Oceanside CA— MiraCosta College women’s volleyball coach Kristen Wright, who took a program that was on hiatus for more than 20 years and turned it into a regional power, is being inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions for her unprecedented success as a high school coach before she arrived at the Oceanside Campus.
“It’s an incredible honor,” said Wright. “When I got the call, I literally started crying. It’s just so amazing.”
Wright will be inducted in the High School Coaching Legends CIF San Diego Section during a November 3, 2016, banquet and ceremony at the Scottish Rite Center in San Diego’s Mission Valley.
A former All-American player at the University of San Diego, Wright has been coaching volleyball since 2001 and was named by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 2012 as one of the top 30 coaches in the country who were under 30 years old. At Tri-City Christian High School in Vista, she won eight consecutive CIF championships, won five regional championships, and made an unprecedented five consecutive appearances at the state finals. Prior to joining the Tri-City Christian staff, Wright was the head junior varsity coach for the girls’ squad at Santa Fe Christian School in Solana Beach and was the interim assistant varsity coach when it captured a league, CIF and state championship in her first year there. She also served as a varsity assistant coach at La Jolla High School.
At the high school level, Wright has coached seven CIF Players of the Year, three San Diego Union-Tribune Scholar-Athletes of the Year and two All-Americans.
She was hired in 2014 to take over an indoor MiraCosta College women’s volleyball program that had been mothballed since 1992 and in her first year led the women’s team to a third-place finish in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference. In her second year, MiraCosta finished in the Sweet 16 of the Southern California tournament. The goal this year: the state championships. The squad got off to the right start with a record of 19-2 through late October.
“I am so proud to say that Coach Wright is part of the MiraCosta family,” said MiraCosta College Athletic Director Patrick Conahan. “As we know, her past demonstrates nothing but excellence and for that reason, she is being honored by the Hall of Champions. What I’ve seen in a little over two years is that Kristen Wright loves what she does and knows how to build a culture that leads to high levels of success both on and off the court. She has been an incredible influence on the students in her program, on our department and on me personally.”
The entire starting squad on last year’s volleyball team was offered scholarships at four-year colleges or universities, and the squad earned a cumulative GPA of 3.2.
“That’s the key,” Wright said. “You have to succeed off the court.”
Added Wright: “I’m really excited for the future of the program here at MiraCosta College.”