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TCU Names New Coaches
TCU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Jeremiah Donati has announced the hiring of Jenny Garrison as the first head coach of the Horned Frogs’ women’s triathlon program and the hiring of Jason Williams as new head volleyball coach.
TCU’s inaugural season for women’s triathlon is Fall 2023 with triathletes arriving on campus in 2022. The addition of women’s triathlon gives TCU 22 sports, the most in the Big 12 Conference.
Garrison comes to TCU from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, where she began the women’s triathlon program and won three national championships. She also served as North Central’s head women’s swimming and diving coach the last two seasons.
“We are proud to welcome Jenny to TCU and in an exciting leadership role of helping us start a women’s triathlon program,” Donati said. “When we added women’s triathlon, we believed we could quickly be competitive on the national level. Having already built a program and with immediate results, Jenny is the right person and fit to help us achieve our goal. She is a national championship coach and well known through USA Triathlon. Her enthusiasm and passion for the sport will make an impact in recruiting.”
Garrison, an elite triathlete, led North Central to three consecutive Division III National Championships (2017-19) and five appearances overall at the USA Triathlon National Collegiate Championships. The Cardinals were third in 2021. Garrison and North Central also produced the last four Division III Individual National Champions, most recently Hailey Poe in 2021.
“I am so excited to join the TCU family,” Garrison said. “As the first head coach of the women’s triathlon program, my goal is to bring an amazing team culture that cultivates success. I’m looking forward to not only developing champions but to instill skills that will propel these young women to be successful leaders in life. I also look forward to carrying on a winning legacy here at TCU. Triathlon in Fort Worth will make history!”
Garrison was the 2019 USAT Division III Coach of the Year. She has coached eight Collegiate Triathlon Coaches Association All-Americans and 11 All-Region honorees, including 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year finalist and NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient Naomi Hill.
A 2001 graduate of Benedictine University, Garrison is a former professional triathlete with more than 15 years of competitive experience. She represented Team USA in World Championship competition in Australia, France, Switzerland and Canada. She won overall amateur female honors at the 2006 USAT National Championships and placed third at the 2014 USAT Championships. She is also a two-time finisher at the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon.
Williams comes to TCU after serving as associate head coach at Baylor. His seven years in Waco saw him climb the ranks from volunteer assistant in 2015 to full-time assistant in 2016 and then associate head coach in 2020.
Williams was instrumental in Baylor posting six consecutive 20-win seasons and NCAA Tournament appearances, including this year’s 22-6 mark with a 14-2 record in Big 12 Conference play. The Bears climbed as high as No. 6 in the national rankings and made their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Baylor has finished first or second in the Big 12 the last five seasons. In 2019, the Bears earned a No. 1 national ranking, won the program’s first Big 12 championship with a 15-1 conference record, were the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed and reached the Final Four.
“Jason is a perfect fit for TCU and Fort Worth,” Donati said. “We have seen firsthand the impact he has had on Baylor’s success as well as in recruiting the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and the state of Texas. We were very impressed with Jason’s focus on the student-athlete experience, especially in their development on and off the court. In the volleyball community, he is well known and respected across the nation. We are very excited to have Jason as a Horned Frog and to lead our volleyball program into a new era.”
Williams coached six players at Baylor to All-America honors, including 2019 AVCA National Player of the Year and five-time All-American Yossiana Pressley. He has also been an assistant coach and scout for the USA National Team Development Program.
“I want to thank Jeremiah, (TCU Deputy Athletics Director) Mike Sinquefield and (TCU Senior Associate Athletics Director) Gretchen Bouton for the opportunity to lead this program to new heights,” Williams said. “From the time I stepped on campus and met all the amazing people, I knew it was a great fit and I had a real peace about it. I am from the Metroplex, and I’m glad to be back home. I’m excited to help the student-athletes get to a place they can’t reach on their own. We are going to do great things here, and I’m grateful that I can be just a small part of the future of TCU volleyball.”
Before arriving at Baylor, Williams was a highly successful coach at the junior club level in Texas. In the 10 years prior to his time in Waco, Williams led his club teams to annual top-20 national rankings with eight of those squads in the top 10. In 2014, Williams’ 16s team won the AAU National Championship and the JVA World Challenge. He led three teams to the finals of the USA Junior National Championships in the open division and five top-five finishes.
Williams also had four teams finish in the top 10 of the final year-end national rankings on PrepVolleyball.com. Those squads would go on to win several national qualifiers, including Lonestar, as well as Tour of Texas championships.
Williams was a four-sport athlete (football, basketball, baseball and track) at Plano East Senior High School in Plano. He went on to play two years of football at Austin College. Williams then embarked on a successful beach volleyball career. Primarily playing setter, he was on several men’s teams that competed at the USAV Open Championships.
Williams’ wife, the former Cory Sivertson, was also a setter and became the first volleyball player inducted into the Baylor Hall of Fame. She closed her career holding 18 school records, many of which still stand. Williams credits his successes on the volleyball court to Cory’s success, knowledge and influence.
The Williams have two children, Callie and Barrett. Callie was a member of the Baylor volleyball team.
This article first appeared in the Fort Worth Business Press and is reblogged with permission.
