UNCW Athletic Hall of Fame
Jerry Wainwright put the men’s basketball program on the map when he took over the reins in 1994, coaching the Seahawks to four postseason appearances and their only postseason victory in the history of the program.
A native of Chicago, Ill., Wainwright came to the North Carolina coast after serving as an assistant coach at Wake Forest. In eight seasons, he a built a 136-103 record and piloted the Seahawks to a pair of NCAA (2000, 2002) and NIT (1998, 2001) berths, with three regular season conference championships and two 20-win seasons.
Wainwright was named CAA Coach-of-the-Year in 1997 and 2001 and in 2023, he was recognized as recipient of the Gene Bartow Award, presented annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to a current or former coach for contributions to the game.
Overall, Wainwright directed the program to its first ever post-season berth, first 20 win season (1998), and the first win in the NCAA Tournament, a 93-89 triumph over the University of Southern California in 2002. The Seahawks averaged 17 wins per season during his successful tenure.
Wainwright traveled to Iraq in 2008 as part of the USO Operation Hardwood Hoops With The Troops Tour. Later, as part of the USA Basketball Program, Wainwright served as Head Coach for the 19 and under team which won the silver medal in the F.I.B.A. World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia in 2007.
In May of 2025, Wainwright was inducted into the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame. In addition, he was honored by UNCW Athletics with the establishment of the Jerry Wainwright Scholarship for UNCW Men’s Basketball in 2026.
