Gregg Whitis, a veteran coach in the collegiate ranks for more than 20 years, enters his eighth season as assistant coach at Arizona in 2020.
In seven seasons, Whitis has helped lead the Wildcats to six appearances in the NCAA Tournament. During his seven years on staff, Arizona has won 132 games, marking one of the most successful seven-year runs in program history.
In 2018, Arizona doubled its win total from the season prior, enjoying the largest turnaround in the program's DI history from an 11-win 2017 to a 22-11 NCAA Tournament team in 2018. Led by honorable-mention All-American seasons from Kendra Dahlke and Devyn Cross, the Cats finished fifth in the loaded in Pac-12.
In 2016, Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16 for the eighth time in program history in one of the best seasons in UA history. UA, led by third-team All-Americans Penina Snuka and Kalei Mau, navigated the nation's sixth-hardest schedule in 2016, winning eight matches vs. ranked opponents, including a victory over ninth-seeded Michigan State in East Lansing to earn a trip to the team's eighth Sweet 16 and first since 2005.
In 2015, the Wildcats were tasked with replacing their top three scorers from 2014 and relied heavily on freshmen and transfers. The Cats finished 19-14 and on the year and earned a berth to their third straight NCAA Tournament.
In 2014, fueled by All-America seasons from Madi Kingdon and Penina Snuka, the Arizona volleyball team turned in one of the best seasons in program history. After being selected ninth in the preseason Pac-12 poll, the Wildcats went 12-8 in league play and finished third in a conference that sent a record 10 teams to the NCAA Tournament.
Overall, the team went 24-10 and earned the No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament, good for a host of the first two rounds. The Wildcats fell to BYU, the eventual national runners up. Arizona finished the season ranked 16th in the AVCA Division I Coaches Poll, its highest finish since 2005.
In 2013, the Wildcats finished a strong 16-3 at home, which included a sweep of No. 1-ranked USC. Madi Kingdon earned AVCA honorable mention All-America honors, AVCA All-West Region, First-Team All-Pac-12 and twice earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors. Meanwhile, setter Penina Snuka was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and was honorable mention all-region, while twice earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors.
Whitis works heavily with the team's liberos and defensive specialists and has made an immediate impact, with the statistics to support it. The team has led the Pac-12 in digs/set three times since his arrival.
In 2014, Arizona led the Pac-12 in digs and set a school record with 17.87 digs/set, breaking 2013's figure of 17.42 digs/set. Arizona dug 16.83 balls/set, fourth in school history.
Additionally, Whitis is the team's primary recruiter and has pulled in top-20 classes in each of the last six seasons.
Whitis joined the Wildcats staff after serving one season as the associate head coach at Appalachian State University. In his only season with the Mountaineers, Whitis helped guide a very young Mountaineers squad. In addition to his duties as associate head coach, Whitis also served as Appalachian's recruiting coordinator. During the 2012 signing period, the Mountaineers inked three outstanding high-school prospects, all of whom earned all-state or all-district honors during their careers.
Prior to his time at Appalachian, Whitis spent three seasons at the University of Tennessee where he helped the Lady Volunteers to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, an overall record of 71-25 and a mark of 46-14 in the always competitive Southeastern Conference.
In addition to his work on the court with the Lady Vols, Whitis served as the team's recruiting coordinator where he established himself as one of the top talent evaluators and recruiters in the nation. Tennessee's 2010 recruiting class, regarded as the best in program history, was ranked as the fourth-best class in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com.
The Lady Vols' 2010 recruiting class included three top-50 recruits and helped Tennessee to its first-ever outright SEC championship and a second-round NCAA Tournament appearance during the 2011 campaign. Kelsey Robinson, one of the members of the 2010 recruiting class, was named as the SEC Player of the Year and earned second-team All-America accolades.
In 2011, Whitis hauled in the No. 8 recruiting class in the nation as ranked by PrepVolleyball.com, giving the Lady Vols back-to-back top-10 classes and the top-ranked class in the SEC for two consecutive seasons.
Prior to his arrival in Knoxville, Whitis spent two seasons at the University of Michigan where he helped the Wolverines to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, including the program's first-ever appearance in the Sweet 16 in 2007 before losing to eventual national champion Penn State.
During his final season in Ann Arbor, Whitis helped lead Michigan to a top-10 national ranking as the Wolverines spent every week of the season either ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Top-25.
Prior to coaching in the Big Ten with Michigan, Whitis was highly successful as an assistant coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the Clemson Tigers, where he coached for three seasons where he served as recruiting coordinator.
In 2007, with a class comprised mainly of Whitis' former recruits, Clemson capped off the year with a top-25 national ranking and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Before his time at Clemson, Whitis served as an assistant coach at Southern Methodist University for two seasons where he coached several all-conference players for the Mustangs.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Indiana State from 1995-97 before taking the head coaching job at Kankakee Community College from 1997-98. Whitis also spent time at South Dakota State, where he helped the Jackrabbits to the 1998 NCAA Division II Tournament.
He has also coached at the University of South Carolina and Northern Michigan University.
He is a 1991 graduate of Olivet Nazarene University where he earned a bachelor's degree in English education. Whitis played three years of club volleyball and two years of varsity golf for the Tigers.
