Jeff Werneke

Jeff "CJ" Werneke is the former DI Head Women's Volleyball Coach at Rutgers University.

Jeff "CJ" Werneke enters his 12th season at the helm of the Rutgers women's volleyball program in 2019. After an extremely successful stint at Fairfield, Werneke arrived "On the Banks" in 2008 and has continued to build a strong volleyball foundation at Rutgers.

The 2018 season saw the Scarlet Knights reach new heights with the most sets won in Big Ten matches since joining the best volleyball conference in the nation, as the squad broke a school record with 300 team blocks. Rutgers set high-water marks in six major statistical categories in conference play - kills per set (10.51), attack percentage (.127), assists per set (9.99), aces (68), blocks per set (2.25) and points (936).

Meanwhile, Werneke has established elite academic standards off the court. The Scarlet Knights have received four consecutive NCAA Academic Recognitions for ranking in the top 10% nationally in multi-year APR scores, and earned a Rutgers Athletics distinction in 2018-19 for the most improved team GPA.

The 2017 non-conference schedule was highlighted by a pair of tournament titles, first at the season opening East Carolina Invitational in August, then at the Robert Morris Invitational in September. Werneke has guided the Scarlet Knights to a tournament crown in each of the last two seasons, 2016 and 2017.

In 2014, Werneke led the Scarlet Knights through a historic season, as Rutgers entered its first year in the prestigious Big Ten Conference. Throughout the year, the squad adjusted to the grueling competition day in and day out experiencing constant growth as RU battled against the top programs in the country. Under his guidance, junior Ali Schroeter was named a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree and freshman Meme Fletcher was selected for the Inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Foreign Tour Team.

Off the court, the Scarlet Knights upheld their dedication to excellence in the classroom, as 10 student-athletes of the squad were named to the Academic All-Big Ten Team. Rutgers also posted a perfect APR score for the second straight season with Werneke at the helm.

In 2013, Werneke guided Rutgers through an injury-ridden year to conclude the campaign with several notable accomplishments. Participating for their first and only season in the American Athletic Conference, the Scarlet Knights continued to display their defensive-minded style of play as the team and players ranked at the top of various statistical categories.

In 2012, Werneke helped Rutgers to double-digit wins for the fourth-straight season and an 18-12 (4-11 BIG EAST) record. The 18 wins for the Scarlet Knights marked the most since the 2000 squad recorded 23, while the four conference victories were the most since the 2005 team totaled six. Rutgers also notched its first winning season since the 2004 team went 16-10.

The team picked up two conference road wins, one over Georgetown (Sept. 30) and one over St. John's (Oct. 28), marking the most since the 2005 Scarlet Knights also collected two. The win over the Hoyas was the first conference road win since Rutgers downed South Florida on Oct. 31, 2010.

In 2011, Werneke led the Scarlet Knights to their third-straight season with double-digit wins, compiling 10 on the season. The Scarlet Knights put together a 7-6 record at home. The 11 victories in the 2010 season were the most for RU since the 2005 season.

In 2009, Rutgers finished with a 10-19 record. RU's 10 wins equaled the total amount of victories the squad had in the three previous seasons combined. RU also won its first tournament title since the 2004 Patriot Invitational when it won the Bucknell Invitational Title.

In his first season at RU, Werneke led an extremely young Scarlet Knights squad through a demanding schedule that included 17 road games and 14 BIG EAST contests. Although the Scarlet Knights garnered only two wins on the year, the experience that the youthful squad gained could prove to be vastly important in the future.

The Scarlet Knights have also excelled in the classroom under Werneke's tutelage. In three of Werneke's seasons, the Rutgers University volleyball team was recognized for its outstanding academic achievement as the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) awarded RU with an AVCA Team Academic Award for posting a combined team grade point average of above a 3.30.

Prior to his first season as head coach at Rutgers, Werneke had an extremely successful tenure at Fairfield, where he left as the school's all-time winningest coach. In 2007, Werneke broke the 100-win plateau for his career. He was named the 2006 and 2007 MAAC Coach of the Year, and led the Stags to four consecutive MAAC regular season titles. In 2007, Fairfield finished with a 21-13 overall record and a 17-1 mark in conference play.

Werneke also coached 11 All-MAAC honorees, two MAAC Rookies of the Year, a MAAC Offensive Player of the Year and back-to back Setters of the Year while with the Stags.

Before heading to Fairfield, Werneke served as an assistant coach at Rutgers from 1999-2001 under Anne Leonard-House. While an assistant at Rutgers, Werneke served as the recruiting coordinator, handled all scouting, game day operations and travel operations.

Werneke graduated from Samford University in 1996 and has also coached at East Tennessee State, Samford and the University of Montevallo.

Werneke married the former Jennifer Smith on January 20, 2007. The Wernekes are the proud parents of three children - daughters Rylie and Parker, and son Noah.