of the players at the three practices held this semester.
“She said that we weren’t able to practice much, which we weren’t, and she said based off of that, she was not able to renew my scholarship, so I didn’t really get any time to show what I could do," Harris said, as reported by KSLA. "When I was in there and she told me, my heart completely broke. Of course and I didn’t cry in there, but I did when I left, and it just hurts really bad, the fact that it was snatched away so fast."
