Jerry Wainwright - Men's Basketball Coach

Jerry Wainwright

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
gcw5783@utulsa.edu
Phone:
3132

A college coaching veteran of 32 years, Jerry Wainwright came to The University of Tulsa as an assistant basketball coach in May 2019.

Wainwright has spent a total of 45 years coaching on either the high school or college level. Among his 32 seasons coaching collegiately, 16 years has been as a head coach with stops at UNC Wilmington (1994-2002), Richmond (2002-05) and DePaul (2005-10).

Wainwright came to Tulsa after one year away from the college game. It was 30 years ago – 1989 – when Wainwright and Haith first met as members of the coaching staff at Wake Forest University.

At Wake, Wainwright helped recruit and coach two players who were named to the ACC’s 50^th Anniversary basketball team in the likes of Randolph Childress and Tim Duncan as well coaching 1993 ACC Player of the Year Rodney Rogers.

Wainwright returned to coaching with Haith, who he helped mentor as a young coach. He also coached at Fresno State under Rodney Terry and Marquette under Buzz Williams, two coaches that he helped tutor in their younger years as well.

Most recently, Wainwright was in his second stint on Terry’s staff at Fresno State for four seasons (2014-18). He helped the Bulldogs post 81 wins in four years and three 20+ win seasons along with a Mountain West Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016. He served in that same position at FSU during the 2011-12 season before joining Marquette as an assistant coach from 2012-14 under Williams. In 2012-13, the Golden Eagles recorded an overall 26-9 record and made their first Elite Eight appearance since 2003.

With 16 years of college head coaching under his belt, Wainwright's last head coaching stop was a five-year stretch on the sidelines at DePaul. During his collegiate head coaching tenure, Wainwright took his teams to seven postseason tournaments including three NCAA berths and four National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearances.

Before his stint at DePaul, Wainwright took two of his three Richmond teams to the postseason, compiling a three-year mark of 50-42.

Prior to taking over at Richmond, Wainwright enjoyed a highly successful run as head coach at UNC-Wilmington. In eight seasons at UNCW, he compiled a 136-103 (.569) record. Wainwright piloted the Seahawks to a pair of trips to the NCAA Tournament (2000, 2002) and the NIT (1998, 2001). During his tenure, the team captured three regular season Colonial Athletic Association titles and two CAA tournament crowns.

Preceding his time in Wilmington, he spent nine years as an assistant coach at Wake Forest. Under Bob Staak (1986-89) and Dave Odom (1989-94), he helped rebuild the Demon Deacons' program. He broke into the college coaching ranks in 1984-85 serving a one-year stint at Xavier under Staak.

A 1968 graduate of Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo., Wainwright earned his graduate degree from the University of Denver.

Wainwright began his coaching career in the prep ranks first at Montrose High School in Denver where he led his team to the state tournament and was named Colorado District Coach of the Year in 1975.

Wainwright returned to his native state, Illinois, as an assistant coach at East Leyden High School in suburban Chicago. While there, he helped teams compile an impressive four-year 104-4 record. Wainwright also coached at Chicago's Highland Park High School, directing his team to the state's "Sweet 16" in 1982.

A native of Berwyn, Ill., Wainwright is married to the former Debbie Tedesco. Wainwright has two sons, Brett and Scott.