Completed Event: Volleyball versus California on November 28, 2025 , Loss , 2, to, 3
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Final
Volleyball
2
vs California
3
Faces of Blue Devil Volleyball: Patric Santiago
5/8/2020 12:13:00 PM | Volleyball
Faces of Blue Devil Volleyball: Patric Santiago
DURHAM, N.C. – Patric Santiago joined the Duke volleyball coaching staff in March 2019, and serves as the associate head coach, aiding in all aspects of student-athlete development, practice planning, scouting, game analysis and recruiting.
"To me, Duke volleyball means love," Santiago said. "Love of our teammates, love of our game, and the love of pursuing excellence. The amount of hard work that it takes to be great is immense, so it certainly helps to love it. Along the way there will be obstacles, adversity, an epic amount of laughter (we laugh a lot), and probably some tears, but we love our journey because together we are strong, we are worth it and we are thankful that WEGETTO make it our journey. I am grateful to have such a strong group of young women in our gym and to have the best seat in the house to see their journey, because I believe it will be wonderful to watch."
Santiago made the move to Durham from Iona College, where he served as the head coach of the volleyball program for three years (2016-19).
"It was an incredibly hard decision for me to come to Duke because I was leaving my home, an incredible institution, and student-athletes who I cared very deeply about," Santiago said. "However, I believe that the standard of excellence set by Duke athletics is undeniably among the very finest in the world. The opportunity to work with a 600 match winning coach like Jolene Nagel in a Dr. Kevin White led athletics department doesn't come along very often, and when I met the student athletes of Duke I knew this was a school that could compete for a national championship the right way, while upholding the institution's academic mission. That opportunity made me want to be a part of the Duke family."
Santiago led the Gaels to a historic final season at the helm of the program, finishing the 2018 campaign with a program-record 20 wins and its second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship in program history. The Gaels capped the season with the school's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2004.
Prior to Iona, Santiago served as the head coach at SUNY Farmingdale for seven seasons. He helped lead the Rams to a 39-25 Skyline Conference record, earning six consecutive postseason appearances.
Santiago graduated from Farmingdale State with a bachelor's degree in business management. As a student-athlete, he competed for the Rams as a four-sport athlete, excelling in soccer, golf, indoor and outdoor track. He is the only student-athlete to ever compete in four sports in school history and was the captain of all four sports during his career.
Santiago was named an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American in 2006. He was the first student-athlete at Farmingdale to receive the Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence in 2005, a two-time recipient of the Chancellor's Scholar-Athlete Award (2005, 2006) and a two-time Farmingdale State Male Athlete of the Year (2004, 2006). He also received the 2006 ECAC Robbins Scholar-Athlete Award, which is given annually to just one male and one female student-athlete throughout all NCAA divisions.
"My favorite part of volleyball is that you get so much more from it than you can possibly give back and coaching provides a vehicle to give some of those great things you've gotten back to others," Santiago said. "I feel incredibly fortunate to have had some wonderful coaches along the way, especially Helen Bauer, Bo Wernersbach, Brian MacDonagh and my very first sports coach, my grandmother. Hopefully, I can deliver a small fraction of the passion, support, drive and joy that they gave me unto our student athletes."
#GoDuke
"To me, Duke volleyball means love," Santiago said. "Love of our teammates, love of our game, and the love of pursuing excellence. The amount of hard work that it takes to be great is immense, so it certainly helps to love it. Along the way there will be obstacles, adversity, an epic amount of laughter (we laugh a lot), and probably some tears, but we love our journey because together we are strong, we are worth it and we are thankful that WEGETTO make it our journey. I am grateful to have such a strong group of young women in our gym and to have the best seat in the house to see their journey, because I believe it will be wonderful to watch."
Santiago made the move to Durham from Iona College, where he served as the head coach of the volleyball program for three years (2016-19).
"It was an incredibly hard decision for me to come to Duke because I was leaving my home, an incredible institution, and student-athletes who I cared very deeply about," Santiago said. "However, I believe that the standard of excellence set by Duke athletics is undeniably among the very finest in the world. The opportunity to work with a 600 match winning coach like Jolene Nagel in a Dr. Kevin White led athletics department doesn't come along very often, and when I met the student athletes of Duke I knew this was a school that could compete for a national championship the right way, while upholding the institution's academic mission. That opportunity made me want to be a part of the Duke family."
Santiago led the Gaels to a historic final season at the helm of the program, finishing the 2018 campaign with a program-record 20 wins and its second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship in program history. The Gaels capped the season with the school's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2004.
Prior to Iona, Santiago served as the head coach at SUNY Farmingdale for seven seasons. He helped lead the Rams to a 39-25 Skyline Conference record, earning six consecutive postseason appearances.
Santiago graduated from Farmingdale State with a bachelor's degree in business management. As a student-athlete, he competed for the Rams as a four-sport athlete, excelling in soccer, golf, indoor and outdoor track. He is the only student-athlete to ever compete in four sports in school history and was the captain of all four sports during his career.
Santiago was named an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American in 2006. He was the first student-athlete at Farmingdale to receive the Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence in 2005, a two-time recipient of the Chancellor's Scholar-Athlete Award (2005, 2006) and a two-time Farmingdale State Male Athlete of the Year (2004, 2006). He also received the 2006 ECAC Robbins Scholar-Athlete Award, which is given annually to just one male and one female student-athlete throughout all NCAA divisions.
"My favorite part of volleyball is that you get so much more from it than you can possibly give back and coaching provides a vehicle to give some of those great things you've gotten back to others," Santiago said. "I feel incredibly fortunate to have had some wonderful coaches along the way, especially Helen Bauer, Bo Wernersbach, Brian MacDonagh and my very first sports coach, my grandmother. Hopefully, I can deliver a small fraction of the passion, support, drive and joy that they gave me unto our student athletes."
#GoDuke
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