Jeni Jones Chatman enters her fourth season at the helm of the Central Arkansas volleyball program in 2018, after being named the ninth head coach in Sugar Bear history in January 2015.
During her time in charge of the Central Arkansas volleyball program, she has continued the tradition of success expected of the Sugar Bears, leading the team to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in six seasons in 2017. Â
The 2017 season, Chatman’s third at the helm, was one of the best in program history, with UCA tallying 27 wins (the fifth-highest total in a single season), finishing second in the regular season with a 13-3 record in Southland Conference play, and winning the SLC Tournament for the third time. Junior Samantha Anderson earned SLC Player of the Year and Student-Athlete of the Year honors in addition to AVCA All-South Region honors, while senior Megan Nash earned All-SLC First Team and Academic All-SLC First Team honors for the third-consecutive year and sophomore Elizabeth Armstrong was named to the All-SLC and Academic All-SLC Second Teams. Chatman also helped the Sugar Bears to a strong academic season, with UCA earning the AVCA Team GPA Award for the 2017-18 season.
The 2017 campaign was a natural progression to Chatman’s first two seasons in Conway, when the Sugar Bears went 32-27 overall and 21-10 in league play while continuing their streak of SLC Tournament appearances, which sits at eight after the 2017 season. Central Arkansas saw three players named All-Southland Conference in 2015 (Heather Schnars – 1st, Megan Nash - 1st, Amy South – HM) including a second-consecutive Southland Conference Player of the Year award  and AVCA All-South Region honors for Heather Schnars, and added three more All-SLC honors in 2016 (Megan Nash – 1st, Samantha Anderson – HM, Haley Tippett – HM), while Nash was named SLC Student-Athlete of the Year in 2015 to go along with a pair of Academic All-SLC honors (2015 – 1st, 2016 – 1st) and Anderson added an Academic All-SLC First Team nod in 2016.
Chatman, who also started the Central Arkansas beach volleyball program in 2017, was chosen to lead the Central Arkansas volleyball program after spending thirteen seasons at Missouri Valley powerhouse Missouri State. While serving as an assistant coach, and later the associate head coach, for the Bears, Chatman helped lead MSU to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and 20 or more victories in 12 of her 13 seasons. With her on the sideline, Missouri State compiled an overall record of 291-131 (.690) and a 182-66 (.734) mark in MVC play.
Prior to Missouri State, Chatman spent a pair of seasons at Illinois State, helping lead the Redbirds to a 36-23 record and runner-up finishes in the regular season and MVC Tournament.
Chatman was a star player at the University of Florida, where she helped lead the Gators to three straight Final Four appearances from 1996-98, while also guiding UF to four straight Southeastern Conference titles.
She was named second-team All-SEC as a senior during the 1998 season, and collected 140 block assists as a senior, a number which was the fourth-best single season total in Florida history at the time.
She was diagnosed with Guillian Barre Syndrome, an illness which causes temporary paralysis, in the middle of her playing career, but returned to the court and was awarded the NCAA’s Honda Inspiration Award in 1999. She is also the recipient of the 2008 Springfield Women’s Intersport Network (WIN) Courage Award and the 2012 MVC Most Courageous Award.
After her playing days ended,Chatman started her coaching career at Florida, serving as a student assistant and as a club coach in the Gainesville Juniors program.
Chatman, from Birmingham, Alabama, was a three-time high school All-American and a two-time state of Alabama Player of the Year. She earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport sciences from Florida in 1999. Chatman and her husband, Darryl, have two children: Emmanuel and Darla.
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