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 Matt
Wallis Named New SU
Women's Basketball Head
Coach
Photo: Matt Wallis
is the new head coach
for Schreiner Women's
Basketball. Photo
courtesy of UT-Dallas
Sports Information.
Matt Wallis was named as
Schreiner University's
new head coach for
Women's Basketball.
Although still a young man, Wallis has already built
a successful track record on the basketball court.
Until he accepted the SU job, he was the Assistant
Women's Basketball Coach at fellow-ASC member
UT-Dallas. He'd been in that position for the
past two years under current UTD head coach Polly Thomason.
Together, the two re-wrote all the UTD single season records during that time. In
2006-07, the Lady Comets set the then-school record
for wins and had the first winning season in the
program's history by going 16-10 overall and 12-8 in
the ASC East. This past year, the Lady Comets
took off, winning 21 games to only five losses,
winning the ASC East Division, sweeping the ASC West
Division in the process and earning the program's
first recognition in the national top 25.
As a player, the Arlington, TX native was a three year member of
men's basketball team at Austin College (then a
member of the American Southwest Conference). In his senior
year, he was named captain, earned All-ASC honors
(both playing and academic) and helped lead his team
to the ASC Championship.
He began his coaching
career there as a graduate assistant for the women's
team in 1997. His first head coaching position
was at the high school level. In 1999-2000, he guided the
boy's team at Tom Bean High School to its first bi-district championship in
any sport in 11 years. After that successful
season, he moved back to the college ranks and
women's basketball as an assistant basketball position at Texas
Wesleyan (NCAA Division II) and the team went on to
earn its
first regional ranking in the school's history later
that year.
He moved to Division I and spent the 2001-02 year as
an assistant women's coach at NCAA Division I
Montana State and that team went on to win it's
first conference championship in nine seasons.
Wallis returned to the American Southwest Conference
when he was named men's head coach for ,
UT-Tyler, and started the program there in 2002. In
his second season at the helm, the Patriots finished
second in the ASC East Division. Wallis resigned
after four years of coaching UTT to return to the
women's game that was the core of his experience.
Known as a tremendous skill developer and teacher of
the game and a tireless worker both on and off the
court, he is also passionate about the academic
success of his players.
He graduated from Arlington HS in 1992, earned his
Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education in
1997 from Austin College and added his Master of
Science degree in Kinesiology from Texas
A&M-Commerce in 1998.
"We are thrilled that
Matt has joined us to
take over our Women's
Basketball program.
Matt has had tremendous
success as a player and
as an assistant coaching
women's teams. He
also has extensive head
coaching experience both
at the D-III and high
school level. He
knows the ASC well, is
known as a terrific
skills developer and X's
and O's guy and has had
great success in
recruiting. He's
been successful every
where he's been, got
glowing remarks from
everyone he's worked
with, and we think he's
the perfect person to
lead our team to great
success here on the
court while continuing
our tradition of strong
performance in the
classroom," states Ron
Macosko, Director of
Athletics at Schreiner
University.
Wallis replaces Jeanette
McKinney who led the
Mountaineer program for
four seasons.
McKinney resigned in May
to take the girls head
basketball coaching
position at Salado (TX)
High School.
Wallis will start in his
new role in mid-July.
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