Wayne Kreklow
Wayne Kreklow

Player Profile
Position:
Head Coach
College:
Drake, 1980

Updated 7/31/06

* CVU.com Honorable Mention National Coach of the Year (2005)

Feature Story:
The Victor, Unspoiled
By Angela Busch, Columbia Daily Tribune, November 23, 2005

In seven years at Missouri, Wayne and Susan Kreklow have taken the Tiger Volleyball program from the bottom of the Big 12 Conference to the top, and made a lasting impression on the national-volleyball community.

Having reached the NCAA Tournament for the seventh-consecutive season, only Mizzou along with Nebraska are the only teams in the Big 12 to have had appeared in the post-season every year since 2000, the first year the Kreklows took the Tiger charge.

While their success at Missouri was immediate, the apex of their successes came at the end of the 2005 season. The Tigers were selected to host first-and-second rounds for the second-consecutive year, achieving an overall No. 10 seed in the tournament. After defeating Missouri State in the first round, Mizzou rolled over Arkansas in a sweep to advance to the team's first regional in school history.

At the Penn State Regional, the Tigers took perennial power Hawaii head-on in the round-of-16, regional semifinal, defeating UH in four games. In 2005, the Tigers accumulated a 25-5 record, the winningest in school history, and were a step away from the national semifinal.

Also in 2005, Wayne was named CVU.com's honorable mention National Coach of the Year, as the team surged to the national top-10 for the first time in school history, sweeping three top-10 teams along the way.

In all, the Kreklows have amassed a 152-64 (.704) winning record in their Mizzou tenure with 91 coming in conference play, averaging 13 conference wins a season. The Tigers have won 19 matches over Top-25 teams since 2000, toppling five during the magical 2005 season. Mizzou itself has spent 75 weeks in the national top 25 since 2000.

Upon arrival, the Kreklows wasted no time in putting their winning mark on a program that had not experienced success since the early 1980's. In their first three years at Mizzou, 2000, 2001, and 2002 they recorded the program's first back-to-back-to-back 20-win seasons since 1981-83. Missouri posted the first postseason victory is school history by defeating Northwestern in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament. In 2004, Missouri had the honor of hosting first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

Missouri has finished in the top six of the Big 12 Conference in each of the Kreklows' seven seasons leading the Tigers. In 2000, the Kreklows' first season at MU, Missouri finished second in the Big 12 Conference after finishing ninth the previous year. For her efforts, Susan was named the 2000 Big 12 Coach of the Year by her peers.

The Kreklows have made Mizzou Volleyball an exciting marketable entity, and the growth in attendance has been effected, as Missouri has ranked in the nation's top seven in the category in 2005 and 2006, averaging over 2,600 fans per competition. On October 5, 2005, 7,298 fans packed the Hearnes Center for the Tigers match against Nebraska. Both teams entered the contest undefeated in the national top-10.

The Tigers face the best competition in the country night-in and night-out as they compete in one of the strongest conferences in the nation. They have experienced great success in the Big 12 Conference and proof of that success can be found in the fact that the Tigers were ranked in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll for 12 consecutive weeks in 2000, for 11 weeks in 2001 and 11 weeks again in 2002, finishing at No. 20, the best ever end of the year ranking by MU. In 2003, the Tigers opened the year ranked No. 21, the highest ever preseason ranking for MU and climbed to No. 18 at one point in the season, marking the best ranking in Tiger Volleyball history. In 2004, the Tigers finished the season in the top 25 again, achieving a No. 24 post-season ranking.

In 2005, their No. 21 preseason ranking was the season-low as the team never excited the top 25. The Tigers progressed in defeating two top-10 teams in sweeps to open the season and soon soared to the top 10 themselves, peaking at No. 7 in October. Their No. 8 final poll ranking in 2005 is the best in school history.

Before the 2005 season, Wayne and Susan officially switched titles within the University system to allow for more family flexibility. While the official coaching records of both are affected, their coaching philosophy is one build on a co-op instead of a one-headed system.

Before coming to Missouri, the Kreklows were co-head coaches of both the men's and women's volleyball teams at Columbia College. They enjoyed great success, taking their women's team to the NAIA National Tournament six times and winning consecutive national titles in 1998 (the first ever for Columbia) and 1999. The Cougars also won five regional championships and seven consecutive American Midwest Conference championships under their guidance.

In 1998 and 1999, Columbia College achieved consecutive undefeated seasons with a combined record of 85-0. The Cougars' undefeated record included 78 consecutive wins at home and 227 consecutive game victories.

In 1997 and 1998, the Kreklows shared NAIA/AVCA National Coach of the Year and Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors. In 1999, the coaching tandem took home the regional award for the fifth consecutive year. In 1998 and 1999, the Kreklows also received the NAIA National Tournament Coach of the Year award.

Along with the success of the women's program, the Kreklows started the men's volleyball program at Columbia College in 1997. In 1999, the Cougars finished the season with a 19-5 overall record, enjoying their second consecutive undefeated run through the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. They also took second place at the inaugural SSI Volleyball National Invitational Tournament in 1999.

Susan Kreklow played volleyball for Central Missouri State University and Southwest Missouri State University. She received her bachelor's degree in physical education and a masters of science degree from Southwest Missouri in 1984 and 1987, respectively. Kreklow began her coaching career at St. Clair (Mo.) High School. She began her collegiate coaching career at Columbia College in 1990. Susan was the founder of Columbia Juniors Volleyball Club and the Columbia Developmental Volleyball Leagues. She has served as a member of the USA Volleyball Board of Directors as the NAIA representative and was president-elect of the NAIA National Coaches Association.

Wayne Kreklow earned a bachelor's degree in social science in 1980 from Drake University. While at Drake, Wayne was a member of the men's basketball team, where he earned All-America, all-conference, and all-district awards as a two-time team captain, and is fifth on Drake's career scoring list. He is also a member of Drake's All-Century basketball team and was a member of the NBA World Champion Boston Celtics in 1980-81. Wayne began coaching basketball for Central Decatur (Iowa) High School in 1986. He began coaching volleyball as an assistant under Craig Sherman at Missouri. He was with the Tigers from 1989 to 1994 before moving over to Columbia College to join his wife at the helm of the Cougar program.

The Kreklows reside in Columbia with their three children: sons Rick (15) and Ryan (12) and daughter Ali (13). In the summer of 2006, Wayne coached his son's AAU 14-and-under basketball team to a national championship.

Vann Tries Out For USA National Team

02/26/2009 - W. Volleyball

Last weekend in Colorado Springs, Colorado, junior setter for the Mizzou Tiger volleyball team, Caitlyn Vann, participated in the USA National Team tryouts.

Volleyball Standout Returns To Mizzou

02/17/2009 - W. Volleyball

In a glass case, adjacent to one of the many entrances in the Hearnes Center, hangs a red, white and blue jersey covered in black ink. Mostly silent and surrounded by memories of the past, the name on the jersey speaks loudly than any piece of memorabilia in that case: Hunter.

Tiger Volleyball Inks Three for `09

11/17/2008 - W. Volleyball

Three have signed National Letters of Intent to play volleyball at the University of Missouri next fall: Paola Ampudia, Kate Harris, and Lindsey Petrick.

Mizzou Volleyball Camps Finalized

01/21/2009 - W. Volleyball

Mizzou will once again offer summer camps for high schoolers interested in learning more about the sport of volleyball.

VB's Post-Season Push Brings No. 13 K-State

11/18/2008 - W. Volleyball

The Mizzou volleyball team has won four straight home matches and three of its last four overall, but No. 13 Kansas State comes to the Hearnes Center Wednesday.