WSU volleyball coach Jen Greeny leaving for West Virginia job
Jen Greeny turned down the volleyball coaching job at West Virginia the first time it was offered by Mountaineers Athletic Director Wren Baker.
That didn’t stop Baker from continuing to recruit Greeny, who inherited a Washington State program coming off a winless Pac-12 season in 2010 and eventually guided the Cougars to national prominence with eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
“I turned it down the first time and then Wren Baker is a pretty great recruiter, because he just kept coming back and essentially wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Greeny said. “He’s going to be a great person to work for. He has a great team in place and the support and vision there for us trying to build this program is very exciting.”
The Big 12 Conference Mountaineers on Wednesday announced the hiring of Greeny, who leaves WSU after compiling a 235-175 record in 13 seasons.
WSU’s conference situation and the impact on recruiting were factors in Greeny’s decision.
“Just the state of the conference situation and the uncertainty and not having answers, I think it’s the perfect storm and I’m excited to have this opportunity,” said Greeny, prior to news breaking that WSU is expected to join the West Coast Conference in most nonfootball sports for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. “You can’t recruit to something you don’t know what’s happening.
“That’s the question everyone asks. When you don’t have answers as a young person, it makes it very tough. I don’t blame those recruits.”
The Cougars won at least 20 matches in six of the past eight years and finished in the top half of the Pac-12 standings in seven of those seasons. Washington State finished 26-8 this season and reached the Sweet 16 for the second time in Greeny’s tenure. WSU was No. 11 in the final AVCA poll.
Greeny, with a catch in her voice, called it “probably the toughest, unbelievably hard decision” to leave WSU. She added that there was a lot of tears when she told WSU players she had accepted the West Virginia job.
“Absolutely,” said Greeny, an Eastern Washington native and former two-sport star at WSU. “There’s tons of emotion when you’re leaving a group of incredible young women.”
Greeny’s husband Burdette, associate head coach and recruiting coordinator, will accompany her to West Virginia. As for the rest of the staff, Greeny said, “that’s to be determined.”
It wasn’t immediately known if assistant coach Shannon Hunt, who was teammates with Greeny at WSU in the 1990s, is interested in the Cougars’ head coaching position.
Greeny replaces Reed Sunahara, who resigned after nine seasons with a 106-156 record. West Virginia has had just nine winning seasons (.500 or better) since 1998.
“Jen Greeny is a proven winner and program builder,” Wren said in a West Virginia release. “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.”
Texas, in its final season in the Big 12 before joining the SEC, won the national championship for the second straight season. WSU defeated the Longhorns 3-1 in Austin in September. The Big 12 next season will add Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State from the Pac-12
“It’s a rebuilding process once again and it’s all the way across the country,” Greeny said. “Following in former (WSU men’s basketball coach) Dick Bennett’s footsteps, we love the rebuilding process and that’s what we do best.”