Jake Barreau made an immediate impact on the Redbird Volleyball program when he joined the program as the Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, assisting Illinois State to a third-consecutive Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title and a fourth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance in his first year with the program. Barreau joined the Redbirds prior to the fall 2021 season after spending the previous seasons at Oklahoma.

In his role at Illinois State, Barreau worked primarily with the Redbird liberos and assisted in the offensive game plan. Under Barreau’s guidance Kaity Weimerskirch earned her first career MVC Libero of the Year honor and reached the 1,000-career digs milestone, become the 16th Redbird in school history to achieve the feat.

Weimerskirch not only finished as the Valley’s top libero, but also as one of the best in the nation, consistently ranking in the nation’s top-15 for total digs. The junior captain finished with the fifth-most digs in a single season, tallying 611 in the 2021 campaign. Those 611 digs also rank second in school history for digs in a single season by a junior.

Offensively, the Redbirds were a force to be reckoned with, ranking as high as No. 2 in the NCAA for total kills and remaining in the top-25 for almost the entirety of the 2021 season. ISU finished year with 1,701 total kills, averaging 13.50 kills/set. Among those 1,701 kills, three Redbirds finished with 250+ kills on the year, led by Tamara Otene’s ISU sophomore record-tying 494 kills. Otene’s complete dominance offensively throughout the year, especially during conference action, earned her the title of MVC Player of the Year.

ISU’s other two players to finish with 250+ kills in the 2021 season were freshman Aliyah Moore (251) and junior Sarah Kushner (366) who also earned All-MVC nods. Kushner joined Otene and Weimerskirch on the All-MVC First Team, while Moore was selected to the MVC All-Freshman team for her efforts.

In addition to his roles with the liberos and Redbird offense, Barreau is responsible for all recruiting efforts for Illinois State/

While at Oklahoma, Barreau developed the Sooners’ defense into one of the top squads in the Big 12 and the NCAA. Barreau’s recruiting efforts helped OU secure the No. 10 recruiting class in the country in 2021, while their class of 2022 ranked No. 8 overall.

His passion for others extends past the volleyball court, as Barreau served as the Among Friends Activity Center Board of Directors President in 2020 and has been an active member of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program. Barreau earned the 2020 Advocate Magazine Champion of Pride Award and he served on the AVCA Assistant Coaches Committee while at Oklahoma.

With Barreau’s guidance in 2019, the Oklahoma defense held opponents to a .177 hitting percentage, ranking second in the Big 12. Keyton Kinley was named the Big 12 Libero of the Year for the second time after leading the league with 506 digs. A unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selection, Kinley was also named to the AVCA All-Southwest Region First Team.

In 2018, the Oklahoma defense held opponents to a .189 hitting percentage, first in the Big 12 and 14th nationally among teams from Power Five conferences. Kinley was named the Big 12 Libero of the Year after earning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors three times (Oct. 15, Oct. 22, Nov. 19) to set a program record for most defensive weekly accolades in a career. Additionally, Kinley was tabbed to the All-Big 12 and AVCA All-Southwest Region first teams and was named an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention.

Prior to joining the Sooners, Barreau was an assistant coach for the Missouri State Bears for four seasons after joining the program in 2014. He worked extensively with MSU’s defensive players, helping the Bears rank fifth nationally in total digs in 2015 and eighth in 2016. During Barreau’s tenure, the Bears accumulated 98 wins, three NCAA Tournament trips and the 2016 and 2017 MVC regular season title.

Barreau was a recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 Award in 2016. This award is given annually to thirty up-and-coming volleyball coaches under 30 years old in the sport at all levels of the game. In March 2017, Barreau also worked on the statistical crew at the U.S. Women’s National Team Open Tryouts.

Before joining the MSU staff, Barreau was a volunteer assistant for Wisconsin’s NCAA runner-up team for the 2013 season. Working for his alma mater, Barreau prepared scouting videos and assisted in practice drills. 

In total during his collegiate coaching career, Barreau has coached three different players to four Libero of the Year honors, two players to four Player of the Year honors and nine players to “of the year” honors in total (4 POY, 2 Freshman, 2 Setter, 4 Libero).

Prior to reaching the collegiate coaching ranks, Barreau was the head girls’ volleyball coach at Monona Grove High school in Monona, Wisconsin, for three years. As an undergraduate at Wisconsin, Barreau was a two-time Big Ten Men’s Volleyball Association Defensive Player of the Year and as libero with the Wisconsin Men’s Club Team. Following his club playing career at Wisconsin, Barreau spent one season playing professional volleyball with the Texas Tyrants.

A native of Portage, Wisconsin, Barreau graduated from Wisconsin in 2013 with degrees in marketing and Spanish.