University of Texas Arlington Athletics

J.T. Wenger, a former standout collegiate player at UCLA who had several stops as a Power 5 assistant coach, concluded his eighth season on the sidelines as the head coach at UT Arlington, where he was hired in January 2017, with a conference championship and an NCAA tournament appearance.

Just nine wins shy of 150 in his career, Wenger guided the Lady Mavs to a 29-3 record in 2024, which included an undefeated 16-0 record and a championship finish in the program’s second season back in the WAC. In the Mavs first conference championship since 2002, he helped guide the team to a .906 winning percentage, which is the highest win percentage in program history.

Individually, Brianna Ford became the program’s first-ever two-time AVCA All-Region selection while winning the WAC Player of the Year. Paige Reagor, an AVCA Southwest Region First-Team Honoree, and Mollie Blank made the WAC’s All-First Team. Graduate Mollie Blank won the Setter of the Year . On top of that, six players combined for seven weekly awards from the conference, including Skinner, Ford, Wells, Jalie Tritt, Mollie Blank and Kortney Puckett.

POWER 5 COACHING BACKGROUND
A native of Highland Park, Ill. who is a two-time “Thirty Under 30” honoree by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), Wenger previously served as an assistant coach at Michigan State in 2016, the associate head coach at Colorado from 2012-15 and the men’s assistant coach at UCLA from 2006-11.

In 2016, Wenger helped guide the Spartans to the program’s highest finish in the Big Ten since 2007 with a 25-9 overall record and 13 conference victories, the latter of which was the fourth-most in MUS annals. The team finished the season ranked 19th in the final AVCA poll and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

During his stint at Colorado, Wenger helped lead the program to a pair of NCAA second-round appearances in 2013 and 2014. In 2015, the Buffs notched six wins over top-25 foes, one season after collecting five such victories. Over his final three seasons there, Colorado recorded a 57-42 record. On top of that, he helped the program go from 10th in the conference standings in 2012 (4-16) to seventh in 2013 (9-11), fourth in 2014 (11-9) and fifth in 2015 (11-9).

During his tenure at UCLA, Wenger was an assistant under legendary coach Al Scates, who retired as the all-time winningest coach in Division I volleyball history, claiming 19 national championships. While there, Wenger saw the Bruins ranked in the top-10 nationally for 106 of his 108 weeks.

OTHER COACHING EXPERIENCE
Before joining the collegiate sidelines as a member of the UCLA men’s staff, Wenger served as a coach on the prep level. He led the Marymount High School girls team to the 2011 California DI state championship game and the 2002 California DIII state championship. He also coached the Sunshine Volleyball Club 14s in 2003-04 and 2006.

Wenger has been active in the USA Volleyball organization, serving as an assistant coach on the 2011 USA team during the World University Games in Shenzhen, China. He also helped coach the 2009 USA Men’s Junior National Team at the World Championships in Pune, India, and he spent time with the USA High Performance program in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2015.

PLAYING CAREER
Wenger starred for the UCLA men’s volleyball team from 2000-04, where he was part of a team that claimed a national championship in 2000, a national runner-up finish in 2001 and made the national tournament each one of his seasons. As a senior in 2004, he competed in 28 matches while compiling 216 kills and averaging 2.8 kills per set as a team captain, ultimately leading the team to a regional semifinal appearance and a 24-6 record overall.

Following his collegiate career, Wenger played for Corozal Plantaneros in Corozal, Puerto Rico.

Prior to UCLA, Wenger was named the 1999 Illinois Volleyball Player of the Year during his time at Highland Park High School, where he also played soccer.

UTA COACHING HIGHLIGHTS
In 2021, Wenger guided the Mavs to a No. 2 seeding in the conference tournament, which was the program’s highest since joining the Sun Belt. The team advanced to the semifinals, while Briana Brown (First Team) and Alli Wells (Second Team) were named all-conference selections. Wells joined the 1,000 dig club while Brooke Townsend eclipsed 1,000 kills

A COVID-19 impacted 2020 season didn’t slow down Wenger and the Mavericks as UTA ended the fall regular season by capturing the first Top-25 win in Wenger’s tenure, defeating No. 11 Texas State in straight sets in San Marcos. The win snapped a 17-match winning streak for the Bobcats and a 31-match conference winning streak. Four Mavericks earned Sun Belt postseason accolades. Alli Wells was named First Team All-Sun Belt and captured the second straight Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Award for the Mavs. Brooke Townsend, Brianna Ford and Briana Brown were all named Second Team All-Sun Belt.

In 2019, Wenger led the Mavericks to a 20-14 overall record, the program’s first 20-win campaign since winning 25 in 2015. UTA finished 8-8 in Sun Belt play and advanced to the SBC semifinals, which helped them earn a postseason berth to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). While there, UTA advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual tournament runner-up South Dakota.

The Mavs had four student-athletes earn Sun Belt postseason accolades. Madelyn St. Germain was named Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year and was named Second Team All-Sun Belt. Madison Hill garnered the second First Team All-Sun Belt selection of her career. Kylie Jedlicka and Brooke Townsend were each named Second Team All-Sun Belt.

In his second season, Wenger led the team to a 16-12 overall record (9-7 Sun Belt) and the No. 5 seed in the 2018 Sun Belt tournament in 2018. The team advanced to the Sun Belt quarterfinals as Madison Hill was named First Team All-Sun Belt while Zhanelle Geathers and Kylie Jedlicka earned Second Team All-Sun Belt recognition.

Wenger’s first campaign witnessed two of the top performers in UTA history - Qiana Canete and Zhanelle Geathers, who each made the all-conference team. Canete eclipsed 1,500 career kills, which still ranks fourth-most in program history entering the 2023 campaign while Geathers graduated with the 11th-most career blocks.

PERSONAL
Wenger, who earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from UCLA in 2004, is married to his wife, Marissa. Together, they have a daughter, Vivienne, and two sons, Reid and Valen.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT WENGER
"What a great hire for UT Arlington. J.T. will be one of the best coaches in the country, I'm sure. He's very bright, brings tremendous energy and motivation. As a player, he worked very hard to change the culture at UCLA and was a big piece of mentoring a younger roster that went on to the NCAA finals and national championship after he left. I always realized how bright he was as a player and student-athlete. As a political science major he made the Director's honor roll eight times, which is really special. On the court, he was such a team guy and was willing to play anywhere I wanted him too, middle blocker, outside hitter, he could play three positions just to get in the lineup. He is a real student of the game. After he played professional volleyball in Puerto Rico for a year, he went back to Chicago and had a great job outside of athletics but he was also coaching a team in Chicago. I kept a close eye on him and after I lost some assistant coaches, I reached out to J.T. and asked him to come back as my assistant. He was a great assistant coach, and it was clear that it was just a matter of time before he got a head coaching job."
Al Scates
Legendary former UCLA men's volleyball head coach
 
"There's no doubt that the administration at UT Arlington sees in J.T. what I saw when we hired him - a bright, talented coach with a great future in our game. This is a loss for our program, but the opportunity to be a head coach and run your own program is difficult to turn down. Though it was a short time with us, J.T. brought many things to the table that helped us have a great season - but we know he's ready to take this challenge head-on, and we will root for his success. I have very fond memories of my time at Texas-Arlington, and I know that community will enjoy the Wenger family and all that he will bring to the volleyball program. We wish J.T. and his family nothing but the best in his new role."
Cathy George
Recently retired Michigan State head coach and former UTA head coach

"J.T. Wenger was a very creative attacker at UCLA and saw the game in a unique way. I think he has the ability to think his way through games differently than the mainstream and that will serve him and his team well in his new coaching endeavor."
Mike Sealy
Former UCLA women's volleyball coach

"J.T. Wenger is a tremendous volleyball coach. His ability to break down and teach the game of volleyball is exceptional. I am so happy for J.T. and UT Arlington."
Ceal Barry
Now-retired senior woman administrator at Colorado