The Lauer File

Personal Information
Birthday	May 1
Hometown	York, Pa.
Education	Washington Universirty – St. Louis, 1999 (Bachelor)
Wife	Debra
Children	Eli and Jonah

Coaching History
2017-Pres.	Troy - Head Coach
2011-16	Georgia - Associate Head Coach
2008-10	Alabama - Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
2004-08	Mo.- St. Louis - Head Coach
2000-2008	St. Louis CYC Volleyball Club - Head Coach

Josh Lauer is in his ninth season as the Troy volleyball head coach and entered 2025 with a 120-113 record. Lauer is the sixth head coach in Troy University’s Division I volleyball history.

The 2024 season saw the Trojans finish with an overall record of 13-14, highlighted by an 8-3 mark inside Trojan Arena.

Senior Tori Hester concluded one of the greatest careers in Troy Volleyball history, finishing as the program’s all-time leader in kills with 1,767. She also set the single-season record for kills per set at 5.10.

Hester was named Sun Belt Player of the Year, becoming the first Trojan to receive the honor. She was also selected as the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year. Her spot on the All-Sun Belt First Team marked the seventh consecutive season that Lauer and the Trojans have had at least one All-Conference selection.

In 2023, the Trojans had its best conference season in program history as it had a record 12 wins in Sun Belt play to secure second place in the West Division. Troy started 10-0 against its conference opponents. Finishing the season at 15-13, it was Troy’s fifth consecutive season with a winning record, the first time that mark has been achieved in the program’s history.

In the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament, Troy defeated App State in a 3-0 sweep before falling in five sets to James Madison, the eventual conference tournament champions.

Tori Hester and Julia Brooks earned All-Sun Belt First Team honors, while Janelle Stuempfig was named All-Sun Belt Second Team. It was the sixth straight season that at least one Troy player has earned All-Conference nods.

Following the season, Brooks signed a professional deal with Esmoriz GC in Portugal.

The 2022 season saw the Trojans post an 18-13 record. In conference play, the Trojans went 11-5, which was good for third overall in the Sun Belt and at the time was a program record for conference wins in a season.

Amara Anderson and Hester were selected to the All-Sun Belt First Team and Brooks was tabbed to the All-Sun Belt Second Team.

The Trojans defeated Arkansas State 3-2 in the Sun Belt Tournament Quarterfinals before falling in five sets to JMU

Troy made it’s third consecutive appearance in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, as they hosted UT-Martin in the first round. It marked just the second time in program history hosting a postseason match.

In 2021 Troy knocked off three power five opponents for the first time in program history (Alabama, LSU, Virginia Tech).

The Trojans made their second postseason appearance under Lauer last season when Troy hosted and competed in the NIVC, defeating Middle Tennessee in the first round.

Lauer led the Trojans to a 23-10 record and one of the best seasons in program history in 2019. The Trojans earned their first-ever postseason berth – a trip to the NIVC – where they became the first Troy women’s team to win a postseason competition in the Division I era. Troy’s +12 win differential from 2018 to 2019 was the sixth-best turnaround in Division I that season.

Lauer’s efforts on and off the court turned Trojan arena into a formidable place to play volleyball with a 14-1 home record. At one point during the season Troy owned the seventh-longest home winning streak in the nation.

Under his leadership, two Trojans were tabbed all-conference performers in the same season for the first time since 2012.

Prior to the 2018 season, Troy signed the best recruiting class in school history by bringing in eight extremely talented freshman to the program. PrepVolleyball.com, the nation’s foremost volleyball news website, ranked the class in the “High Honorable Mention” category in its listing of the top Division I classes of 2018 – one of just three Sun Belt teams on the list.

In his first season at the helm, the Trojans reached the Sun Belt Conference Tournament where they knocked out rival South Alabama in a first-round upset.

Lauer joined the Troy staff after spending the past nine seasons as an associate head coach and assistant coach in the Southeastern Conference. Most recently, Lauer spent the past six years as the associate head coach at Georgia after a three-year stint at Alabama as an assistant coach and the Crimson Tide’s recruiting coordinator.

While at Georgia, Lauer’s primary in-game focus was the Bulldogs’ defense and they would go on to lead the SEC in blocks with 285 and blocks per set with 2.39 in 2014. Lauer also guided the team to an NCAA Tournament in 2013, the first for the Bulldogs since 2004. That year, Georgia also put together its first 20-win since 2002 and recorded the most wins in a season since 1994.

Individually, the program had five SEC Player of the Week and two All-SEC honors. Off the court, Georgia had 25 SEC Academic Honor Roll members, eight SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll selections, a CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree and four SEC Community Service Team picks during his tenure.

In his stint at Alabama, he helped the Crimson Tide land their first top-30 recruiting class and a trio of high school All-Americans in 2010.

Prior to his time in Tuscaloosa, Lauer spent four seasons as the head coach at Missouri-St. Louis. He took the Tritons from the bottom of the conference to consecutive berths in the Grand Lakes Valley Conference tournament in 2006 and 2007 before joining the Crimson Tide staff in 2008.

Lauer's squads collected numerous team and individual accolades including the American Volleyball Coaches Association Academic Award, the Great Lakes Valley Conference Sportsmanship Award, one ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Third Team honoree and several all-conference and academic all-conference selections.

Lauer's coaching career began at the club level where he spent eight years with the St. Louis CYC Volleyball Club. He had three top-five national finishes in the open division at the United States Junior Olympic Volleyball National Tournament and two additional top 20 finishes. More than 20 of Lauer's club team players were recruited and played at the NCAA Division I level.

A native of York, Pa., Lauer is a 1999 graduate of Washington University - St. Louis where he earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry with a minor in religious studies. He is married to the former Debra Reckase. They have two children, Eli and Jonah.

Year	School	Record	Conf. Record	Conf. Finish	Postseason
2024	Troy	13-14	8-8	4th (West)	SBC First Round
2023	Troy	15-13	12-4	2nd (West)	SBC Semifinals
2022	Troy	18-13	11-5	3rd (West)	SBC Semifinals/NIVC First Round
2021	Troy	18-13	9-7	4th (East)	SBC Quarterfinals/NIVC Second Round
2020	Troy	11-9	10-6	2nd (East)	SBC Semifinals
2019	Troy	23-10	10-6	3rd (East)	SBC Semifinals/NIVC Second Round
2018	Troy	11-19	5-11	4th (East)	SBC First Round
2017	Troy	11-22	4-12	5th (East)	SBC Quartefinals
Troy Totals		120-113 (.515)	69-59 (.539)
2007	Mo.-St. Louis	14-19	10-9	3rd (West)	GLVC First Round
2006	Mo.-St. Louis	11-18	8-8	7th	GLVC First Round
2005	Mo.-St. Louis	6-22	6-10
2004	Mo.-St. Louis	9-17	4-12
Mo.-St. Louis Totals		40-76 (.345)	28-39 (.418)
Career Totals		160-189 (.458)	97-98 (.497)