Utah State Aggies Handball

The Utah State Aggies are an American handball team, representing Utah State University, in collegiate tournaments organized by the United States Handball Association.

History

Handball started as a class at Utah State in 2001 by Herm Olsen as a result of, what he felt was, declining participation in the game in younger generations. He coached the team for more than 20 years, instilling a "tradition of winning" in the program, and oversaw the development of 11 individual national champions, two doubles championship teams, and led the Aggies to Men's and Women's national team championships in 2022. Olsen was named the US Handball Association Coach of the year in 2021 and was inducted into the Utah Handball Hall of Fame on September 27, 2025.

In what proved to be his final year, Utah State was co-coached by Olsen and Stacey Marble during the 2022-2023 season. The Aggies won a Combined national team championship and another Men's national team championship. Following Olsen's retirement, Marble assumed full control of the team ahead of the 2023-2024 season.

Championships

Team Championships

Year Combined Men's Women's Site
2022 A-Division A-Division Missouri State University
2023 A-Division B-Division Tucson Racquet Club
Total 1 2 1

Individual Champions

Year Division Player Site
2009 Women's C-Division Krista Allen University of Minnesota
2011 Women's Division 2 Shyla Sadderwhite Missouri State University
2012 Men's Division 2-Challenger Rob Castelton Missouri State University
2013 Men's Division 1B Ryan Campbell Arizona State University
2014 Men's Division 2A Jonathan Larson North Carolina State University
2014 Women's Division 2A Kaneesha Goodworth North Carolina State University
2015 Men's Division 2-Intermediate Andy Graves Pacific University, OR
2016 Women's B1-Division Jeanne Hancock University of Minnesota
2017 Men's Division 3C Jarod Jensen Arizona State University
2017 Women's A1-Division Lindsey Boetler Arizona State University
2018 Men's B3-Division Jarod Jensen Missouri State University
2024 Women's B1-Division Rachael Fisher University of Minnesota
Total 12

Doubles Championships

Year Division Player Player Site
2013 Men's Division B Ryan Campbell Jonathan Larson Arizona State University
2018 Men's Division B Jarod Jensen Logan Jensen Missouri State University
2024 Women's Division C Jillian Young Cambria Cannon University of Minnesota
Total 3

Head coaches

Years Coach Team Championships Individual Champions Doubles Championships
2001–2022 Herm Olsen 2 11 2
2022–2023 Olsen/Marble 2 0 0
2023–Present Stacey Marble 0 1 1

References

  1. ↑ "Hard News Cafe » Blog Archive » USU's club sports win national championships but get little support". Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  2. ↑ Mears, Amanda (September 14, 2007). "Handball Class". usustatesman.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  3. ↑ Jessop, Clark (February 5, 2003). "COLUMN: Handball–where there's a wall, there's a way". usustatesman.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  4. 1 2 Emerson, Taylor (2016-04-16). "USU handball continues winning tradition". The Herald Journal. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  5. 1 2 3 Emerson, Taylor (2017-03-27). "Aggie handball tradition carries on". The Herald Journal. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  6. 1 2 Caldwell, Jacee (February 25, 2023). "'The game for life:' USU Handball team headed to nationals to compete". usustatesman.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  7. ↑ "National Champions". United States Handball Association. 2020-04-04. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  8. ↑ "Past Award Recipients". United States Handball Association. 2020-04-04. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  9. ↑ "Martin Mulkerrins Inspires at Utah State". WPHLiveTV. 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  10. 1 2 "National Champions 2023". United States Handball Association. 2021-09-19. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  11. ↑ "National Champions 2022". United States Handball Association. 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  12. ↑ "Community news submission: USU handball team shines at national championship". The Herald Journal. 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Collegiate NOC updated 2024.xlsx - Google Drive". docs.google.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  14. ↑ Hemsley, Landon (March 16, 2011). "Aggie handballer takes divison [sic] II national top spot". usustatesman.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  15. 1 2 "National Champions 2013". United States Handball Association. 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  16. 1 2 "Hard News Cafe » Blog Archive » Aggie handball players win national singles, doubles titles". Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  17. ↑ Lundstrom, Curtis (February 28, 2013). "Handball: Bringing home the hardware". usustatesman.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  18. 1 2 "Proclamation: USU National Champion" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  19. ↑ "National Champions 2015". United States Handball Association. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  20. ↑ Mangum, Weston (2015-03-23). "Aggies shine at nationals". The Herald Journal. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  21. ↑ "National Champions 2016". United States Handball Association. 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  22. 1 2 "National Champions 2017". United States Handball Association. 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  23. 1 2 "National Champions 2018". United States Handball Association. 2015-12-31. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  24. 1 2 Lomeli, Lauren (March 14, 2018). "USU brothers capture handball national championship". usustatesman.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  25. 1 2 "National Champions 2024". United States Handball Association. 2023-01-23. Retrieved 2024-08-06.