Jerry Wagner comes to UTEP with 28 years of NCAA Division I coaching experience.
Wagner, whose responsibility includes middle blockers and recruitment, had a huge role in the growth of middle blockers Kylie Baumgartner, Tatum Winter and Maddie Morgan.
During the 2017 season, Coach Wagner helped facilitate the growth of junior Kylie Baumgartner. The junior lifted her career total to 313 blocks, which puts her in the top 10 all-time in UTEP history. She also led the team in total blocks for the third straight season.
In 2016, Baumgartner was a force in the UTEP defense, recording a team-leading 111 total blocks (18s/93a) in 110 sets played. Baumgartner’s 12 block showing, which included three solo blocks, against Florida Atlantic on November 6, 2016 earned her the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week honor.
Winter, playing in her final collegiate season in 2016, tallied 84 total blocks to her resume, improving from 61 total blocks in 2015.
Sophomore Maddie Morgan also showed promise, recording 30 total blocks in 89 sets played under Wagner’s helm.
He served as the head coach at the University of Montana for nine seasons (2006-2014). During his tenure with the Grizzlies, Wagner compiled a 102-147 record, including a 74-78 mark in Big Sky Conference action. He coached 46 All-Academic All-Big Sky Conference selections and his teams posted a 3.0 GPA or better every semester. In 13 of the 16 terms he served, his teams managed a GPA of 3.2 or above. With his strong emphasis on education, he guided three of his teams to earn the AVCA Team Academic Award.
Griz players earned a dozen All-Big Sky Conference honors under Wagner and his staff, including Capri Richardson, who received second-team honors at the conclusion of the 2014 season.
Prior to Montana, Wagner was an assistant coach at Gonzaga for the 2005 season. The Bulldogs finished the season with a 10-21 record, a six-win improvement from the 2004 season.
Before taking the Gonzaga job, he served as an assistant coach for four years (1999-2002) and associate head coach for two (2003-2004) at Montana State. In six seasons at Montana State, Wagner was part of teams that went 117-54 (.684). He landed some of the best recruiting classes in the Northwest, including the Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year in 2000 and 2001 and the Big Sky Newcomer of the Year in 2002.
Prior to working at Montana State, Wagner spent eight years (1991-1999) at Oregon State beginning his stint with the Beavers under former Montana State head coach Dave Gantt in 1991. While at OSU, he helped guide the Beavers to 125 wins, including back-to-back trips to the National Invitational Volleyball Championships in 1993 and 1994.
Wagner joined the OSU staff after serving as assistant coach at the University of Montana from 1988 to 1991. In his three seasons at Montana, the Grizzlies registered a 61-27 record, including a 37-11 mark in the Big Sky Conference.
Under head coach Dick Scott, Wagner helped the Grizzlies to two 20-win seasons and the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance in 1990.
In addition to his experience as assistant coach, Wagner has also worked as the head coach at Montana State University-Northern in 1987 and was head coach at Harve High School from 1984-1987. He guided MSU-Northern to a third place finish in the Frontier Conference in 1987.
Wagner received his degree in health and physical education from Northern Montana College in 1986. He has earned Level I and II USA Coaching Accreditation Program (CAP) certificates, as well as a Level I American Coaching Effectiveness Program (ACEP) certificate.
