ChadWiest

Chad Wiest enters his fourth season as gymnastics assistant coach at the University of Kentucky in 2025. With a major role in recruiting, Wiest leads the Wildcats on vault and floor exercise.

In the 2024 season, and for the first time since Jenny Hansen in the late 1990’s, two members of Team 50 earned perfect 10.0’s. Makenzie Wilson was awarded two perfect marks on vault while Raena Worley earned three 10.0’s on floor. In addition to record-setting perfect scores, Wiest also produced All-Americans in Arianna Patterson (Second Team Vault), Creslyn Brose (Second Team Floor), Wilson (First Team Vault), and Worley (First Team Floor). Worley was also named All-SEC while Brose was named SEC All-Freshman. Worley, a two-time AAI Award finalist represented the Cats at Nationals placing second overall on floor (9.9500).

Kentucky posted a new program record on vault (49.550) against Georgia on Excite Night. The same night, the Wildcats tied its program best on floor with 49.650 which was first set in 2014. However, Kentucky later broke that record setting a new program best against Missouri (49.750). The Cats saw their highest ranking on vault at No. 1 which they held from Week 4 to Week 7. Additionally, the floor team was ranked No. 3 for four consecutive weeks. Worley held the No. 1 ranking on floor for eight consecutive weeks while Wilson was nationally ranked in the top-five on vault for nine consecutive weeks.

The 2023 season came with national recognition for associate head coach, Rachel Garrison, and Wiest as they were named WCGA Central Region Co-Assistant Coaches of the Year. Kentucky saw the most accomplished season to date as Team 49 qualified for nationals for the second time in program history. In the regular season, Worley was named First Team All-America on floor. In the postseason at the NCAA National Championship, Wiest produced two All-Americans in Worley and Wilson. UK closed the 2023 season ranked No. 6 on vault and No. 11 on floor.

In 2022, Kentucky finished No. 9 in the Road to Nationals All-Around Team National Standings. The Cats made program history with its highest score of 197.750 in the second round of the NCAA Auburn Regional. Worley and Hailey Davis represented the Wildcats at the NCAA National Championships on floor with Worley earning All-American First and Second Team Honors.

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.