St Andrews Knights hire AJ Escobar as new women's volleyball head coach

Laurinburg, N.C. - The St. Andrews Knights have hired Alejandro "AJ" Escobar as the new women's volleyball head coach to head the program for the 2024-2025 season. 

The Miami, FL native was a four-year varsity player at Miami Palmetto From 2013-2017. He went on to further his education at St. Andrews University where he played on the men's volleyball team for the 2017-2018 season. He earned All-County Team honors as a setter, as well as helping the Knights to the 2018 Mid-South Conference Championship before competing in the NAIA National Championship.

Escobar also brings significant coaching experience to the program.  He logged two 5A District 16 Championships (Conference) as the Terra Environmental Research Institute girls head coach (2019, 2021). As an assistant coach, he clinched the 2018 Boys 1A District 32 Championship at Palmetto High School. In Miami, he accumulated a 73-47 record overall as both a boys and girls high school head volleyball coach. 

In club volleyball, he finished seventh coaching the Miami Volleyball Academy 14U AAU Nationals in 2021. Over on the boys side,  he earned multiple USAV bids to the national championship at Miami United where he was a founding member of the biggest boys club in Miami.

He returned to St. Andrews for the 2022-2023 academic year to finish his History degree and graduated in May 2023. He joined the men’s volleyball staff as a student assistant coach that year, as well. The Knights finished 11-11, 4-6, overall. 

Post graduation, he stayed on staff as an assistant coach to help lead them in their 2023-2024 campaign. The Knights finished the season, 22-10, 7-5, overall, placing third in the Appalachian Athletic Conference for a third consecutive season. 

"Stepping back into the realm of coaching women's volleyball at SAU after helping the men's program for the past 2 years fills me with great excitement and optimism," Escobar said. "I see boundless potential and thrilling opportunities ahead as we as a program embark on this exciting journey together to bigger and grander things."