February 10, 2026
Tech Volleyball adds Johnston, Van Eekeren to coaching staff
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech Volleyball is building toward its future as head coach Jeannette Phillips has added two new assistant coaches for the program with the hirings of Camryn Johnston and Jackson Van Eekeren. Johnston will also be an assistant coach for the Beach Volleyball program under head coach Isabella Borgiotti.
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech Volleyball is building toward its future as head coach Jeannette Phillips has added two new assistant coaches for the program with the hirings of Camryn Johnston and Jackson Van Eekeren.
Johnston will also be an assistant coach for the Beach Volleyball program under head coach Isabella Borgiotti.
A four-year letterwinner at Wisconsin-Platteville from 2020 to 2023, Johnston comes to Cookeville after a two-year stint as a graduate assistant at Ball State, where she also played a graduate campaign. While with the Cardinals as a GA, she helped guide Ball State to a regular-season Mid-American Conference championship.
She earned a master's degree in sports administration while on the Cardinal staff. Johnston earned her bachelor's degree from Wisconsin-Platteville in 2023 in agricultural business.
Johnston began her collegiate coaching career as a volunteer assistant in Spring 2024 at Wisconsin-Milwaukee for head coach Susie Johnson. Johnston has also had experience coaching a wide spectrum of talent, ranging from elementary school age to collegiate. She has operated camps and given lessons to all age levels and served as part of the 2025 Under Armour All-America tryout camps.
She follows in her family's footsteps as her mother was a women's basketball coach at Carroll University, in addition to serving as a high school coach, teacher and now full-time professor at Carthage College.
"Camryn is the perfect addition to come in and elevate not one, but two programs of student-athletes," Phillips said. "During the hiring process, we knew that this position was going to need to be someone special. This needed to be someone who loves every aspect of volleyball, truly leans into empowering young athletes and can serve as a role model to both our Beach and Indoor teams.
"She will step right into assisting our Beach program as they roll into their competitive season and will shift to the indoor court after the Beach season has concluded. Coach B and I are both looking forward to working with Camryn, and we know that she will be a wonderful fit here as a Golden Eagle."
Johnston is ready to get things started with the Tech teams.
"I am super excited to be a part of these programs," she said. "I am thankful for Coach Phillips and Coach Borgiotti for this opportunity and am thrilled to help these programs win championships. I also look forward to being part of the Tennessee Tech and Cookeville communities."
Van Eekeren comes to Cookeville after a season as an assistant for the Winona State volleyball team as the team put together a winning season overall, as well as in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Before joining the Winona State staff, Van Eekeren was an assistant coach at Kent State for two seasons.
Van Eekeren played as a member of the Hawaii men's volleyball team, including a spot on the 2021 national championship team. The Rainbow Warriors won nearly 85 percent of their matches in his five seasons as a student-athlete.
Like his new compatriot, Van Eekeren follows in family footsteps as his mother played volleyball at Illinois.
Van Eekeren earned his bachelor's degree in business administration with a finance concentration from Hawaii-Manoa in 2020, then completed his master's degree in finance in 2021.
"I'm very excited to be joining the Golden Eagle Volleyball family!" he said. "I look forward to working with Coach Phillips and the team to help support the continued growth and success of the program. I can't wait to get in the gym and get started."
Phillips sees a big advantage in the new structure of the coaching staff and the addition of Van Eekeren.
"Jackson brings a level of enthusiasm and knowledge that will help our team grow in a great way together," she said. "Through his training, our athletes will elevate levels of their game that are much needed within our young and talented group.
"We are looking forward to the new direction within our program since our indoor and beach teams have now separated. This is our first Spring training season for our entire roster, so Jackson is entering the scene at such an opportune time where skills can really be attacked and true growth can occur."
Phillips continued, "He will serve as our Recruiting Coordinator, and he will be hitting the ground running to look for other new members to add to our family immediately."
