Replacing Gophers volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon will be a unique challenge

How do you replace a coach who has become so omnipresent in the sport that he is a one-word entity? The University of Minnesota is about to find out after the shocking announcement Sunday that Hugh McCutcheon will leave the volleyball program after the 2022 season.

McCutcheon — or simply "Hugh" as he's known to those involved with the sport — has built a program that reflects his acumen as a coach. His roster is loaded with top-tier recruits who come to the U with pro career and Olympic aspirations. They are developed in a way that allows them to focus not only on their athletic ability but on becoming people that can thrive off the court. And, simply put, they win.

When a player is asked why she wanted to play for the Gophers, the answer often starts with, "Hugh."

This is both a blessing and a curse as the Gophers try to replace him.

Coaches will line up for the opportunity to work with this kind of talent, including recent No. 1 recruits in the nation Taylor Landfair and McKenna Wucherer. Juniors Jenna Wenaas and Melani Shaffmaster are players that can star on a Final Four-caliber team. Freshmen Carter Booth and Julia Hanson, along with Wucherer, form the tip of a three-year recruiting haul that figures to usher in the next generation of Gophers talent.

The team has received verbal commitments from players like Laney Choboy, generally considered the best libero in the nation for the Class of 2023, and Stella and Olivia Swenson, two of the top recruits for the Class of 2024.

But, of course, none of these players committed to Minnesota to play for some other coach.

Whomever the Gophers hire in what the athletic department labeled a "nationwide search" is going to have a unique challenge on his or her hands: Selling a collection of some of the best volleyball talent in America that they should continue their careers with the Gophers and that they have the right coach to do it with.

If not, the sharks will be in the water. The volleyball transfer portal has become fervent and the best college programs will be waiting for even the slightest hint that defections are coming.

There is also the question of what happens to Matt and Jen Houk, the two top assistants under McCutcheon who have become extensions and facilitators of his coaching style and physiological practice. The married couple is crucial in recruiting, and they are tacticians whose bond with players once they arrive on campus has been critical.

Matt will take over as interim head coach while the search takes place, and after nearly a decade working under McCutcheon and six years as a head coach with South Dakota, he will get to put his name in the ring.

The sell for players that continuity could remain would be strong, but it's also easy to imagine the administration looking to make a splashy hire.

When McCutcheon arrived on campus in 2012, he inherited a successful program from Mike Hebert, who took the U to 14 NCAA tournament appearances in 15 years, reached three Final Fours and won Big Ten Coach of the Year five times.

Still, McCutcheon's hire was monumental. His Olympic pedigree made him one of the most formidable coaches not only in America but around the world, and he brought a level of pedigree to the program that attracted top recruits.

He put that talent to use, reaching the Final Four in 2015, 2016 and 2019 to go along with nine Sweet 16 appearances in 10 seasons and two Big Ten championships. His success has shown no signs of slowing down.

One of the most challenging aspects of McCutcheon's looming departure is its suddenness. He had signed a contract extension after last season, slated to keep him with the Gophers through 2025. And for a coach who doesn't like to live in the spotlight, the midseason nature of this announcement — and the attention and potential distractions it will naturally create — will lead to speculation about what it portends for the team moving forward.

But for the athletic department, that is all instantly part of a prologue. Why a person of McCutcheon's stature and stability might leave a job like this are myriad and personal and inconsequential to the immediacy of what comes next.

Plus, the Gophers have 12 regular-season matches left in 2022. An NCAA tournament berth is likely, and when this team has played at its best it has shown it can compete with anyone.

The ending might be suddenly apparent, but the story of Hugh McCutcheon and the University of Minnesota volleyball team is still being written.

In that respect, who knows what the future holds?