Kansas Wesleyan University has announced the hiring of Josh Molino as the new coach of the men’s and women’s tennis programs according to Vice President and Director of Athletics Mike Hermann.

Molino will succeed Bob Warkentine, who retired at the end of the 2018 season after six seasons leading the Coyotes.

“Coach Warkentine did an incredible job with the program and the tennis community in Salina,” Molino said. “He built a strong brand of tennis and that showed in his recruitment of student athletes.”

“One of Josh’s major strengths is player development. He’s tutored players that have competed at the highest level of college tennis,” Hermann said. “Plus, he’s been working in the Salina tennis community as a teaching pro at Genesis and that familiarity will expedite his success at Kansas Wesleyan.”

Molino comes to Kansas Wesleyan after serving as the director of junior tennis at Genesis Health Club in Salina. Under his leadership the program has grown from 60 to 80 participants and he has seen three boys win Missouri Valley Section tournament titles and has coached four players ranked in the Section Top 100 rankings.

“I hope to keep the momentum rolling in the community and with the Coyotes. We return an experienced team on both sides and with the help of Coach Estepa I believe we are on the verge of something special,” Molino said. “I’m excited to get the team back on campus and start conditioning. We will be tough mentally and physically and I’m confident it will show in our results. The team will take pride in representing KWU and Salina.”

Before Genesis, he spent a year at the Country Club of Orlando (Fla.) and prior to that he spent five years at the Sports Club of West Bloomfield (Mich.) where he was the assistant director of junior tennis. At the Sports Club, he helped mentor several players that went on to win a total of 40 state championships, five individual national championships, five collegiate All-Americans and had 15 student-athletes playing at top-tier NCAA Division I tennis programs.

He also spent three years as the varsity boys’ tennis coach at Detroit Country Day School in Beverly Hills, Mich. While there, his team captured the Michigan Division 3 team state championship and set new state records for points scored in the tournament. He had a 44-1 career record and was ranked No. 1 in the state by the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association for three straight seasons. He was the 2012 M-Live Metro Detroit and Oakland Press boys’ tennis coach of the year.

Molino is a 2011 graduate of the University of Central Florida with a degree in Sports and Fitness and spent time as a student assistant in the athletics communications department at UCF.