Gregg Wallis remembers facing off against the UC Riverside men’s baseball team as an infielder for UC Irvine in 2003, describing his opponents as some of the grittiest and toughest he played against.
“Those guys could compete and that’s the identity that I’m looking to bring here,” he said.
Wallis, who was named UCR’s new head baseball coach earlier this month, was officially welcomed to the campus at a news conference Monday, July 20.
Describing himself as “beaming with excitement” to join UCR, Wallis said he plans to create a culture he called the “whole-hearted Highlander.”
“In my interview I promised to lead the program with integrity, with courage, and with passion, and in turn the cultural standard that I’m going to demand is that the players operate with integrity, with courage, and passion,” he said.
He summed up his goal for the program simply: “We want to win and we want to win a lot.”
Wallis joins UCR after 13 seasons at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, including four as head coach. During his tenure, the team won two Western Athletic Conference championships and he was named coach of the year twice. Prior to that, he held assistant coaching positions at the University of Tennessee and Cal State Fullerton.
As a student at UC Irvine, Wallis played for the Anteaters baseball team from 2002 to 2005 and was a four-time Big West Conference Scholar-Athlete.
Greg Paules, director of Intercollegiate Athletics, said he was impressed by Wallis’ vision for the program’s future.
“We were looking for a leader, someone who could develop young men, recruit exceptional student-athletes, compete for championships, and represent UC Riverside with integrity and pride,” Paules said. “We wanted someone who understands what it takes to build a winner and who shares the belief that the best days of Highlander athletics are still ahead.”
Wallis said he was impressed by UCR’s rich history, referencing its 2007 Big West championship, and attracted by the campus, its playing field, and the baseball talent in the Inland Empire.
Wallis said his focus will be player development, recruiting local talent, preparing players to pursue professional careers, and creating relationships where players will want to come back as alumni to celebrate the campus.
“I know there’s a lot of hard work that’s out in front of us but I’m ready to get to work,” Wallis said. “I’m very passionate about what we have in front of us and I believe that we can do great things here.”
