Allen Academy Hires New Volleyball, Girls Basketball Coaches

BRYAN – Allen Academy has announced the hiring of two new varsity head coaches for the 2020-2021 school year. Delaney Stevens has taken over the Rams’ volleyball program, while Sammi Goldsmith is the new head coach of the girls’ basketball team.

Delaney Stevens was named Head Varsity Volleyball Coach in March. Delaney has great experience playing and coaching volleyball. She played as a 4-year varsity setter and outside hitter at Castle Hills Christian School in San Antonio. Throughout her high school career, Delaney received multiple 1st Team All-State, 1st Team All-District, and District MVP honors.

Delaney coaches club volleyball locally with Brazos Valley Juniors and was the 8th grade volleyball coach at Allen in 2019. Stevens will inherit a young team in 2020 that will only have one upperclassman.

Coach Stevens had these thoughts to share on her promotion to lead the program into the future. “I’m excited to begin my new role as the Head Varsity Volleyball Coach at Allen Academy. I look forward to creating a competitive culture in the volleyball program that encourages our student-athletes to grow and succeed both on and off the court.”

Sammi Goldsmith will be joining the Rams for her first head coaching job. Sammi was a four-year starter on the Lynchburg College (NCAA Division III) women’s basketball team, serving as a team captain her junior and senior seasons. She helped the Hornets to their first-ever conference regular season title, conference tournament title, and NCAA berth during her senior campaign.

Goldsmith has an impressive coaching resume with stops at Virginia Tech University as a graduate assistant coach and Emory University (NCAA Division III) in Atlanta, GA. In her two seasons as assistant coach at Emory her teams posted 19-7 and 19-6 records. Goldsmith is stepping into her role as head coach of a squad that was ranked in the top 10 in TAPPS 2A throughout 2019-2020 season that lost in the area playoffs.

Coach Goldsmith shared her feelings on her hiring at Allen Academy. “I am extremely honored to be joining the Allen Academy community. It is an impressive institution with a tradition of academic and athletic excellence that I plan to build on. Being a head coach and running a program has been a dream of mine for a while. I am grateful and excited about the opportunity!”

“I’m very confident in our new hires in volleyball and girls’ basketball” said Allen Academy Athletic Director, Adrian Adams. “We’ve been focusing on building our girls athletics program and these two hires will have a great impact on our young ladies as athletes and people. Delaney and Sammi’s resumes speak for themselves. We are fortunate to have them on our staff. Coach Stevens knows the volleyball landscape at the TAPPS 2A level. Coach Goldsmith was a perfect fit for the girls’ basketball program, which allows Coach Seth Thomas to solely coach the varsity boys basketball team moving forward. We’re excited about what the future holds in their programs!”

Story courtesy of Allen Academy Athletics