Justin Wells - Women's Volleyball Coach - Ball State University Athletics

Justin Wells

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
justin.wells@bsu.edu
Phone:
765-285-5671

Justin Wells, who spent the past three seasons at Belmont, enters his first season as an assistant coach for the Ball State women's volleyball program in 2022.

"I am thrilled to welcome Justin to the Cardinal family," Phillips said. "He brings a wealth of experience which is going to continue to push our program forward. Everyone I spoke to gave specific examples of his willingness to go above and beyond to help others on and off the court. That is the type of people we want in our program. He is also an experienced setter trainer and brings a broad spectrum of recruiting knowledge. I love that he is from Indiana and truly gets what it means to be a part of Ball State volleyball."

Wells brings 12 years of coaching experience with him to Ball State, including the past seven at the NCAA Division I level. His most recent stop was a three-year stint as an assistant coach at Belmont where he helped bring in the first-ever ranked recruiting class in Bruins history in 2020.

"I want to thank Kelli and Ball State University for the opportunity to join the Ball State volleyball family," Wells said. "I am very excited about getting back to Indiana, and I know we will continue to do great things with this volleyball program. Both my wife Brianne and I are very grateful to be closer to family and for the opportunity to be at a university where everyone is so welcoming and friendly. I cannot wait to get on the court and continue to build on the tradition of excellence the Ball State women's volleyball program is known for."

Wells worked with Belmont's offense which improved its year-over-year kills-per-set average and its overall attack percentage in 2021. He also oversaw the training of the team's setters, pin attackers, and coached the offense in both practice and matches.

Before joining the Belmont staff, Wells spent the 2018 season at USC Upstate where he assisted with the team's setters and middle blockers. His training helped increase the Spartan's blocking production from last in the ASUN at 1.56 blocks per set in 2017, to first in the Big South at 2.30 in 2018.

In addition, the middles he coached at USC Upstate more than doubled their combined offensive production from 2.14 kills per set to 4.46 under his tutelage.

During the 2017 season, Wells was an assistant at Southern Illinois, where he trained the Salukis' setters and ran the offense in practice and matches.

Wells started his NCAA Division I coaching career as a volunteer coach at Tennessee for the 2016 campaign, training both backcourt passing and digging skill development. He helped the Vols finish the year with a 17-14 overall record, capped by a win over then-No. 23 Kentucky in its final regular-season home match.

Before joining the Division I ranks, Wells spent three seasons as the head coach of both the men's and women's volleyball programs at Lindenwood University - Belleville. While coaching the Lynx, he led the women's program to an appearance in the USCAA national tournament, coached two USCAA All-Americans, and worked with six all-conference selections. On the men's side, the Lynx posted an 18-win turnaround in his second season at the helm, going 18-13 in 2014 after a winless 2013 season.

Wells started his collegiate coaching career at Trine University, spending two seasons as an assistant women's volleyball coach. He also started a satellite branch of the Fort Wayne Volleyball Club in Angola, Indiana, called the Angola Volleyball Club.

No stranger to the court before his coaching career, Wells was a setter at Cardinal Stritch where he earned his bachelor's degree in psychology in 2010. His play helped the Wolves earn back-to-back NAIA National Tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009.

Wells, and his wife Brianne, currenlty reside in Muncie.