Gregg Wallis

For the American politician, see Greg Wallis.

Gregg Wallis
Wallis as GCU third-base coach
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamGrand Canyon
ConferenceWAC
Record73–46 (.613)
Biographical details
Born (1982-12-18) December 18, 1982 (age 41)
Alma materUC Irvine
Playing career
2002–2005UC Irvine
Position(s)Infielder
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2006UC Irvine (undergrad asst)
2008–2010Cal State Fullerton (asst)
2011–2013Tennessee (asst)
2014–2022Grand Canyon (asst)
2022Ohio State (asst)
2023–presentGrand Canyon
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2007UC Irvine (ops)
Head coaching record
Overall73–46 (.613)
TournamentsNCAA: 2–2
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
  • 2x WAC regular season (2023, 2024)
Awards
  • 2x WAC Coach of the Year (2023, 2024)

Gregg Wallis (born December 18, 1982) is an American baseball coach and former infielder, who is the current head baseball coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. He played college baseball at UC Irvine under Dave Serrano. He held roles on college baseball coaching staffs at UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton, Tennessee, Grand Canyon and Ohio State before getting his first head coaching opportunity at GCU on July 8, 2022.

High school and college

Wallis attended Chatsworth High School in Chatsworth, Calif. before playing his college baseball at UC Irvine from 2002 to 2005.[1]

Coaching career

In 2006, his UC Irvine head coach, Dave Serrano, retained Wallis as an undergraduate assistant coach. He was promoted to director of operations in 2007 and was part of a staff that reached the program's first College World Series.[2]

Wallis moved with Serrano to Cal State Fullerton in 2008, serving as an assistant coach. The Titans qualified for the NCAA Tournament in all three seasons Wallis was on staff, highlighted by a College World Series trip in 2009.

Wallis again followed Serrano to his next stop at Tennessee in 2011, spending three seasons as an assistant coach with the program.[3]

In 2014, Andy Stankiewicz hired Wallis as an assistant coach at Grand Canyon for the program's first season back at the Division I level.[4] Wallis was promoted to recruiting coordinator in 2016.[5]

Following the 2022 season, Bill Mosiello was hired as the new head coach at Ohio State and hired Wallis as his lead assistant and recruiting coordinator.[6]

Stankiewicz departed Grand Canyon for USC on July 3, 2022,[7] and Wallis was hired as Grand Canyon's head coach five days later.[1] Several coveted GCU players who had entered the transfer portal — including shortstop Jacob Wilson who was playing with USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team and 2022 Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year Daniel Avitia — announced their return to GCU within days of Wallis' hiring.[8]

In his first season as head coach, Wallis led Grand Canyon to its third consecutive WAC regular-season championship[9] and was named the WAC Coach of the Year.[10] He repeated both of these feats in his second season in 2024 in addition to winning the program's first D-I NCAA tournament game and advancing to the program's first regional final.[11][12]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Grand Canyon Antelopes (Western Athletic Conference) (2023–present)
2023 Grand Canyon 37–21 22–7 1st WAC Tournament
2024 Grand Canyon 36–25 23–7 1st NCAA regional
Total: 73–46 (.613)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ^ a b "Report: GCU hiring ex-assistant Gregg Wallis as next head baseball coach". Arizona Sports. July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  2. ^ "2007 Rosterbb (PDF)" (PDF). UCI Athletics. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  3. ^ [email protected]. "Coach Dave Serrano adds volunteer assistant coach to baseball coaching staff". The Daily Times. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  4. ^ "Wallis Joins GCU Baseball Staff". Grand Canyon University Athletics. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  5. ^ "Wallis promoted to recruiting coordinator". Grand Canyon University Athletics. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  6. ^ Rogers, Kendall (July 3, 2022). "2022 Coaching Hire Wire • D1Baseball". D1Baseball. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  7. ^ "USC names Andy Stankiewicz as new baseball coach". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  8. ^ Rooney, Mike (November 22, 2022). "2022 Fall Report: Grand Canyon • D1Baseball". D1Baseball. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  9. ^ "Grand Canyon Captures Number One Seed In 2023 University Credit Union WAC Baseball Tournament". May 20, 2023. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ^ "WAC 2023 Baseball Award Winners Announced". May 22, 2023. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ Obert, Richard. "GCU baseball's Tyler Wilson named WAC Player of Year, Gregg Wallis Coach of the Year". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  12. ^ Sports, Arizona (June 2, 2024). "GCU baseball earns comeback win vs. Dallas Baptist at regional". Arizona Sports. Retrieved June 8, 2024.