FAU Athletics announced that Steve Grotowski will be the next head coach for the women’s beach volleyball team on Monday. 

Grotowski will be replacing his late wife and former women’s beach volleyball coach Capri Grotowski, who led the women’s beach volleyball team to a successful season before dying from breast cancer at the age of 38 in June.

Steve acted as the head coach during the team’s historic run in the NCAA Tournament, which included a victory over Stanford University to advance to the Elite 8. It was their first appearance at the big stage, finishing the season ranked eighth in the nation.

“While it was an extremely difficult time for Steve and his family, what he and the team accomplished last season was nothing short of remarkable,” Athletics Director Brian White said. “Steve and Capri built the program into a national contender, and we believe Steve is the right person to continue to build upon that foundation.”

Born in London, England, and a former beach volleyball player himself, Steve played indoor volleyball at the University of New Haven prior to playing in the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) with multiple partners, such as Jody Gooding, Gregg Weaver, and John Garcia Thompson. He and Thompson both went on to compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics, ranking 19th out of 24 teams in the men’s edition.

Steve participated in other moments at FAU, including assisting in the development of Erica Brok and Mackenzie Morris as they became the all-time winningest duo in FAU history. Under his guidance, Brok earned an invite to the U.S. Beach National Team and Morris won the FAU Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 2021.

With Steve leading the way, the Owls look to make their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance heading into next season.

“I am such a mixed bag of emotions. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to lead this team and sad to be doing it without my best friend, wife, and boss,” Steve said. “I want to say a big thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and administrators at FAU for their help and support these last few months. I can’t wait to see what this awesome team is going to achieve in Capri’s memory.” 

Maddox Greenberg is a contributing writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or DM via Facebook @maddox greenberg