In his eight seasons as head volleyball coach of the West Texas A&M Lady Buffs, Tony Graystone has established himself as one of the top coaches in the nation and the most successful coach in Lady Buff history.

Graystone ranks among the best coaching in NCAA-II in terms of percentage, winning 83.6 percent of his matches (245 wins, 48 losses).

Last season, Graystone revived the volleyball program by guiding the squad back to the top of the Lone Star conference and into the hunt for a National Championship, as the Lady Buffs posted a 34-4 overall record. Along the way, Graystone collected LSC South Coach of the Year honors for the fourth time in his career and brought home AVCA Southwest Regional Coach of the Year honors for the third time.

The Lady Buffs finished atop the LSC Standings for the 12th time in program history and advanced to the NCAA-II Elite Eight for the ninth time in school history.

In 2004, Graystone also became WTAMU's all-time winningest coach with his 160th career win, passing Debbie Hendricks, under whom Graystone began his collegiate coaching career.

During the 2001 season, Graystone became the fastest coach to reach 100 wins in NCAA history, reaching the milestone in only 106 matches. The next closest coach to reach 100 wins is Gil Dobie, who coached Boston College football for 32 years, and reached the milestone in 108 games.

After being promoted from the Lady Buffs' assistant coaching position in January of 1999, he went 28 matches before his initial loss as a first-year head coach, shattering the previous mark of 13-0. Graystone went on to lead the Lady Buffs to a 36-2 overall record and the Elite Eight semifinals in 1999, falling two points short of the championship match.

He led the team to a nearly identical 35-2 record in 2000, and took the Lady Buffs to the Elite Eight quarterfinal round. The team tied its school record with 28-straight wins during the season, with the streak being broken by Augustana College in the Elite Eight quarterfinal round. Graystone and the Lady Buffs also chiseled away at the school record for consecutive home-court wins, and established a new mark at 57 matches before the streak ended.

In 2001, Graystone guided the Lady Buffs to their ninth LSC title, and a fifth-consecutive undefeated divisional season, but for the first time, Graystone's squad missed out on hosting the NCAA Division II Southwest Regional Tournament.

The 2002 season saw Graystone and WTAMU roll through the season, highlighted by a school-record 29-match winning streak. The Lady Buffs claimed their sixth-straight LSC South title and fourth-straight LSC Tournament title. Graystone earned LSC South Division Coach of the Year and AVCA/Tachikara Southwest Region Coach of the Year honors. WTAMU hosted the Elite Eight for the first time since 1991, and held the top seed, but were upset in the quarterfinals.

While 2003's 29-8 season had a downside in that it was the first time under Graystone that WTAMU didn't reach the 30-win plateau, it had far more upsides in the form of milestones and achievements to outweigh any thoughts of considering it a "disappointing season."

Graystone reached two milestones individually: 150 career wins, and steamrolling on to win number 160, assuming the title of "Winningest Head Coach in WTAMU History."

He also led the Lady Buffs to a team milestone, setting a new NCAA-II record for consecutive victories over conference opponents, as the streak reached 77-straight before being snapped by Angelo State.

During the off-season, Graystone directs the WTAMU volleyball camps, one of the top-rated youth volleyball clinics in the state.

Graystone, who served as the full-time assistant coach at WTAMU from 1997-98, has several years of coaching experience at the high school and club level. He played an important part in WTAMU's 1997 national championship season, which concluded with a 37-3 record and a five-game thrilling victory over Barry University (Fla.).

In addition to being WTAMU's assistant and head volleyball coach, Graystone served as the Amarillo Junior Olympic Volleyball Association's program director from 1998 to 2000. His duties included leading the coaching staff, running instructional camps/practices and assisting in overall club management.

Before accepting the WTAMU assistant position, Graystone was the head volleyball coach at Ballard High School in Louisville, Ky. He also spent three seasons with Louisville's Derby City Junior Olympic Volleyball Club, Inc. Graystone directed its number-one 18-and-under squad (Derby City 18's Teal) for one season and served as the club organization's treasurer for one year.

Graystone earned his USA Volleyball certified CAP Level II license in 1996. He was published in American Volleyball Coaches Association Power Tips in November 1996. He is currently a USA Volleyball Impact instructor, and teaches a class that helps club coaches obtain their certifications.

Graystone became a voting member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association coaches' poll in 2002. He was a presenter at the AVCA convention in December of 2000. He also presented subject matter at the Texas High School Girls Coaches Association Convention in July 2000.

Graystone graduated from Grand Valley State University (Mich.) in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in health sciences with an emphasis on exercise science. He was a three-year letterwinner on the track and cross country teams at GVSU.

He went on to earn his master's degree from the University of Louisville in exercise physiology 1996.

Graystone and his wife, Lauren, have a son, Drew, and they reside in Canyon.