Clayton Bristow is entering his third season (2025) as an assistant coach on the SMU volleyball staff and fourth with the program.
An an assistant coach in 2024, Bristow helped SMU Volleyball earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and host-site honors for the opening two rounds for the first time in program history, becoming the first DFW school to be seeded high enough to host since UTA hosted in 1991.
The Mustangs finished the season 25-8, finishing fourth in the ACC with a 16-4 conference record, and guided SMU to its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, its second in-a-row, and an opening round tourney win, sweeping Wichita State. The Mustangs defeated seven ranked teams in 2024, including No. 1 Pitt and No. 2 Nebraska. The Mustangs also collected a program record of 12 round wins in her third season on the Hilltop.
Bristow helped mentored four All-ACC and four AVCA All-Region Selections. Naya Shime and Celia Cullen were named First-Team All-Conference and All-Region Selection. At the same time, Natalie Foster and Maya Tabron earned a spot on the ACC Second-Team and All-Region honorable mention accolades. Shime and Cullen were also named AVCA All-Americans, with Shime being selected to the third team, the program's first player to make an All-American Team, and Cullen bringing in honorable mention recognition.
The Mustangs have had four players drafted into the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) with Bristow on staff, three coming in 2024, as Naya Shime, Natalie Foster, and Maya Tabron were selected in the second and third rounds of the draft. Emma Clothier was the first Mustangs drafted in 2023.
In Bristow's first year on the Hilltop, the Mustangs finished the season with a 26-7 overall record and won the American Athletic Conference championship. SMU finished league play with an 18-1 record, marking the best conference winning percentage in program history (.947), and won the program's first league title since 2016. The Mustangs rode a 15-match win streak into the NCAA Tournament and entered as a No. 7 seed after seven straight sweeps. SMU swept Texas State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to finish the month of November without dropping a set.
Bristow helped guide five All-AAC and two AVCA All-Region Selections, including the American's Player of the Year Emma Clothier, Setter of the Year Celia Cullen, and Libero of the Year Sina Uluave. Jamison Wheeler was named a First-Team selection, and Natalie Perdue earned a spot on the Second-Team. Clothier and Cullen both earned All-Region honors.
Bristow is no stranger to success. He's an assistant coach for the country's No. 1 juniors club team, Texas Advantage Volleyball (TAV). His 16's team won a national championship at the open level in 2021. In 2023, his 17's team finished fifth in the 17 Open. His teams have qualified for nationals in the past 10 seasons since he began coaching club.
Bristow played volleyball for UT Dallas as an opposite for three seasons. He began his coaching career with the Comets and helped lead UT Dallas to an American Southwest Conference championship in 2013. The Comets advanced to the second round of the Division III NCAA Championships. The team collected a 31-9 overall record and had an 18-game win streak at one point in the season.
Following his graduation from UTD, Bristow served as an assistant coach at Division I Lamar University, where he primarily worked with MB's and setters, helping middle Chelsea Grant finish in the top 50 for blocks per set in all of NCAA Division I.
Prior to coaching club at TAV, Bristow spent time with Alamo Volleyball Association, a top club in his hometown of San Antonio. He currently lives in the DFW area with his wife Kelsey and son Brady.
