2022 Florida Spring Bash​College showcase
Showcase Details
Athletes
Date: March 11, 2022
Times: 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
The Greater Broward Fort Lauderdale Convention Center
1950 Eisenhower Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
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Cost
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Free to all athletes playing in the 2022 Florida Spring Bash Showcase. Name must be on a team roster by the roster deadline for the event.
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Registration
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Space is limited ​(Max: 120 athletes)
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Graduating Classes: 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
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Current Attending
Schools & Coaches
Travis Nichols
Lynn University (FL)
NCAA DII (Sunshine State Conference)
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After serving last season as a volunteer assistant, Travis Nichols was announced as the program's new full-time assistant coach in July 2019. Nichols will be heavily involved in recruiting, scouting, game plan analysis and on-court coaching.
Nichols joined the Fighting Knights' sidelines in the 2018 season as a volunteer assistant, helping the program improve to a 17-win season following a nine-win campaign in 2017. He specialized in developing detailed scouting reports while assisting in all aspects of practice preparation and execution.
A 2015 graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University, Nichols was a four-year starter on FGCU's men's volleyball club team while serving as the President and Vice President during his tenure. He garnered three all-conference selections and was the team captain during the 2013-14 season.
During his time at FGCU, Nichols also served as a student assistant coach for the Eagles' NCAA Division I women's volleyball squad. He assisted a veteran coaching staff that claimed a regular season conference championship and had an 87-64 record during his tenure. Nichols developed scouting reports and game plans for the program while assisting in practice planning and execution.
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Whitney Battoe
St. Thomas University (FL)
NAIA (Sun Conference)
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Coach Whitney Battoe is in her second season as the Head Indoor and Beach Volleyball Coach for the Bobcats.
Battoe is one of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of Bobcat Athletics. In her STU Volleyball career, Battoe earned NAIA All-American honorable mention honors in 2015 and 2016, was named as a Third-Team All-American in 2017, is a two-time Sun Conference Player of the Year (2015, 2017), earned First-Team Sun Conference honors in three consecutive seasons (2015-17) and named to the Second-Team Sun Conference (2014). Battoe is also the St. Thomas University all-time leader in career kills (1,371).
In her senior season, Battoe led the Bobcats to the program's first regular-season Sun Conference championship since 2014, while establishing career-highs in kills (423) and was named the Sun Conference Offensive Player of the Week, twice. For her career, Battoe accumulated 90-wins, highlighted by a 25-win season in 2016, in which the Bobcats started 10-0 and earned a five-set win over No. 2 Missouri Baptist University.
In her first season at the helm of the Bobcats, Battoe guided the Bobcats to a 10-7 record and the program's first Sun Conference Tournament victory since 2017. STU placed four players on the Sun Conference First-Team (Kyleigh Beecham, Tyran Chenault, Arianna Bolinger, and Victoria Fernandez).
Year two was a great one for Battoe making a statement and reclaiming the title as Sun Conference Regular Season Champions for the first time since 2017. Battoe was also named Sun Conference Coach of the Year. St. Thomas' freshmen libero, Bianca Grassi made history being named the SUN Defender of the Week a record seven times and earning Libero of the Year recognition. The Bobcats had four All-Conference members with three on first team (Tyran Chenault, Bianca Grassi, and Amanda Allende) with one on second-team (Kyleigh Beecham).
2021 marked Battoe's first 20-win season as a coach going 21-7 on the season and 12-2 in conference play.
Battoe, a Naperville, IL.-native, is a double-graduate from St. Thomas University, completing her B.A. in Psychology ('18) and her M.B.A. in Sports Administration ('20). In addition to her role as the Head Volleyball Coach, Battoe currently is the Assistant Director of Admissions.
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Alexis Emanuel
Lane College (TN)
NCAA DII (SIAC)
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Emanuel comes to Lane after serving as the assistant coach at Fisk University the past four seasons. Prior to her position with the Bulldogs, Emanuel coached four years of club volleyball while starring for the university's program.
A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Emanuel was a six rotation outside hitter for the Bulldogs, but also was able to play every position on the court. During her collegiate career, she earned multiple all-tournament and all-conference awards.
German Del Valle
Polk State College (FL)
NJCAA (FCSAA)
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German Del Valle is in his seventh year as head coach of the Polk State College volleyball program.
Although the 2014-15 Eagles ended the regular season with a record of 15-21, they finished second in the Suncoast Conference. That earned them a berth in the FCSAA state tournament, where they won the District P Championship. With that win, they advanced to the NJCAA Division 1 Volleyball National Championship for the first time in Polk State history. The Eagles entered the 16-team tournament seeded 12th and finished at number 10. In his first year as head coach, in the 2012-2013 season, Del Valle's Eagles placed third in the Suncoast Conference with a 22-12 record. The team advanced to the state tournament for the second year in a row, and the Eagles finished fifth in the state.
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He served as an assistant coach in the 2011-2012 season, in which the Eagles won their first Suncoast Conference championship and reached the state tournament for the first time in their history. They finished third in the state. Under Del Valle in the 2012-2013 season, Eagles Stephanie Harris and Rachel Aguilar were All Suncoast Conference First Team selections. Grace Vega, Rosmerli Carillo, Ileanushka Maldanado and Lakelia Cooper were Suncoast Conference Second Team selections.
In the 2011-2012 season, DiannMarie Rivera-Romero and Aguilar were named to the Suncoast Conference First Team. Under Del Valle, Rachel Aguilar has signed with Oklahoma Baptist University and Ilea Maldonado has signed with Tennessee State University.
Valerie Armstrong
Auburn University at Montgomery (AL)
NCAA DII (Gulf South Conference)
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Armstrong comes to AUM after a four-year stint as the head volleyball coach at Midwestern State University, an NCAA DII program in Wichita Falls, Texas. She led the Mustangs to two Lone Star Conference tournaments and added six all-LSC honorees.
Prior to Midwestern State, Armstrong completed a four-year tenure at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. While with the Bearcats, Armstrong aided the program to two Rookie of The Year awards, four conference tournament appearances, four first-team all-AEC players, and three AVCA Academic Team awards.
Armstrong is not new to the Montgomery area, as she spent a season with the Alabama State Hornets in 2013. ASU saw great success that year, as they were East Division SWAC champions after an undefeated 8-0 mark in conference action. AUM's new assistant coach aided the Hornets to their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance that season.
Her coaching career began in Vernon, Texas, and Vernon College, where she spent four years with the Chaps. She coached 16 all-conference athletes, including six all-region, eight academic all-conference, and four academic all-Americans.
Chuck Waddington
Angelo State University (TX)
NCAA DII (Lone Star Conference)
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Waddington, who will begin his 14th season as head coach in 2021, has guided the Belles to nine straight NCAA South Central Regional Tournaments and a historic run to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2016. In that time, the Belles have won three regular season LSC Titles and four LSC Tournament Championships. He’s been named the LSC’s Coach of the Year four times and has helped 17 players earn AVCA All- American status. He also guided Meghan Parker to the program's very first AVCA National Freshman of the Year award.
He has accumulated 319 overall wins, 174 Lone Star Conference victories, 13 straight LSC Tournament appearances and multiple All-Conference and All-Region performers. “I think we are progressing in the direction to be a national contender every year,” said Waddington, who is ASU’s fifth head coach since the program was started in 1976. “We are a program that is approaching the level where we will be competing for national championships year in and year out. We want to start moving up the national ladder and become a consistent program that is always in the top-10 and competing for that top spot.”
In the shortened Spring 2021 season, the Belles won their division of the LSC with a 10-2 mark and eventually won the LSC Tournament with wins over Midwestern State, Texas A&M-Kingsville and UT-Tyler. They then went on to win the AVCA DII National Championship and finish the season as the top-ranked team in the country.
Previous to his success in San Angelo, Waddington spent five years as the assistant coach at Florida Southern College where he helped guide the Moccasins to five straight NCAA Division II National Tournament appearances and a top 5 national ranking. ASU reached its first NCAA Tournament with Waddington at the helm in 2011 – an accomplishment that the program had not experienced in 19 seasons. The Belles beat St. Edward’s at the South Central Regional (in Warrensburg, Miss.) for its first national tournament win in 20 seasons and have advanced to the LSC tournament every year since his arrival in San Angelo.
Angelo State has consistently improved and excelled in conference play under Waddington. The team went 8-5 in LSC play in his first year in 2008, 10-3 in his second year, 12-2 in 2010, 17-3 in 2012 and 14-2 in 2015. The team has consistently competed for both LSC and NCAA Regional titles every year since 2011.
V'Aira Harris
Columbia College (SC)
NAIA (Appalachian Athletic Conference)
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V’Aira Harris is in her second season as the assistant coach with the Columbia College volleyball program. A native of Columbia, SC, Harris is a recent graduate of Benedict College (2020), earning her Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering.
Harris was a three-year (2016-2019) standout for the Benedict College in Columbia, S.C.,
During her career at Benedict, Harris received awards, including being named the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Pre-Season Player of the Year, Pre-Season Offensive Player of The Year, and Pre-Season First Team All-Conference tournament team as an outside hitter.
In 2019 she was named to the SIAC All-Conference Team and led the SIAC in service aces and was selected to the SIAC Volleyball All-Tournament Team. Also, in 2019, she was once named SIAC Offensive Player of the Week, finishing the week with 35 kills and nine aces.
In her sophomore season (2016), she was ranked fourth nationally in triples doubles with five.
Harris is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and is currently an Application Security Engineer at Blackbaud Inc.
College Coaches
If you are a college coach looking to participate in the event. Please email info@synergyvolleyball.org.
