PLAINVIEW, Texas – Wayland Baptist University has selected Wes Miller as its new cross country and track & field head coach.
Currently the assistant coach at South Plains College in Levelland, Miller – having also coached at Louisiana Tech and Northwestern State (La.). – brings an impressive resume of accomplishments in 12 years coaching on the college level, including more than 250 all-Americans and close to 100 individual national champions.
“Our cross country and track & field programs have been Wayland’s most prolific, and finding the right person has been a difficult journey. I am very pleased with our selection of Wes Miller,” WBU Athletics Director Jim Giacomazzi said. “He is a man of God and an experienced coach. His association with other successful track & field programs has given him the necessary tools to help us bring quality student-athletes to Wayland. He will be a great addition to the history of great coaches we have been blessed to have worked here.
“It is my belief that Coach Miller will be a positive influence to the women and men that will be part of a great track program.”
Said Miller, “Wayland has a strong history in track & field. The chance to lead this program is extremely exciting.”
A native of San Antonio, Miller graduated from San Antonio Christian School before attending the University of Texas at San Antonio where he received his bachelor of science in kinesiology in 2011. He later earned his master’s degree in health and human performance from Northwestern St.
Miller began his coaching career at San Antonio Christian School as a middle school coach before moving on to Northwestern State where he was associate head track & field coach for five years. His student-athletes recorded 41 All-Southland Conference championships along with 19 NCAA Championship qualifications.
He moved on to Louisiana Tech and served as associate head coach for three years, with his student-athletes attaining 17 All-Conference USA accolades, seven school records and 13 NCAA Championship qualifications.
Miller then took a position as assistant track & field coach at South Plains College where he was in charge of sprints, hurdles, relays and middle distance runners, as well as women’s multis. In four years with the Texans, Miller’s position group student-athletes amassed a whopping 253 all-American honors, 88 national championships, five NJCAA national records and 15 school records. He was a six-time NJCAA National Coach of the Year and eight-time regional coach of the year. During his tenure, SPC brought home seven team national championships and finished in the top five in the nation at all 14 championships.
At Wayland, Miller takes over a program that has seen similar success with 20 (12 women’s and eight men’s) indoor & outdoor NAIA national championships.
“Wayland has a rich (track & field) tradition and is a good school. There is an awesome opportunity here to build a program,” said Miller, who plans to recruit locally as well as in the junior college ranks and internationally. “A lot of incredible athletes have chosen Wayland in the past, and I’m excited to recruit (those same type of athletes) here.”
Miller and his wife Kyle, a middle school teacher in Lubbock, have two children: Adelyn, age 7, and Colton, 4.
“For us as a family, we enjoy living out here. We’ve established roots. To me it felt like a great fit staying out in West Texas and building the (WBU) program back up.”
Miller takes over for Brian Whitlock, who spent 18 years coaching cross country and track & field at Wayland. Whitlock resigned in June 2022, after which former WBU track star Tre Hinds, an employee in the WBU Office of Admissions, served as interim coach.