RICHARDSON, Texas - Jalissa Trotter joins the UT Dallas volleyball staff as an assistant coach and brings experience gained at both the collegiate and professional levels as both a coach and player.
From 2023-25, Trotter served as an assistant coach at Tulane University, where she worked with the Green Wave offense while training the team's setters and defensive specialists. She assisted in planning practices, organizing training sessions, and developing athletes' technical skills while also serving as the program's alumni relations coordinator and an external operations liaison. Trotter managed practice players and team managers, coordinated scheduling, and helped guide the development of an American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and an All-AAC First Team selection. She also coached a setter who finished among the top 10 in program history in assists.
"We are excited to have Jalissa join our Comet family!," said UTD head coach Zach Villarreal. "She brings an abundance of knowledge and is very versatile in the gym, training multiple positions. I am excited to have her bring new ideas and her passion to our program; her desire to help develop our athletes as people and players aligns with our philosophy."
Before her time in New Orleans, Trotter was an assistant coach at Butler University during the 2022 season and served as the program's interim head coach for a portion of the spring 2023 semester. With the Bulldogs, she assisted with practice planning and player development while also handling team travel coordination, itinerary planning, inventory management, and compliance communication. Trotter helped coach two Big East Libero of the Year honorees, as well as a Big East All-Freshman Team setter.
Trotter also served as an assistant coach at Ouachita Baptist University, assisting with practice organization, workouts, scheduling, and team management while overseeing study hall and weight training coordination. During her time with the program, the team earned its fifth consecutive academic award.
Before transitioning fully into coaching, Trotter competed professionally in Finland with Polkky Kuusamo in the Mestaruusliiga. A six-rotation starting setter, she helped lead the club to both a Finnish Cup Championship and a league championship—each the first in program history—and finished her professional career as the league's female MVP while earning multiple monthly setter and player honors.
Trotter began her coaching career as an intern head coach at the Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central, where she oversaw all aspects of the volleyball program, including skill instruction, staff leadership, academic oversight, and equipment management.
In addition to her collegiate coaching experience, Trotter has worked in club volleyball with Core Elite Volleyball Club in New Orleans and Rev Volleyball Club in Indianapolis, instructing athletes in positional skills, leadership development, and player training while assisting with clinics and development programs.
As a collegiate student-athlete, Trotter played setter at Syracuse University from 2015–18. She finished her career ranked eighth in program history with 2,520 assists and earned ACC Player of the Week honors on Oct. 23, 2018. She was also a member of the Cyclone Classic All-Tournament Team, a four-time ACC Academic Honor Roll selection, and a 2018 All-ACC Academic Team honoree. Off the court, Trotter served on the leadership committee of Syracuse's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was active with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Trotter earned a bachelor's degree in health and exercise science from Syracuse with a minor in physical education in 2019. She later completed a master's degree in kinesiology with a concentration in coaching from Southern Arkansas University in 2022 and also earned a sports administration certification from Tulane University in December 2025.
She holds certifications in adult and child first aid/CPR, concussion training, Title IX education, and NCAA recruiting, and is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Trotter was also selected as a speaker at the NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar at NCAA Headquarters in 2022.
A native of Texarkana, Texas, Trotter comes from a family with a strong athletic background. Her mother, Melissa Trotter-Hardy, played volleyball at Henderson State University, while her uncle, Jeremiah Trotter, enjoyed a 12-year career in the National Football League and earned four Pro Bowl selections at linebacker.
