Craig McKenzie Blazes his Trail to CMU to Head Coach Women's Volleyball
The CMU Women's Volleyball program is pleased to announce Craig McKenzie the successor to head coach Jayme Menzies, and will look to hit the ground running in taking the team to new heights with Manitoba slated to host the 2026 CCAA Nationals.
If McKenzie seems like a familiar face around CMU, it's because he's been on campus for plenty of games over the last several years. His daughter Sahra McKenzie played under Jayme Menzies for three seasons, capping off her time as a Blazer with the program's first appearance at a CCAA Nationals in March of 2024. McKenzie has a lengthy list of prior coaching experiences following his own USports career as a member of the University of Winnipeg Wesmen. Another connection to outgoing head coach Jayme Menzies was Craig's involvement as an assistant coach with the Wesmen from 2007-2014 during the years which Menzies played for the University of Winnipeg herself.
McKenzie has been involved in the Manitoba youth volleyball scene for quite some time as well, both at the high school level and on the club side. Within the Manitoba High School Athletics Association he has most recently been involved at nearby Oak Park where he has primarily coached the varsity girls program, and on the club side his affiliations have been with Jr Bisons, Jr Wesmen, Winman, and most recently with Bandits 18U girls since 2021. These connections to up-and-coming athletes will certainly be invaluable as he builds his roster for upcoming seasons. McKenzie has also coached with Team Manitoba at the Canada Summer Games level, and has been part of Volleyball Canada's organizing committee for its national team programs.
"We're pleased to welcome Craig as the new head coach of the program," states CMU Director of Athletics Russell Willms. "Craig is well-connected in the coaching world and will lean on his rich history of success at the club and high school level to keep pushing our program forward."
The Blazers are entering the 2025/26 season with high hopes of making a second appearance at the CCAA National Championships. The women's tournament is hosted for the first time in Manitoba at the conclusion of the league schedule, which means the Providence Pilots and the next highest finisher at the MCAC Championships will both earn spots at the national championship.
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