ChadWiest

Chad Wiest enters his second season as gymnastics assistant coach at the University of Kentucky in 2023. With a major role in recruiting, Wiest leads the Wildcats on vault and floor exercise.

Wiest comes to Kentucky after five seasons at the University of Washington. As an assistant coach with the Huskies, Wiest led the charge on vault and floor while also serving as the team’s recruiting coordinator.

Washington flourished during Wiest’s tenure, qualifying for back-to-back NCAA Championships to end a 19-year drought. The GymDawgs recorded their highest regular-season finish in school history with a No. 8 national ranking in 2018. In 2020, Wiest guided the Washington floor unit to a No. 4 finish on the event.

Wiest co-produced three NCAA All-Americans, seven WCGA Regular Season All-Americans and 17 All-Pac-12 honors in Seattle.

Before landing at Washington, Wiest spent three years as an assistant at his alma mater, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Butler, Pennsylvania, native coached the Illinois vault and floor lineups, overseeing an NCAA Championship appearance in 2014. The Fighting Illini shattered the program scoring record, as well as the mark for best vault rotation, with Wiest on staff.

Before embarking on his coaching career at Bowling Green State University for two years, Wiest was a team captain, two-time All-American and Big Ten champion as a student-athlete on the storied Illinois men’s gymnastics team.

Wiest resides in Lexington with his wife, Jaclyn.