​His players nicknamed him “GOATkhan,” and he’s continuing to live up to the moniker.Florida A&M head volleyball coach Gokhan Yilmaz hit a milestone 150 career wins in the Rattlers’ 3-1 triumph on the road at Mississippi Valley State last Friday, Oct. 2. Two days later, they followed up by beating Jackson State 3-1 to sweep through the Mississippi SWAC swing.View this post on InstagramAfter taking over in 2018 for FAMU Hall of Famer and 10-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship coach Tanio “Tony” Trifonov, Yilmaz has kept the Rattlers prominent in college volleyball.Since FAMU joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference, the Rattlers won the SWAC volleyball championship tournament four times in five seasons, with 2023 being the lone year they didn’t capture the trophy.Last year, FAMU did the unthinkable by winning the 2025 SWAC title as the No. 8 and lowest seed in the playoffs. Homecourt advantage proved valuable as the Rattlers hosted the eight-team tournament and beat Southern 3-1 in the SWAC Championship game at the Al Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center, clinching a spot in the NCAA Tournament.This season, Ladonna Trantham and Sydney Whitfield are both starring for the Rattlers, both earning SWAC weekly honors thus far. Right side hitter Tamia Coleman also has earned SWAC defensive awards.FAMU volleyball’s (8-9, 3-1 in SWAC) SWAC title defense season resumes on Wednesday in its “Block B-CU” game against in-state rivals Bethune-Cookman (7-7, 3-1 in SWAC) at the Lawson Center. The first serve is at 6 p.m. and will be streamed on SWAC TV.It’s the first of a three-game stay as Arkansas-Pine Bluff comes to town on Friday at 6 p.m. and Grambling State completes the homestand on Sunday at noon.Florida A&M vs Bethune-Cookman, SWAC VolleyballWhen: Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m.Where: Al Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center in Tallahassee, FloridaTV/Streaming: SWAC TVGerald Thomas, III, is a multi-time national award-winning reporter for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat under the USA TODAY Network.Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU volleyball’s Gokhan Yilmaz hits 150 wins amid SWAC title defense