Women's Volleyball
Barnett, Keith
Keith Barnett
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- 719-333-2274
Keith Barnett is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Air Force volleyball team, after serving as the Falcons’ associate head coach (2018) and assistant coach (2015-17) during his first four years with the program.
A member of the Falcons’ coaching staff since 2015, Barnett has been on the bench for some of Air Force’s most successful seasons at the Division I level, including 43 of its 71 Mountain West victories and more than half of its overall DI wins. During his overall tenure, Air Force has accounted for double-digit win totals five times, while matching the program’s Division I records for total wins (17 in 2018) and conference wins (seven, four times).
Since being promoted to head coach in 2019, his teams have climbed to unprecedented heights, including two of the program’s four .500-or-better Division I seasons and the first winning conference campaign ever at the DI level (7-6 in 2020). In just four years at the helm, Barnett has become the Falcons’ winningest DI coach in conference action, led Air Force to a Power 5 win over Iowa (2021), and collected victories over four NCAA Tournament teams. Against the Falcons’ longtime conference foes, he saw the Falcons snap a 53-match losing streak to Colorado State in 2020 and end a 13-match skid to Wyoming in 2021. Barnett also coached Air Force to its first-ever win in Laramie (2022) and its first road victory over New Mexico since 2003. His teams have tallied three true road wins during three of his first four seasons – a tally that matches the program’s best total since 2003.
Eight of his athletes have earned all-conference recognition 10 times from the Mountain West, while Joi Harvey – the program’s first MW Freshman of the Year – became the Academy’s first all-region selection in 26 years in 2020 and repeated the all-region honor in 2022. Bailey Keith became the program’s first national semifinalist for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award in 2021, while 21 Falcons have earned academic all-conference honors and Ella Tschuor earned the program’s first CSC Academic All-District nod in nine years in 2022.
Most recently, Air Force completed the 2022 campaign with a 15-15 record and a 7-11 mark in conference play – with the 15 wins matching the second-highest win total in Air Force’s DI history and the seven Mountain West wins tying for the most conference wins ever at the DI level. The Falcons won their first six matches of the year to capture two tournament titles, account for the program’s best start at DI, equal their longest DI win streak, and cap the first two weeks of the season as one of just 28 unbeaten teams in the NCAA. Although injuries hampered the Falcons during the start of the conference season, Air Force rolled through the second half of MW with an impressive 7-3 ledger that included coming back from an 0-2 deficit for the program’s first-ever road victory over Wyoming, a sweep of previous one-loss San Jose State, and a victory over eventual MW Tournament champion Utah State. Air Force finished the season with a 10-5 record at the Academy – the second-highest home win total in 22 years.
In 2021, Barnett saw a young Air Force squad finish the season with seven victories, including four in conference play. Highlighted by a thrilling, come-from-behind five-set victory over Power 5 opponent Iowa, the Falcons closed out the non-conference season with three-straight wins. In league play, Air Force posted home wins over Fresno State, Nevada, San Diego State and Wyoming – with the last snapping a 13-match match losing streak to the Cowgirls that dated back to 2013.
The 2020 campaign, played in the Spring of 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, was a memorable one for Barnett and his Falcons, as Air Force finished the conference-only season with a 7-6 record – the first winning record in conference play since Air Force joined Division I in 1996. Highlighting the Falcons’ seven-win total was a stunning straight-set road victory over preseason favorite Colorado State during the opening weekend – a win that snapped a 53-match losing streak to the Rams that had dated back to 1995. With the victory, Air Force became the first Mountain West team in 10 years to sweep Colorado State at Moby Arena – and the first team overall since (then) No. 3 Texas collected a 3-0 win in 2016. Air Force, which capped its season with a victory over the conference’s No. 2 team (Boise State), finished the season ranked sixth in the conference – the squad’s highest finish since the league expanded from eight teams following the 2004 season.
During his first season as head coach, Barnett helped a young Air Force squad finish with an 8-22 record, which included five victories in the Mountain West – a tally that tied for the second-most conference wins since the program joined Division I in 1996. He became the program’s first DI coach to win their opening Mountain West match, as the Falcons captured a 3-1 victory over Utah State at the Academy. The squad, which earned an impressive non-conference home victory over Summit League champion Denver in mid-September that year, picked up three road wins on the year – a mark that tied for the second-most true road victories for Air Force at the Division I level.
In 2018, while serving as the team’s associate head coach, Barnett coached the Falcons to their first winning campaign since 1999 – a 17-15 overall record that included an Academy record for wins in a season at the Division I level (17) and a program-best seven victories in conference play. Air Force earned the program’s first-ever victories over schools from the ACC (Wake Forest) and Big Ten (Maryland), enroute to its best non-conference record (10-4) in 19 years.
During his first three seasons with the program, Barnett helped Air Force make an impact in the Mountain West, as the team earned their first-ever win over Utah State (2015) and their first road victories at San Diego State (2015) and Fresno State (2017). The Falcons also snapped several long losing skids against conference opponents, including a 31-match stretch against UNLV (2015) and a 26-match skid against New Mexico (2017).
Barnett came to the Academy after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at West Texas A&M University. During his two years on the bench in Canyon, the Lady Buffs compiled a 67-9 record, posted back-to-back 16-0 conference seasons and made a pair of trips to the NCAA Division II Volleyball tournament, including a national semifinal appearance in 2013.
Prior to his stint in Texas, Barnett spent four years as the head coach at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. While at UCCS, Barnett went 67-46 and was the second-winningest coach in program history. He was the fastest coach in school history to win 50 matches and led the Mountain Lions to at least 16 victories in all four seasons. The 10 home wins in 2011 were the second-most in school history and the 18 total victories tied for fifth in UCCS records.
Before his time at UCCS, Barnett spent two years as the head coach at Rampart High School in Colorado Springs. He led the Rams to a third-place finish in the Colorado Class 5A State Tournament in 2008, after a Sweet 16 season in 2007.
Barnett also brought a wealth of playing experience to Air Force, having had a standout career as a three-position player at Pepperdine University. A second-team All-American setter in 2001, Barnett went on to earn a gold medal at the World University Games in Beijing later that year. In addition, he had two stints as a member of the U.S. National Team, serving as both an outside hitter (2001-02) and setter (2005-06).
Barnett’s playing career not only encompassed his time at Pepperdine and with the U.S. National Team, but in overseas action as well. He played professionally in Belgium for three seasons, with stops in St. Vith, Halen and Lennik. He also spent seasons in Spain and Romania.
Barnett and his wife, Jessica, are the parents of three girls – Brooklyn, Elyse and Harper.
A member of the Falcons’ coaching staff since 2015, Barnett has been on the bench for some of Air Force’s most successful seasons at the Division I level, including 43 of its 71 Mountain West victories and more than half of its overall DI wins. During his overall tenure, Air Force has accounted for double-digit win totals five times, while matching the program’s Division I records for total wins (17 in 2018) and conference wins (seven, four times).
Since being promoted to head coach in 2019, his teams have climbed to unprecedented heights, including two of the program’s four .500-or-better Division I seasons and the first winning conference campaign ever at the DI level (7-6 in 2020). In just four years at the helm, Barnett has become the Falcons’ winningest DI coach in conference action, led Air Force to a Power 5 win over Iowa (2021), and collected victories over four NCAA Tournament teams. Against the Falcons’ longtime conference foes, he saw the Falcons snap a 53-match losing streak to Colorado State in 2020 and end a 13-match skid to Wyoming in 2021. Barnett also coached Air Force to its first-ever win in Laramie (2022) and its first road victory over New Mexico since 2003. His teams have tallied three true road wins during three of his first four seasons – a tally that matches the program’s best total since 2003.
Eight of his athletes have earned all-conference recognition 10 times from the Mountain West, while Joi Harvey – the program’s first MW Freshman of the Year – became the Academy’s first all-region selection in 26 years in 2020 and repeated the all-region honor in 2022. Bailey Keith became the program’s first national semifinalist for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award in 2021, while 21 Falcons have earned academic all-conference honors and Ella Tschuor earned the program’s first CSC Academic All-District nod in nine years in 2022.
Most recently, Air Force completed the 2022 campaign with a 15-15 record and a 7-11 mark in conference play – with the 15 wins matching the second-highest win total in Air Force’s DI history and the seven Mountain West wins tying for the most conference wins ever at the DI level. The Falcons won their first six matches of the year to capture two tournament titles, account for the program’s best start at DI, equal their longest DI win streak, and cap the first two weeks of the season as one of just 28 unbeaten teams in the NCAA. Although injuries hampered the Falcons during the start of the conference season, Air Force rolled through the second half of MW with an impressive 7-3 ledger that included coming back from an 0-2 deficit for the program’s first-ever road victory over Wyoming, a sweep of previous one-loss San Jose State, and a victory over eventual MW Tournament champion Utah State. Air Force finished the season with a 10-5 record at the Academy – the second-highest home win total in 22 years.
In 2021, Barnett saw a young Air Force squad finish the season with seven victories, including four in conference play. Highlighted by a thrilling, come-from-behind five-set victory over Power 5 opponent Iowa, the Falcons closed out the non-conference season with three-straight wins. In league play, Air Force posted home wins over Fresno State, Nevada, San Diego State and Wyoming – with the last snapping a 13-match match losing streak to the Cowgirls that dated back to 2013.
The 2020 campaign, played in the Spring of 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, was a memorable one for Barnett and his Falcons, as Air Force finished the conference-only season with a 7-6 record – the first winning record in conference play since Air Force joined Division I in 1996. Highlighting the Falcons’ seven-win total was a stunning straight-set road victory over preseason favorite Colorado State during the opening weekend – a win that snapped a 53-match losing streak to the Rams that had dated back to 1995. With the victory, Air Force became the first Mountain West team in 10 years to sweep Colorado State at Moby Arena – and the first team overall since (then) No. 3 Texas collected a 3-0 win in 2016. Air Force, which capped its season with a victory over the conference’s No. 2 team (Boise State), finished the season ranked sixth in the conference – the squad’s highest finish since the league expanded from eight teams following the 2004 season.
During his first season as head coach, Barnett helped a young Air Force squad finish with an 8-22 record, which included five victories in the Mountain West – a tally that tied for the second-most conference wins since the program joined Division I in 1996. He became the program’s first DI coach to win their opening Mountain West match, as the Falcons captured a 3-1 victory over Utah State at the Academy. The squad, which earned an impressive non-conference home victory over Summit League champion Denver in mid-September that year, picked up three road wins on the year – a mark that tied for the second-most true road victories for Air Force at the Division I level.
In 2018, while serving as the team’s associate head coach, Barnett coached the Falcons to their first winning campaign since 1999 – a 17-15 overall record that included an Academy record for wins in a season at the Division I level (17) and a program-best seven victories in conference play. Air Force earned the program’s first-ever victories over schools from the ACC (Wake Forest) and Big Ten (Maryland), enroute to its best non-conference record (10-4) in 19 years.
During his first three seasons with the program, Barnett helped Air Force make an impact in the Mountain West, as the team earned their first-ever win over Utah State (2015) and their first road victories at San Diego State (2015) and Fresno State (2017). The Falcons also snapped several long losing skids against conference opponents, including a 31-match stretch against UNLV (2015) and a 26-match skid against New Mexico (2017).
Barnett came to the Academy after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at West Texas A&M University. During his two years on the bench in Canyon, the Lady Buffs compiled a 67-9 record, posted back-to-back 16-0 conference seasons and made a pair of trips to the NCAA Division II Volleyball tournament, including a national semifinal appearance in 2013.
Prior to his stint in Texas, Barnett spent four years as the head coach at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. While at UCCS, Barnett went 67-46 and was the second-winningest coach in program history. He was the fastest coach in school history to win 50 matches and led the Mountain Lions to at least 16 victories in all four seasons. The 10 home wins in 2011 were the second-most in school history and the 18 total victories tied for fifth in UCCS records.
Before his time at UCCS, Barnett spent two years as the head coach at Rampart High School in Colorado Springs. He led the Rams to a third-place finish in the Colorado Class 5A State Tournament in 2008, after a Sweet 16 season in 2007.
Barnett also brought a wealth of playing experience to Air Force, having had a standout career as a three-position player at Pepperdine University. A second-team All-American setter in 2001, Barnett went on to earn a gold medal at the World University Games in Beijing later that year. In addition, he had two stints as a member of the U.S. National Team, serving as both an outside hitter (2001-02) and setter (2005-06).
Barnett’s playing career not only encompassed his time at Pepperdine and with the U.S. National Team, but in overseas action as well. He played professionally in Belgium for three seasons, with stops in St. Vith, Halen and Lennik. He also spent seasons in Spain and Romania.
Barnett and his wife, Jessica, are the parents of three girls – Brooklyn, Elyse and Harper.
Falcons open up MW play with sweep of Nevada
Thursday, September 25
Macey Donathan Interview Sept 23, 2025
Tuesday, September 23
Utah Tech gives Falcons a loss in four sets
Saturday, September 20
Falcons fall in 5 sets to Northern Colorado
Friday, September 19
