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Coaching Staff
Todd Elwell, Head Coach
Todd Elwell enters his ninth season as the MIT men's volleyball head coach in 2025-26. In nine seasons with the Engineers, Elwell has guided MIT to a 120-67 record and four appearances in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) playoffs. Elwell was named as the MIT men's volleyball head coach on June 29, 2017.
In his time at MIT, Elwell has led the Engineers to six seasons of 15 or more wins. Additionally, he coached Thomas Nelson '20, who became the first student-athlete in program history and first student-athlete in UVC history to be named the league's Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year three times. Elwell also coached Nick Gustafson who was named an AVCA Second Team All-American in 2024. Gustafson and Phillip Johnson also earned AVCA All-Region honors in 2024. In 2025 Grant Oh was named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American.
From 2005-2017, Elwell served as the boys and girls volleyball head coach at Newton South High School, in addition to also working as the indoor and outdoor track and field coach from 1999-2005. As the head coach of the boy’s program, he has amassed an overall record of 215-50 while being named as the Boston Globe Boys Volleyball Coach of the Year in 2009. His teams have claimed five Dual County League Championships, made eight South Sectional Championship appearances and finished a perfect 25-0 while capturing the 2014 Massachusetts State Championship.
His other experience includes serving as a head coach at Beantown Volleyball Club since 2009, along with working as a Wellness Teacher at Newton South. Inducted into the Massachusetts Girls’ Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2014, he has also been a certified Gold Medal Squared Coach for 10 years. As the track and field head coach at Newton South, Elwell won a pair of Massachusetts State Championships and four league titles.
In addition, he was also an assistant coach at Wheaton College from 1994-1996 and a physical education teacher and coach in Stoughton Public Schools from 1988-1998. Elwell is a 1988 graduate of Eastern Nazarene College, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in physical education.
Jake Gasparich, Assistant Coach
Jake Gasparich enters his 4th year as an assistant coach for the MIT men's volleyball team for the 2025-2026 season.
Gasparich grew up in New Lenox, Illinois where and as the valedictorian from Lincoln-Way West High School and competed for Ultimate Volleyball Club. During his six seasons competing for Ultimate, his teams finished in the top 15 in the Open division of the USAV Boys Junior National Championship each year - including two top 5 finishes.
Upon completing high school, he continued his studies and his volleyball career at MIT. Primarily playing as a middle blocker, he was a 3-year captain for the men's volleyball program. Gasparich is a 3 time All-Academic Team honoree in the United Volleyball Conference, and currently sits 4th in MIT men's volleyball program history for career hitting percentage. His final season as a player was the 2020 pandemic-shortened season where he helped guide the Engineers to a 17-4 record.
Before joining the coaching staff at MIT for the 2022-2023 season, he returned to the club that he played for - Ultimate - and coached there for 2 seasons. This time was highlighted by his team winning 1st place out of 70 teams in the 18 Club division at the 2022 AAU Boys National Championships.
Away from the court, Gasparich earned an undergraduate degree in course 6-3 at MIT (Computer Science). He currently works as a Software Developer at InterSystems Corporation, a Data Solutions company based in Cambridge, MA.
Jeremy Velazquez, PhD, Assistant Coach
COLLEGE: MIT '12
YEAR: 4th at MIT
Jeremy Velazquez joined the MIT coaching staff in 2022 as an assistant coach. No stranger to Rockwell Cage, he was a four-year starter of the men’s volleyball team which was under the direction of head coach Paul Dill. A defensive specialist/libero, Velazquez played in 473 sets and amassed 805 digs. He was named the team’s Defensive Player of the Year as both a junior and a senior.
Velazquez has been playing and coaching volleyball since a young age under the tutelage of his mother, Karyn Altman ‘78, a former player and head coach of MIT’s men’s and women’s volleyball programs. He follows in the footsteps of his younger brother, Jarred, who was an assistant coach for the women’s team for three seasons (2017-19) as well as the men’s program for the 2017 season.
Velazquez graduated from MIT in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering. He went on to earn his PhD in cellular and molecular pathology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2022 and currently works on regenreative therapies at GC Therapeutics.
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