Western Illinois men’s basketball head coach Billy Wright announced that Josh Wolfe has been promoted to associate head coach. The 2016-17 season marks Wolfe’s fourth year on the Leatherneck staff.
“I would like to thank Coach Wright for this honor,” said Wolfe. “I am extremely humbled to serve as the associate head coach at Western Illinois University. I have learned a tremendous amount from Coach Wright in the last two years and I look forward to continuing to grow in this profession under his leadership. I am grateful to serve and support our staff and the student-athletes in any way that I can to help our basketball program moving forward.”
Wolfe assists with recruiting, scouting, game scheduling, player development, on-court coaching, and monitoring the academic progress of the Leatherneck student-athletes. During his three seasons Western has had at least one All-Summit League selection.
“Josh is a tireless worker who goes above and beyond on a daily basis. He arrives early, stays late and has a great understanding of how I want things done. He is a good recruiter who has done a great job spreading our ‘ALL IN’ philosophy throughout the state of Illinois and the Midwest as well. Josh is very loyal and well respected amongst college coaches throughout the country,” said Wright.
Prior to coming to joining Western, Wolfe spent six years at UW-Parkside and was a part of all activities in the basketball program, including recruiting, on-court coaching and player academics. He also served as the Director of the department’s CHAMPS/Life Skills program. He was named the top assistant basketball coach at UW-Parkside in June of 2006. In his first season at UW-Parkside, Wolfe helped guide the Rangers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance, with an overall 19-13 record. In his second season at UW-Parkside, the Rangers finished with a 15-11 record.
Before UW-Parkside, Wolfe spent two years as an assistant coach at Lakeland College, a NCAA Division III school located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. In his last year at Lakeland, the Muskies finished with a 21-6 record and a Lake Michigan Conference Championship. This successful time led to Lakeland’s first 20-plus win season in over a decade. In the two seasons that Wolfe was with Lakeland College, he was instrumental in recruiting. He recruited the Lake Michigan Conference Player of the Year for 2006, as well as the LMC Rookie of the Year. In addition, Wolfe served as the strength and conditioning coach for all men’s athletic teams at Lakeland.
From 2001-2004, Wolfe was an assistant coach at Hope College, a Division III school in Holland, Michigan. In Wolfe’s time at Hope, the Flying Dutchmen won two conference championships (2003 & 2004), while also making two NCAA Tournament appearances (2002 & 2003).
Wolfe, originally from Cedar Springs, Michigan, holds a Bachelor’s of Art in Secondary Education from Hope College and a Master’s of Education from Lakeland College. Josh and his wife Molly reside in Macomb.
