Spokane may still wear the Hooptown USA label, but Gonzaga women’s volleyball coach JT Wenger is convinced the city is leaning harder into the sport on the court next door.
Now in his second year leading the Bulldogs, Wenger has reasons to make that case. Gonzaga posted its best winning percentage in a decade last season, a year that also brought a 13-win jump from the previous campaign and one of the biggest single-season improvements in the NCAA. For a program still building its footing, that kind of leap matters.
“I think on the men’s side, there’s no question there. On the women’s side, I think it’s kind of an interesting thing.
It’s happening a little bit across the country where there’s more and more women moving toward girls and women moving towards volleyball. And I think one of the local high schools here, a pretty sizable high school, only had 16 girls try out for high school basketball, whereas they had I believe 60 for volleyball.
There are a lot of club teams in the region. It’s competitive here.
It’s definitely a volleyball town. I’m sticking with it.”
Wenger has spent plenty of time in high-level environments, and he’s not shy about saying Gonzaga has support behind it. A 2000 national champion at UCLA, he has also coached at the Division I level with Colorado, Michigan State and UT Arlington, and has worked multiple times with USA Volleyball. That background gives him a clear view of what it takes to build something sustainable.
“We have a ton of support from the department and really the community too. I think that Spokane is a volleyball community.
I just need to open some doors to get some people through. A lot of support and a lot of buzz in Year 1 and we’re excited about it.”
The next step comes with a major test. Gonzaga is moving into the Pac-12, and Wenger knows the schedule will demand a different level every night.
“It’ll be interesting. It’s something we talk about a lot.
I think that the depth in the Pac-12 is significant. I also think the West Coast Conference has been a tough volleyball conference for a long time.
The top of both leagues will be kind of comparable. But I think night in and night out, it’ll be a battle.
We’re looking forward to the challenge and really trying to figure out who we are as a program. One season is not a super long stretch.
We’ll keep developing and building. We’re eager to get going.”
The preseason coaches’ poll didn’t give Gonzaga much love, slotting the Bulldogs eighth out of nine teams in the Pac-12. Wenger isn’t losing any sleep over that, either.
“I think that was pretty much based off of last year’s RPI. Like you said, preseason rankings account for almost nothing.
Everyone has to show up and play the matches. We’ve got some familiarity with the league, obviously with Washington State and Oregon State.
I’ve got some familiarity with Texas State. I was in the Sun Belt with them for a handful of years.
It’s been a while, but I still know the staff and hopefully have some memory of their tendencies. Every team, every year, is new.”
The Bulldogs will have some experience to lean on in 2026, starting with three seniors: outside hitter/libero Maggie Rickert, setter Nia Damuni and defensive/serving specialist Brianna Martin. Gonzaga will also count on a group of upperclassmen that includes junior middle blocker Taylor Walsh, senior middle blocker Dani Johnson, junior middle blocker/outside hitter Gabby Vandal and junior outside hitter Raechelle Dykstra.
At the same time, there’s a sizable wave of newcomers to sort through. Eight new players from last season’s roster will join the mix this fall, including transfer junior outside/opposite hitter Claire Wagstaff, who arrived from Wyoming and is expected to see plenty of swings. The other seven are true freshmen, and Wenger knows that kind of growth curve can be both messy and exciting.
“The growth that comes with that is challenging, but in a really great way. College sports are demanding.
Figuring out where everybody fits, where all the pieces fit together, it’s exciting. It’s exhilarating, but it’s hard.”
Gonzaga opens its season at the Saint Mary’s Gaels/California Golden Bears Invite in the Bay Area, where the Bulldogs will face Southern Utah on Aug. 28, Pacific on Aug. 29 and UC San Diego on Aug. 30.
In Other News...
Gonzaga Just Made A Staff Move That Says Plenty About Mark Few
Gonzagas coaching staff is getting a familiar Northwest addition for the 2026-27 season, with Seattle U assistant Bryce Douglas set to join Mark Fews group. Douglas brings a rsum that stretches across college basketball and professional scouting, with stops that include San Diego, Whitman, Duke, Phoenix, Florida and Georgia, which makes him the kind of hire that usually signals both versatility and trust.
For a program that has long prized continuity under Few, moves like this tend to matter well beyond the name on the staff directory. Douglas arrives into a setup that already includes multiple assistants and a general manager, giving Gonzaga another experienced voice in a system that has to keep evolving while staying true to what has made it work. The bigger question is how quickly that blend of experience and fit gets folded into the next phase of the program. [Read more 🡒]
Gonzagas Unsettled Roster Just Took Another Hit
Skylar Wicks had looked like a meaningful addition to Gonzagas backcourt picture after transferring from St. Francis, where he turned in an outstanding season and earned NCAA waiver approval to make the move. At 6-foot-6, he fit the kind of versatile guard profile that can matter for a team still sorting out its rotation, and his commitment had offered at least one sign of stability for a roster already dealing with plenty of uncertainty.
Now that stability is gone, with Wicks reportedly decommitting and reopening his recruitment as Gonzaga continues to wait on answers about multiple players NCAA eligibility for next season. The Bulldogs roster remains very much in flux, and this latest turn only adds to the feeling that the final shape of the team is still a long way from settled. [Read more 🡒]