2023-12-20 17:31:44
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker has named Jen Greeny as the fifth volleyball head coach in the program’s history.
Greeny arrives to Morgantown from Washington State, where she spent 13 seasons at the helm of the Cougar volleyball program and led WSU to three consecutive seasons with 20 wins or more. She brings a 347-199 (.636) career record to WVU, while she compiled a 235-175 (.573) overall mark during her time in Pullman.
“Jen Greeny is a proven winner and program builder. She has built two volleyball programs into consistent powerhouses and has excelled at the Power 5 level,” Baker said. “When we began our search, she was the type of coach and winner that we were looking to bring to Morgantown, and this is an exciting hire for West Virginia volleyball. She will be bringing a fresh start for us in the new Big 12, and I cannot wait for her to put her mark on our program.”
A native of Davenport, Washington, Greeny brought Cougar volleyball back into the national spotlight with eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2016-23 and 12 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America selections. The Cougars finished in the AVCA Top 25 six times during her time at WSU, including the past four seasons.
Having been a part of the two best postseason runs in program history as both a player (1996 NCAA regional appearance) and an assistant coach (2002 NCAA regional appearance), Greeny inherited a Washington State team that went 0-18 in conference play in 2010, the year before her return to Pullman. She and her staff transformed the program into a perennial force in the Pac-12, reaching the NCAA Round of 16 as a head coach for the first time in 2018.
The Cougars matched the volleyball program record for most conference wins (14) in a single season in 2022 and 2023 and finished third the final Pac-12 standings in each season, marking the best conference finish during Greeny’s 13-year tenure and the best since the 2002 WSU team that reached the NCAA regional championship.
In 2023, Greeny and Washington State finished with a 26-8 overall record, reaching 20 wins for the third consecutive season to mark the first such stretch since 1995-97. The Cougars’ 26 wins in 2023 also marked the highest win total for any team under Greeny and the highest single-season win total since 1997. Additionally, WSU knocked off the eventual NCAA National Champions and then-No. 6 Texas, 3-1, at the start of the 2023 campaign.
WSU was selected as a No. 4 seed in the 2023 NCAA Volleyball Tournament, earning its eighth consecutive postseason bid, the longest stretch in program history. Washington State was selected as a host site for the 2023 tournament, marking the first time since 2018 that the tournament had been hosted in Pullman. WSU advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 for the second time in Greeny’s tenure.
A two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2016 & 2021), Greeny has coached 12 of the Cougars’ 16 AVCA All-Americans while her teams have produced 39 total postseason all-conference honors, including 17 first team All-Pac-12 selections. A former CoSIDA Academic All-American during her time as a Wazzu student-athlete, Greeny’s teams also have produced 45 Pac-12 All-Academic nods and a pair of Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year award recipients.
“I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to lead the West Virginia volleyball program,” Greeny said. “I would like to thank President Gordon Gee, Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker and Senior Associate Athletics Director/SWA Natasha Oakes for their vision of the future of West Virginia volleyball and trust in my abilities to build this program. I am eager to embark on this new journey in Morgantown.”
Greeny began her collegiate coaching career with a five-year stint at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. Prior to turning around the LCSC program, which she led to a 112-24 (.824) record during her tenure, Greeny spent four years on WSU coach Cindy Fredrick’s coaching staff. Her time as an assistant coach at WSU was highlighted by the Cougars’ second-ever appearance in the regional championship of the NCAA Tournament in 2002.
As a volleyball student-athlete at WSU, she became the seventh player in Washington State history to reach 1,000 career kills and was a three time All-Pac-10 Conference selection. Greeny (Stinson) still ranks eighth in career block assists (360), fourth in total blocks (419) and eighth in solo blocks (59). Greeny received invites to train with the U.S. National Team during her playing days and has since held roles as a talent evaluator and assistant coach with USA Volleyball. She was an assistant coach on the 2016 USA Volleyball Collegiate National Team and was later invited to join the USA volleyball staff for the 2022 Women’s National Team Open Program.
Greeny earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Washington State in 1999. She and her husband Burdette, a former standout pitcher at WSU and an assistant coach on Greeny’s staff in Pullman, have two daughters, Lauren and Leah.
Jen Greeny Career Highlights
WSU Head Coach (2011-23):
- Eight-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances—most for any team in WSU history
- Six NCAA Tournament first-round wins
- Two NCAA Round of 16 appearances – 2018, 2023
- 235-175 overall record at WSU – second all-time
- 2021 Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year
- 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year
- Her players have earned 12 AVCA All-America awards, including the first volleyball student-athlete in program history to earn multiple first team All-America honors
- Her players have accounted for 30 Pac-12 all-conference honors and nine Pac-12 all-freshman honors
- Coached the program’s first two AVCA Pacific North Region Freshman of the Year award winners
- Coached the program’s first AVCA National Freshman of the Year award winner and the first two Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year award winners
- Second-longest tenured head coach at WSU (13 seasons)
- One of three conference coach of the year honorees who also were players for the same schools
Lewis Clark-State College Head Coach (2007-10)
- Four-time Frontier Conference Coach of the Year
- Four-time AVCA Northwest Region Coach of the Year
- Four consecutive regular-season Frontier Conference championships
- Four consecutive NAIA National Tournament appearances
- Went 31-3 (.912) overall in 2010, the best record in program history
- Led the Warriors to a 112-24 overall (.824) record
WSU Assistant Coach (2000-04)
- Three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2000-02)
- Helped the Cougars reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in WSU history
Playing Career (WSU volleyball student-athlete 1995-98)
- WSU Athlete of the Year in 1998-99
- Three time All-Pac-10 selection
- Three time Pac-10 All-Academic honoree
- 1998 CoSIDA Academic All-American
- Two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District
- Trained with the 1997 U.S. National volleyball team
- Seventh player in WSU history with 1,000 career kills
Jen Greeny Head Coaching Records
Year School Overall Conference Postseason
2007 Lewis-Clark State 26-8 (.764) 12-2/1st 1-2 (.333)
2008 Lewis-Clark State 30-4 (.882) 12-2/1st 2-2 (.500)
2009 Lewis-Clark State 25-9 (.735) 11-3/t-1st 1-2 (.333)
2010 Lewis-Clark State 31-3 (.912) 14-0/1st 3-2 (.600)
Total Lewis-Clark State 112-24 (.824) 49-7 (.875) 7-8 (.467)
2011 Washington State 12-20 (.375) 4-18/11th
2012 Washington State 13-19 (.406) 3-17/12th
2013 Washington State 18-15 (.545) 5-15/11th
2014 Washington State 10-22 (.313) 1-19/12th
2015 Washington State 16-16 (.500) 5-15/9th
2016 Washington State 22-12 (.647) 11-9/T-5th 1-1 (.500)
2017 Washington State 18-16 (.529) 6-14/9th 1-1 (.500)
2018 Washington State 23-10 (.697) 12-8/4th 2-1 (.667)
2019 Washington State 23-10 (.697) 12-8/5th 0-1 (.000)
2020 Washington State 11-5 (.688) 11-4/4th 0-1 (.000)
2021 Washington State 20-12 (.625) 13-7/T-4th 1-1 (.500)
2022 Washington State 23-10 (.697) 14-6/3rd 1-1 (.500)
2023 Washington State 26-8 (.765) 14-6/T-3rd 2-1 (.667)
Total Washington State 235-175 (.573) 111-153 (.420) 8-8 (.500)
Career Total 347-199 (.636)
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