Mike Wilton
Men's Volleyball Assistant Coach
Office
SFH 244


Years at BYU

  • 2009-2015
  • BYU women's volleyball assistant coach in 2009

At BYU

  • In his final season of coaching at BYU, he helped coach the Cougars to a 17-10 overall record in 2015
  • Helped coach the Cougars to a 21-9 overall record in 2014, finishing in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament
  • Helped coach the Cougars to a 26-5 overall record in 2013, finishing in the championship match of the NCAA tournament
  • Assisted the Cougars to a 24-7 overall record in 2012

Before BYU

  • Coached the Cal Poly men's volleyball team from 1973-75
  • Volunteer assistant for UC Santa Barbara's men's volleyball team in 1974
  • Volunteer assistant coach for BYU in 1976
  • Coached the BYU-Hawaii men's volleyball team in 1976
  • Coached the Cal Poly women's volleyball team 1978-89
  • Coached the Hawai'i men's volleyball team from 1993-2009
  • Had four 20-win seasons, five MPSF titles, three NCAA tournament appearances and five top-five final national rankings with the Warriors
  • Coached two AVCA National Players of the Year, 14 All-Americans and 26 All-MPSF players
  • Was named AVCA Coach of the Year twice (1995 and 2002) and MPSF Coach of the Year (1995)                                                                                                                               
  • Tallied 354 wins as a men's volleyball head coach

Playing Career

Played at BYU-Hawaii (then Church College of Hawaii)

Personal/Family

  • Father Willie coached men's basketball at UC Santa Barbara
  • Married to Kuulei
  • Has two sons and two daughters who played collegiate volleyball

Mike Wilton joins the BYU men's volleyball program with over 30 years of experience at the collegiate volleyball level, including 12 years as the head women's coach at Cal Poly and the last 17 years as the head men's coach at the University of Hawai'i. Wilton was an assistant coach at BYU in 2009 for the women's volleyball team.

With 354 career wins on the men's side - including a program-best 316 at UH - Wilton has established himself as one of the most successful men's volleyball coaches in the country. In 32 seasons as a head coach at the collegiate level, he has amassed 637 victories, which include 283 wins in 12 seasons with the Cal Poly women.

Under Wilton, the Warrior volleyball program rose among the elite with five Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Pacific Division titles, three NCAA semifinal appearances and five top-five final national rankings. During his tenure, the Warriors posted four 20-win campaigns, won more than 67 percent of their matches and were nationally ranked in all 17 seasons.

Wilton's system has helped create two National Players of the Year, Yuval Katz (1996) and Costas Theocharidis (2001), 14 All-Americans and 26 all-conference athletes. For his efforts, Wilton has been named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Coach of the Year twice, in 1995 and 2002, as well as MPSF Coach of the Year in 1995.

In 1996, the Warriors completed perhaps the program's best season with a 27-3 overall record and became one of a handful of MPSF teams all-time to finish with a perfect record (19-0) in league play. Wilton directed UH to the national championship match against UCLA but fell 15-12 in the deciding fifth game.

Wilton initially arrived in Hawaii in the late 1960s when he played volleyball at Church College of Hawaii, now called BYU-Hawaii. He coached the men's team there in 1976 before moving back to the mainland and spending 12 seasons with the Cal Poly women's team, where he posted an impressive 283-137 record from 1978-89. He also led the Cal Poly men's team for three years. Wilton also served as a volunteer assistant with the UC Santa Barbara men's squad and took over the Warrior program after one year as a volunteer assistant with the BYU men's team.

A native of Santa Barbara, Calif., Wilton has been around coaching his whole life. His father, Willie Wilton, was a highly successful men's basketball coach at UC Santa Barbara and is a member of the Gaucho's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Along with his wife, Kuulei, Wilton has passed along his love of volleyball to his family. His oldest son, Aaron, was an AVCA All-American with the Warriors and played on NCAA finals teams in 1995 and 1996. Aaron was on his father's coaching staff from 2001-05. Daughter Jenny earned second-team All-Big West volleyball honors at Hawai'i, while his youngest son, Mike Jr., played for BYU and daughter Melissa lettered at Utah State in 2002.

BYU Hall of Fame