Yajaira Cadet
Assistant Coach
Yajaira Cadet came to the Bears in early January of 2022 after serving as the head coach of club team Excel Volleyball for seven years, coaching teams from 10U to 17U.
“It is with incredible excitement, enthusiasm and rejoicing that we are able to announce Yajaira Cadet as our next assistant coach,” said McGuyre. “I feel incredibly blessed that God has called such a passionate and skilled teacher to our program. As an athlete, Yajaira led the SEC in digs and was a two-time national champion.
“As a teacher/coach, Yajaira is skilled in instruction, communication and motivation. She recognizes and implements timeless principles into her life and others daily. I am confident she will be an immaculate servant and mentor to our student-athletes, both as competitors and women of character. Her strengths flourish on and off the court. Yajaira will add to an already servant-hearted staff and strengthen our ability to Prepare Champions for Life.”
In addition to her club volleyball coaching, she also was a private coach while serving as a bilingual instructional specialist and principal intern at Memorial Elementary in the Plano school district for the past four years. She has served as a bilingual educator and coach for a total of 12 years.
Prior to being with the Excel club, she was a volleyball graduate assistant at the University of Evansville in Indiana from 2007 to 2009. Cadet earned her master’s degree in public service administration in 2009 from the university while assisting the Aces with training the primary passers and outside hitters.
During her time there, Evansville’s passing statistics improved, and she coached the Missouri Valley Conference Libero of the Year Julie Walroth. At the time, Walroth was one of only 25 players in NCAA history to have 2,000 digs in her career.
“I coach because I have a passion for teaching the sport of volleyball to the future generations of players,” Cadet said previously. “I coach to serve and share the gift of volleyball. My coaching is focused on developing the mechanics of the sport, a competitive mindset and decision-making of the game.”
Cadet had a storied playing career. She started out on the Dominican Republic indoor and beach volleyball national teams, competing in several international tournaments, including Olympic qualifiers and earned a silver medal in the North, Central and Caribbean Tournament (NORCECA). She played for the junior and major national teams between 1994 and 2000.
Starting her collegiate career at the University of South Carolina in 2001, Cadet led the SEC in digs as a sophomore in 2002. Transferring to California Baptist, she served as team captain and helped the Lancers to back-to-back NAIA national championships in 2004 and 2005 under McGuyre. Cadet played outside and right-side hitter as well as libero in her career.
In 2004, she was named AVCA All-America first team and also received Golden State Athletic Conference All-Conference and Academic All-Conference honors.
Cadet became a member of the CBU and city of Riverside Sport Hall of Fame after her senior campaign with the Lancers, graduating with her bachelor’s in psychology and Christian studies in 2006. At the time of her induction, she was third all-time in single-season records with 616 kills, fourth with 4.57 kills per match and fifth with 536 digs.
She played six years of professional volleyball, winning five national titles in the Dominican beach volleyball league and was team captain of Bameso that won the U.S. Volleyball Open in 2005.
Born in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic, Cadet and her husband, Abraham, have three children – Isaac, Abigail and Abraham Jr.