Danny Goncalves, who has a varied background as a coach and player, is entering his 13th season in 2026-27 at the helm of the Highlanders after being selected the choice to lead the NJIT men’s volleyball program in 2014-15.
Goncalves has more than 15 years volleyball coaching experience at both the collegiate and high school levels, as well as extensive experience in club volleyball as an organizer, player, and coach.
In 2026, NJIT entered the postseason riding strong momentum, earning a spot in the AVCA Top 20 for 11 consecutive weeks and winning 18 of its final 22 matches. The Highlanders finished the season 18–8 overall and 9–3 in EIVA play, going undefeated at home during the regular season—one of just three NCAA Division I programs to do so, alongside UCLA and Maryland Eastern Shore. The 18 wins mark the program's highest total since 2007, while the nine conference victories are the most since 2022.
Individually, Wiktor Nowak was named AVCA Men's DI-II All-America Honorable Mention, becoming the fifth Highlander to earn the honor under Goncalves -- Alvaro Gimeno (2020, AVCA second team), Luca Berger (2020, AVCA Honorable Mention), Jabarry Goodridge (Honorable Mention; 2016, 2017) and Griffin Fieseler (2021, OffTheBlock Freshmen All-American team).
Freshman Andre Aleixo was named the 2026 Tom Tait Memorial Freshman of the Year and earned All-EIVA Second Team honors. He was one of six Highlanders recognized by the conference. Bruno Figueiredo, Daniel Latkowski, and Wiktor Nowak earned All-EIVA First Team selections, while Diego Lopez joined Aleixo on the Second Team. Freshman Alex Heins received Honorable Mention recognition.
The 2021 Bob Sweeney Coach of the Year led the Highlanders to a 13-6 overall mark and second in the EIVA with a 13-3 record. The 13 wins are the most wins for NJIT since 2017. NJIT made its first appearance in program history in the NVA/AVCA top-10 on March 29, 2021 at No. 10 and finished the season ranked No. 14 in the final rankings.
Goncalves' squad broke into the National Volleyball Association (NVA)/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I-II Men's Coaches top-15 poll after splitting a weekend EIVA series with then-ranked No. 11 Penn State on February 14, 2021. The win for the Highlanders marked the first time since 1998 NJIT defeated Penn State.
The 11-3 start was the best since 2007, when the Highlanders went 10-4, and the nine consecutive victories are the most in a row since 2017.
In 2017, NJIT finished with 13 wins, including a win over then-ranked #15 George Mason (3-2) on February 17. NJIT last defeated a top-ranked opponent five years ago (April 13, 2012) when the Highlanders stunned No. 15 Harvard. Senior Jabarry Goodridge, a two-time AVCA All-American and EIVA Player of the Year, ranked second in the nation in kills per set (4.43) and points per set (5.15) while sitting in the top 5 in attacks per set (9.08). Goodridge concluded his four-year career at NJIT with 1,450 kills.
The Highlanders completed its 2016 season with an 8-18 overall mark, 7-7 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) competition. The 2016 season was highlighted by a six-match win streak (longest win streak since 2007).
In his first season at the helm of the Highlanders, NJIT finished 11-13, surpassing their wins output from a year ago, when the team finished 10-17. Men’s volleyball marked one of the best performances against the formidable and perennial EIVA champion Penn State on March 28, taking the (then) No. 8 team in the nation to five sets.
He was an all-conference player at Shelton (CT) High School before playing collegiate volleyball at the University of New Haven in the early 2000s. After college, he played professionally in Portugal with Castelo da Maia, a first-division team. A versatile player, he saw action as a libero (defensive specialist) and as an outside hitter and opposite hitter (key attacking positions).
He began coaching at his high school alma mater, Shelton High, where he helped guide the boys teams to two Connecticut state championships, two undefeated seasons, and three conference titles.
Moving on to his college alma mater, New Haven, he was assistant coach, then head coach of the men’s team and assistant coach of the women’s team from 2008 through 2010. In his time coaching at UNH, the women’s team won two Northeast 10 Conference titles and made the NCAA Division II postseason tournament in all three seasons as an assistant coach, including a run to the 2008 NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
Next, he headed to another Connecticut institution, Division I Sacred Heart University, where he was an assistant coach with both the men’s and women’s teams, with the women capturing a Northeast Conference championship.
Most recently, he has been Volleyball Director at Chelsea Piers Connecticut in Stamford. The volleyball center features instruction, private lessons, youth and adult leagues, tournaments, and summer camps. Chelsea Piers Connecticut is a sports and entertainment complex developed and managed by the same team as Chelsea Piers in New York City.
As a college player at New Haven, Goncalves finished his career ranked eighth on the Chargers’ career charts with 680.5 individual points. He is eighth at UNH in career kills (504), seventh in career assists (146), and top 10 in service aces (66), digs (421; fourth), and total blocks (177; 44 solo, 133 assisted).
Aside from his professional career in Portugal, he has remained active in the region with some of the top adult men’s volleyball clubs in the New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut region.
Updated May 2026
