# Skinner Reaches 500 Wins as Kentucky Volleyball Coach **Published:** 2026-08-30T01:43:09.000Z **Source:** [UK Athletics](https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/08/29/skinner-reaches-another-milestone-with-500th-win/) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/skinner-reaches-500-wins-as-kentucky-volleyball-coach LEXINGTON, Ky. — Craig Skinner reached another milestone in his storied career at Kentucky on Saturday, earning his 500th career victory when the No. 3 Wildcats swept South Florida 25-18, 25-16, 25-19 at Historic Memorial Coliseum. The achievement came during a [tribute to the coach featured on the video board](https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/08/29/skinner-reaches-another-milestone-with-500th-win/), which included appearances by former players, opposing coaches, his family and other dignitaries. Skinner said he was moved by the recognition, particularly the video featuring former players including Madison Lilley, Avery Skinner, Leah Edmond, Kaz Brown and Azhani Tealer. "When you have players, the caliber of people that you saw (in the video) are obviously tremendous athletes," Skinner said. "But the quality of people that I've gotten the luxury of coaching over the years has been nothing short of incredible." Senior Lizzie Carr praised Skinner's approach to coaching. "It's very clear why he has been as successful as he is," Carr said. "He's a great figure and he cares about us so much as people, then volleyball comes after that." Sophomore Trinity Ward added, "Craig shows up every day, same person, no matter what is going on in his life. I feel like that's a testament to him." The 500 wins represent just part of Skinner's legacy at Kentucky. In his 22 seasons since arriving in Lexington in December 2004, Skinner has transformed the volleyball program from one that had appeared in only six NCAA Tournaments before his arrival to a national power. He has taken Kentucky to the NCAA Tournament every season since 2005, a streak of 21 consecutive postseason appearances. The Wildcats have won nine consecutive SEC regular season championships and captured the SEC Tournament title last season after a 20-year hiatus from the conference tournament. Most notably, Skinner guided Kentucky to the program's first national championship in 2020, becoming the [first coach of an SEC volleyball team to win a national title](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Skinner_(volleyball)). The Wildcats reached the Final Four again last season and finished as national runners-up. Kentucky has produced 55 All-Americans under Skinner, including eight first-team selections, compared to just six in the program's history before his arrival. For his accomplishments, Skinner has been named SEC Coach of the Year seven times, including last season, and was the national coach of the year in 2020-21. When he arrived at Kentucky, he had expected to spend only three to five years building the program. "No, not even close," Skinner said of whether he thought he would still be coaching the Wildcats 22 years later. "We left Nebraska to come here and it was, well, here we go. They're at the bottom, let's see what we can do." ## Sources - [UK Athletics](https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/08/29/skinner-reaches-another-milestone-with-500th-win/) - [Craig Skinner's biographical and coaching record information](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Skinner_(volleyball)) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from UK Athletics, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/08/29/skinner-reaches-another-milestone-with-500th-win/.