Jerry Wainwright
Jerry Wainwright (born February 11, 1947)
Teams coached: UNC Wilmington Seahawks, Richmond Spiders, DePaul Blue Demons
UNC Wilmington record: 136-103 (.569)
Richmond record: 49-42 (.538)
DePaul record: 59-80 (.424)
Overall record: 244-225 (.520)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3 (2000, 2002, 2004)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 4 (1998, 2001, 2003, 2007)
- CAA Regular Season Champion: 3 (1997, 1998, 2002)
- CAA Tournament Champion: 2 (2000, 2002)
Awards:
- CAA Coach of the Year: 2 (1997, 2001)
- Gene Bartow Award: 1 (2023)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2019-2020 | Tulsa (asst) |
| 2014-2018 | Fresno State (assoc. HC) |
| 2012-2014 | Marquette (asst) |
| 2011-2012 | Fresno State (assoc. HC) |
| 2005-2010 | DePaul |
| 2002-2005 | Richmond |
| 1994-2002 | UNC Wilmington |
| 1985-1994 | Wake Forest (asst) |
| 1984-1985 | Xavier (asst) |
Jerry Wainwright Facts
- Gerald Charles Wainwright Jr.
- Born February 11, 1947
- Hometown: Berwyn, Illinois
- Alma Mater: Colorado College (BA, 1968) / University of Denver (MA, 1971)
- Attended J. Sterling Morton HS West (IL) and then Morton JC in Cicero, IL
- Transferred to Colorado College in Colorado Springs, where he played basketball and got his degree
- Returned to his home state in 1971 and became an assistant coach at West Leyden HS in Northlake, IL
- Spent one year as head coach at Montrose HS (CO) and four as an assistant at East Leyden HS (IL)
- Was the head coach at Highland Park (IL) in the north Chicago suburbs for five seasons
- Joined Bob Staak‘s staff in 1984 as an assistant at Xavier, then followed him to Wake Forest a year later
- Hired in 1994 as the head coach at UNC Wilmington, leading the Seahawks for eight seasons
- Compiled a 136-103 record overall, winning three CAA titles and two CAA COY awards
- Went to the NCAA Tournament twice, the first ever appearances for the program
- Left UNCW for Richmond in 2002, going 49-42 in three seasons with the Spiders
- His second year (2003-04), the team went 20-13 and earned an at-large NCAAT bid
- Returned to Chicago in 2005 to be the head coach at DePaul
- Struggled during his tenure with the Blue Demons, finishing above .500 just once (his second year)
- Fired in January 2010 after starting the season 7-8; went 0-18 in the Big East the year before
- In 2011, Wainwright was hired by Rodney Terry – one of his former assistants – to be associate head coach at Fresno State
- Left Fresno after one year and spent two years as an assistant coach for Buzz Williams at Marquette
- When Williams left in 2014, Wainwright moved back West to rejoin Terry‘s staff at associate head coach
- Stayed at Fresno until 2018, when Terry resigned to take over at UTEP
- Hired in May 2019 to be an assistant at Tulsa under Frank Haith, who he previously worked with at Wake
- Retired in the summer of 2020 following the coronavirus-shortened 2019-20 season
- Wainwright won the 2023 Gene Bartow Award recognizing his impact on players, schools and communities throughout his career
Jerry Wainwright Coaching Tree
- Brandon Bailey (Maine Red Claws)
- Brad Brownell (Clemson, Wright State, UNC Wilmington)
- Mark Byington (Vanderbilt, Georgia Southern)
- Billy Donlon (Kansas City, Wright State)
- Jimmy Drew (Lincoln MO)
- Rodney Terry (Texas, UTEP, Fresno State)