Eryn Leja-Martin enters her third season as head coach of the Concordia University Irvine women's volleyball program after taking the helm in July 2024.
Through her first two seasons, Leja-Martin has guided the Golden Eagles to 28 victories while continuing to build a competitive program in the PacWest Conference. In 2025, Concordia finished 12-13 overall and produced four All-PacWest selections. Senior Mattie Prior was honored with Concordia's prestigious Female Golden Eagle Award, recognizing excellence in athletics, academics, leadership, and service.
In her debut season in 2024, the Golden Eagles won 16 matches and posted an 11-9 PacWest record. Concordia opened the season 5-1, earned conference sweeps over Biola and Westmont, and secured key road victories at Hawai?i Hilo and Azusa Pacific. Sophomore Kayden Croy earned First Team All-PacWest honors after leading the team with 351 kills.
A graduate of Concordia's nationally respected Master's in Coaching and Athletic Administration (MCAA) program, Leja-Martin brings extensive collegiate head coaching experience and a proven record of success throughout Southern California.
An alumna and Academic All-American at Chapman University, Leja-Martin previously served as head coach at Vanguard University and the University of Saint Katherine. She earned her 200th career head coaching victory in 2023 and has accumulated more than 240 career wins during her collegiate coaching career.
Before arriving at Concordia, Leja-Martin led the University of Saint Katherine to 30 wins and the top seed in its conference tournament during the institution's final season. The Firebirds compiled a 25-match winning streak and a 17-5 home record while earning the program's first-ever NAIA National Championship Tournament berth in 2023. That season, Saint Katherine climbed into the NAIA Top 25 rankings for the first time in program history, reaching as high as No. 17 in the nation. In addition to her coaching responsibilities, she served as Assistant Athletic Director for Internal Operations. During her final three seasons at Saint Katherine, the program averaged 24 wins per year. She also coached two NAIA All-Americans who went on to play professional volleyball.
Prior to Saint Katherine, Leja-Martin transformed Vanguard into a perennial NAIA contender, leading the Lions to their first-ever GSAC Championship in 2015 and five NAIA National Tournament appearances in six seasons. Her 2015 squad climbed as high as No. 4 in the NAIA national rankings while also receiving first-place votes in the national poll. After spending one year as an assistant coach, she became one of the nation's youngest collegiate head coaches and compiled a 126-78 record during her tenure.
Between her two NAIA head coaching stops, Leja-Martin spent three seasons as a top assistant at NCAA DI Houston Christian University, where she was promoted to associate head coach after helping guide the Huskies to three consecutive conference tournament appearances and multiple double-digit win seasons.
As a student-athlete, Leja-Martin competed at the College of the Desert and UC Riverside before completing her collegiate career at Chapman University. A native of Thermal, California, she starred at La Quinta High School before beginning her collegiate volleyball journey.
Away from the court, Leja-Martin enjoys spending time with her family in San Clemente, where she resides with her husband, Kyle, their daughter, Layne, and son, Cole, along with their two dogs, Cooper and Marleaux.
