Head coach Jim Barnes is in his first year at the helm of the Iowa volleyball team, and he’s trying to get the Hawkeyes back on the national radar.

Iowa has not had a winning conference record in over two decades, while the Hawkeyes’ most recent overall winning season came in 2015.

“Our goal this year was just to be a real team that played hard and had each other’s back,” Barnes said. “This team really does play hard for one another, and you’re seeing us have a chance to win on game day because of that.”

Barnes’s love for volleyball began when he was young and was inspired by his father. His father would set up volleyball tournaments, which gave him a chance to play and branch out to meet other players.

“[My father] loved the game, and ever since we were really young, we played all the time,” Barnes said. “To this day, the most competitive person I’ve ever known is still my dad.”

Timeline by Ryan Hansen/The Daily Iowan

Barnes began his coaching career at his alma mater, McNeese State, where he spent six years as an assistant coach from 1990-96.

Barnes then moved to Texas, where he acted as the head coach at Lamar University from 1996-2001. He posted a 128-71 overall record and earned Southland Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1997 and 2001.

After his time at Lamar, Barnes spent two seasons with Wyoming. Barnes led the Cowgirls to a 20-11 record in his first year, marking Wyoming’s first 20-win season in 11 years.

Barnes spent the next 11 seasons as the head coach at Baylor from 2004-14. During his tenure with the Bears, Barnes produced the first five All-Americans and recruited the first NCAA Player of the Year in program history.

He led Baylor to two NCAA tournament appearances and became the program’s all-time win leader with 181 victories.

“As I started coaching more and more, I realized it can have a much bigger impact,” Barnes said. “I get players at a really amazing point in their lives where they’re really motivated and driven. And I get to help them see things a little clearer, get discipline in their lives, and know how to treat each other the right way.

“ … It isn’t just about the game anymore. It’s about being the best people we can be, and then in return, you get to see consistency in the game.”

Barnes was hired by Tulane in December 2015 and coached the Green Wave for the next six seasons, from 2016-21.

In his first year, Tulane was the most improved team in the NCAA, starting the season with a Rating Percentage Index of 247 and finishing at 90. Tulane’s 18 wins in 2016 were more than the previous two seasons combined.

In 2018, the Green Wave went on an 11-match winning streak in conference play, earning them a spot in postseason competition for the first time since 2009.

While at Tulane, Barnes worked with associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Brian Yale. Yale’s recruiting classes from 2018-20 received honorable mention status, according to PrepVolleyball.com.

So, when Barnes was hired at Iowa, he asked Yale to come along.

Yale, who said Barnes gives him a lot of freedom in recruiting, accepted Barnes’s offer.

“I was in the know throughout the entire process,” Yale said. “He kept telling me, ‘I know you have to look through the process at Tulane if I take this job, but I really want you to come with me.’ So, that respect in terms of what I can do, and what I can bring to the program, and how we can kind of play off each other was something he emphasized he wanted to bring here … It was going to be a task to get this going and build a culture.”

Not only did Yale follow Barnes from Tulane, but sophomore outside hitter Michelle Urquhart and junior middle hitter Anna Davis also made the transition.

Urquhart and Davis were well aware of the ongoing struggles within the Iowa program, but playing for Barnes and Yale — who they know have their backs on and off the court — was enough for them to become Hawkeyes.

“I’m really close with [Barnes and Yale],” Urquhart said. “I trust them wholeheartedly and I think the decisions they make on and off the court are the best for the team, and they’re always putting us first.”

Currently, the Hawkeyes sit at 1-9 in Big Ten play and 7-14 overall.

The record may not be indicative of the camaraderie and family atmosphere that Barnes is building, but his commitment and leadership is setting up the Hawkeyes for future success.

“I think you’re just seeing the beginning of what great teamwork can do and where this program is gonna take off,” Barnes said.