Chad Wiest Joins Kentucky Gymnastics Coaching Staff

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky gymnastics program bolstered its staff ahead of the 2022 season with the addition of assistant coach Chad Wiest, announced by head coach Tim Garrison on Monday.
 
“I am excited to welcome Chad to our UK gymnastics staff,” said Garrison. “He brings over a decade of NCAA coaching experience, as well as the valuable perspective of an All-America collegiate athlete and team leader. He has a proven track record as a strong floor and vault coach, and I am looking forward to the continued development of our athletes on those events.
 
“As a past recruiting coordinator, he will also have a consistent role in our recruiting efforts,” Garrison said. “I believe he will help move our program towards our ultimate goal of competing and achieving at the highest levels of NCAA gymnastics competition.”
 
Wiest comes to Lexington after five seasons at the University of Washington. As an assistant coach with the Huskies, Wiest led the charge on vault and floor exercise 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 will reside in Lexington with his wife, Jaclyn.
 
For the latest on the Kentucky gymnastics team, follow @UKGymnastics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.