@MizzouVB’s Wayne and Susan Kreklow Announce Retirement
7/18/2019 3:40:00 PM | Volleyball
Coaching duo revolutionized Tiger program over the past 19 years
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Volleyball legends Wayne Kreklow and Susan Kreklow have announced their retirement from coaching Thursday evening. Assistant Coach Joshua Taylor will be promoted to interim head coach heading into the 2019 campaign.
"Wayne and Susan have been synonymous with Mizzou Volleyball for nearly two decades, and in that time established a championship culture that helped them build a perennial Top 25 program," Mizzou Athletic Director Jim Sterk said. "They were deeply committed to academic and on-court excellence for their student-athletes while passionately working to form a special bond with Columbia and Mid-Missouri that helped them enjoy one of the most-successful runs any Mizzou program has ever produced.
Kreklow-coached teams consistently achieved high marks in the classroom, displayed tremendous character and grit, all while competing for conference titles and NCAA Tournament bids on the court and connecting with fans throughout the Show Me State. In short, it's what I believe all 20 of our Mizzou teams are capable of achieving with the roadmap Wayne and Susan leave behind.
We are forever grateful for the incredible ride Wayne and Susan took Mizzou Volleyball on over the last 19 seasons, and I believe their legacy of academic and athletic successes will live on with future Tiger Volleyball teams. All Mizzou fans join me in wishing them well as they move on to the next chapter of their lives and we look forward to publicly thanking them for all that they have done for Mizzou Athletics this fall."
The Kreklow coaching duo took over Mizzou Volleyball in 2000 and elevated the program to never-before-seen heights and success. Over the past 19 years, they've produced 413 wins (21/year average) with an incredible .680 winning percentage. For comparison, in the Tigers' 26 years prior to their tutelage, the program recorded 416 victories (16/year) with a .474 winning percentage and had never been to an NCAA Tournament – they've been to 15 tournaments since, reaching the second round 10 times, the Sweet 16 four times and the Elite Eight once. Two years prior to the Kreklows arrival to Mizzou, the team was 0-28 – Mizzou never lost more than 17 matches in a season under Kreklow direction.
"We're so very grateful to have been given the opportunity to be a part of the University of Missouri for such a very long time," the Kreklows said. "It seems like only yesterday that we started our coaching journey at Mizzou. We've been incredibly blessed to have worked with so many incredible student-athletes and so many great staff members over the years. They've made so many great seasons possible. We're so excited about what's next for this group! They're so talented and so deep, maybe our best group ever. We'll always bleed black and gold. M-I-Z!"
19 years of memories. Here's @CoachKreklow & @S_Kreklow by the numbers ??#MIZ #ShowMe ???? pic.twitter.com/fsXFAJQs6v
— Mizzou Volleyball (@MizzouVB) July 18, 2019
Thank You, @CoachKreklow and @S_Kreklow ???? pic.twitter.com/Pp5AoHYBXP
— Mizzou Volleyball (@MizzouVB) July 18, 2019
Wayne and Susan brought a bevy of firsts for the Mizzou Volleyball program, including its first-ever trip to an NCAA Tournament in 2000, and its first AVCA All-American in 2002. Overall, the Tigers amassed 15 trips to NCAA Tournament play and 22 AVCA All-Americans under the Kreklow's watch.
The list of accolades accomplished under the Kreklow's tenure in Mid-Missouri are simply staggering, highlighted by four Sweet 16 appearances (2005, '10, '16-17), one Elite Eight appearance (2005), two SEC Championships (2013, '16), 12 seasons with 20-plus wins, and 102 weeks ranked inside the AVCA top-25 national poll.
Susan led the Tigers as head coach from 2000-04, accumulating 109 wins with a superb .703 winning percentage. She made a splash in her first season at the Hearnes Center, leading the team to a 24-7 record (14-6 Big 12) and a trip to the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament. The team was picked to finish ninth in the loaded Big 12 and wound up finishing second. For her outstanding guidance on the court, Susan was named the 2000 Big 12 Coach of the Year.
Mizzou advanced to the NCAA Tournament in all five seasons under Susan, including a personal-best second round appearance in 2002. That year, Christi Myers became the Tigers' first-ever AVCA All-American.
Beginning with the 2005 campaign, Wayne shifted from assistant coach to head coaching duties and began another incredible for Mizzou Volleyball. The 2005 Tigers ultimately advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament, marking the program's best-ever postseason run.
In 2013, the Tigers took the country by storm with a perfect 34-0 regular season while earning Mizzou Athletics' first-ever SEC Championship in any sport. The 2013 Tigers set new all-time single-season team-highs in victories (35), conference wins (18), consecutive wins (34) and triumphs via sweep (27). Kreklow was named SEC Coach of the Year for his work that year while Molly Kreklow was dubbed the SEC Player of the Year.
In 2016, Wayne guided Mizzou to its second SEC Championship over a four-year span. The Tigers hosted first and second round play of the NCAA Tournament, ultimately toppling Purdue for their third all-time trip to the Sweet 16. Wayne was recognized by his peers for his outstanding campaign, later named the 2016 AVCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year and SEC Coach of the Year.
The following season, Wayne guided Mizzou to yet another Sweet 16 appearance after upsetting nationally ranked Kansas and Wichita State in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The 2017 Tigers were a force defensively at the net, resetting all-time single-season highs in total blocks and block assists.
In what proved to be the Kreklow's final season in Tiger black and gold, the 2018 Mizzou squad advanced to at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year and fifth time in the past six campaigns. Another program first occurred following the season, as Alyssa Munlyn became the Tigers' first-ever four-time AVCA All-American.
The 2018 Tigers concluded their campaign ranked No. 23 in the final AVCA Coaches Poll. Since the AVCA Poll's inception in 1982, all nine of Mizzou's appearances in the final rankings have occurred under the Kreklow's.
Wayne and Susan have enjoyed over two decades of exceptional success as collegiate volleyball coaches in Columbia, Missouri. Prior to taking over at Mizzou, the Kreklow's led Columbia College Women's Volleyball to 1998 and 1999 NAIA National Championships. Those squads achieved consecutive undefeated seasons and a combined 85-0 record. The Cougars' unscathed two-year run was highlighted by 78 consecutive match wins and 227 straight set victories.
Kreklows by the Numbers
- 413-194 (.680 win percentage) at Mizzou (19 years)
- 624-201 (.732 win percentage) overall (29 years)
- 15 NCAA Tournaments
- Four Sweet 16s
- One Elite Eight
- Two SEC Championships
- 22 AVCA All-Americans
- 51 All-Conference Selections
- 32 AVCA All-Region Selections
- Three Conference Coach of the Year Honors
- Two AVCA Regional Coach of the Year Honors
- 12 seasons with 20-plus wins
- 102 weeks ranked in the AVCA top-25 poll
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