Eve Rackham

Position:
S
Height:
5-10
Class:
Freshman
Hometown:
Sebastopol, Calif.
High School:
El Molino

The 2014 AVCA Division I Assistant Coach of the Year, Eve Rackham enters her eighth season with the Tar Heels in 2016 after joining the coaching staff in May of 2009. Rackham, in charge of recruiting and developing the Carolina offense, was named assistant head coach on July 15, 2013. During her tenure at UNC, Rackham has led the Tar Heels to a 167-59 record with six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

Rackham helped UNC to a season for the ages with its 2014 campaign, compiling a 29-3 record and a perfect 16-0 record at home en route to the most wins since her senior year in 2002. North Carolina earned a series of new program highs during the incredible season, including a No. 7 AVCA Coaches Poll ranking, a No. 5 NCAA RPI ranking and a No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament. UNC also reeled off 20-straight victories, the longest winning streak in program history. The season ended for the Tar Heels in the NCAA Regional Finals in Minneapolis, the first time the program reached the Regional Final in Carolina volleyball history.

A former setter who now guides the Carolina offense, Rackham has consistently developed UNC into an offensive powerhouse. The 2014 Tar Heels ranked among the best in the ACC in three different categories, including 4th in the ACC and 29th in the nation in hitting percentage (.259), 4th in the ACC in assists/set (12.86) and 4th in the ACC in kills/set (13.84). After wrapping the historic season, Rackham was named the AVCA Division I Assistant Coach of the Year, the first award for an assistant coach in UNC volleyball program history.

In 2013, Rackham and the Tar Heels jumped to an electric 15-0 start and a final tally of 27 wins, the most since 2002. Statistically, the Tar Heels finished the 2013 season in the top five in the ACC in six categories, including second in assists (1,529, 13.30/set), which ranked 23rd in the nation, and kills (1,647, 14.32/set) which ranked 19th in the nation.

In 2011, the Tar Heels finished third in the nation in both assists per set (13.91) and kills per set (14.89). The 2010 Tar Heels ranked 10th in the nation in assists per set (13.52) and 16th in kills per set (14.37). In her second season as assistant, she helped guide UNC to a 25-10 mark.

Along with developing the dominant Carolina offense, Rackham’s responsibilities include serving as the recruiting coordinator for the Tar Heels. The 2016 recruiting class was ranked No. 3 in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com, the highest ranking in program history and second top-10 class under her guidance. The 2012 recruiting class was ranked No. 8 and included future All-Americans Paige Neuenfeldt, Victoria McPherson and Taylor Treacy. UNC’s 2011, 2013, and 2014 classes also gained national recognition and were ranked as High Honorable Mention by PrepVolleyball.com.

Rackham has coached the Tar Heels to numerous conference, regional and national awards including: ACC Defensive Players of the Year Kaylie Gibson and Ece Taner; ACC Freshman of the Year Cameron Van Noy (2011); and AVCA East Region Freshman of the Year and ACC Freshman of the Year Paige Neuenfeldt (2012); as well as two of the UNC's three all-time AVCA All-America honors, in Neuenfeldt (Third Team 2015) and Chaniel Nelson (Second Team, 2014).

UNC's starting setter from 1999-2002, Rackham led UNC to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2002 NCAA Sweet Sixteen and Carolina's highest ranking to that point (No. 11) in the AVCA Coaches’ Poll.

Carolina's all-time career leader in assists per set (12.58), Rackham earned First-Team All-ACC and First-Team AVCA All-Region in 2002. Rackham was part of the winningest class in school history from 1999-2002 as the Tar Heels compiled a 110-27 record, winning 80 percent of their games. The Sebastopol, California, native graduated from UNC in 2003 with a degree in journalism and mass communication.

She spent the 2004 season at Colgate, where she coached the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. Rackham returned to the state of the North Carolina in 2005, when she started a three-year run at East Carolina, which saw seven Pirates named all-conference. In her first year, she helped lead the squad to a 20-11 record, only the third 20-win season in school history.

Before returning to UNC, Rackham spent the 2008 season in Miami, where she was the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Florida International. She helped guide the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001 and coached the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and NCAA kill leader, along with two All-Conference honorees and one All-America recipient.

Last Update: July 2016