Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.
BATON ROUGE – LSU Beach Volleyball assistant coach Cati Leak was named to Tuesday’s AVCA Thirty Under 30 list.
“It is an honor,” Leak said of being named to the thiry under 30 list. “I cannot be in this position without my coworkers, our players, and mentors. They have poured their time, energy, and effort into my life and the programs I have been a part of. I am grateful to have been in the position to receive this. It is motivating to continue to give back to the sport that has been used to teach me so much. If I can share what I have learned and it impacts someone for the better, then I will do it forever!”
Leak has been an assistant coach with the Tigers since the 2019 season in a stretch where LSU has never been outside of the AVCA Top 10. Every year that she has coached has ended with a trip to Gulf Shores at the NCAA Championship with the Tigers. LSU was ranked No. 1 during when the 2020 season came to a shortened end.
On the court as a coach, Leak has coached five All-Americans at LSU, including the pair of Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth who went undefeated in 2021 and won AVCA Pair of the Year. She has also coached 10 pairs that have earned AVCA Top Flight honors.
Leak’s presence from the very beginning has been a critical component to LSU’s rise to national prominence in beach volleyball. She was on the inaugural LSU Beach Volleyball team in 2014, helping build the program from the ground up. In four seasons as a player, Leak won 73 matches and as a senior she helped lead LSU to its first National Championship Tournament berth which since then, has become the expectation within the program.