AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn volleyball program is excited to welcome back Kris Grunwald as he returns to the program as an assistant coach, head coach Rick Nold announced.
"We are very happy to welcome back Kris to the Plains," Nold said. "We feel like we hit a home run in adding a coach with his considerable abilities and credentials to our program. His knowledge of both Auburn and the Southeastern Conference will be invaluable as we continue our pursuit of competing at the highest national level."
Grunwald comes to the Plains after a five-year stint at UConn as the program's head coach. He finished with a 70-86 overall record, including back-to-back seasons with 16 wins and a 10-win conference record in 2015.
"I am very excited for the opportunity to return to Auburn," Grunwald said. "I will miss my UConn family and thank everyone in Storrs for their efforts and thoughts as I depart. Having a history with Auburn certainly made this a very appealing move for me. Being familiar with the town, the campus and most importantly the incredible people involved with the Auburn volleyball program and the athletics department made this a very easy transition for me. I very much look forward to this next challenge."
A native of Germantown, N.Y., Grunwald is no stranger to the Auburn volleyball program. He spent 2012 and 2013 as an assistant coach with Nold and held a similar position from 1994-97 before stepping into the head coaching job with the Tigers for the 1998 and 1999s.
Auburn had a winning record in all eight years with Grunwald on staff. As a head coach for the Tigers, he amassed a 41-20 record, which included a 22-win campaign in 1998. He was also a part of the 1996 squad that finished 22-9 overall and 11-4 in SEC play, winning the SEC Western Division title.
Grunwald is no stranger to the SEC as he spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Arkansas. With the Razorbacks, Grunwald focused his attention on recruiting and opponent breakdown. He helped coordinate the Razorbacks' top-45 recruiting class in 2009, which included All-American Jasmine Norton and SEC All-Freshman Amanda Anderson.
In the PrepVolleyball.com release of the nation's top recruiting classes in 2010, Arkansas received honorable mention accolades. That class included setter Raymariely Santos, who went on to be named a member of the 2010 Freshman All-SEC Team, the third such honor for the Razorbacks in two seasons.
Grunwald replaces Alex Wilharm, who spent the last two seasons with the program and is looking to pursue a career outside of coaching. Under Wilharm's direction, a handful of student-athletes received conference, regional and national recognition. In 2017, three Tigers in Jesse Earl, Alexa Filley and Shaina White were honored by the AVCA All-South Region with Earl picking up the program's first All-America award. This past season, Wilharm played a major role in sophomore Anna Stevenson's performances on the court, helping the middle blocker earn AVCA regional accolades.
"Alex is an outstanding coach and person who has been extremely impactful to our program," Nold said. "While we hate to lose him, we are excited to see him pursue his dreams outside of volleyball. He will always remain a part of the Auburn Family."
Grunwald is a 1991 graduate of George Mason University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. He earned his master's degree in mathematics education at Florida State in 1993.