TUCSON, Ariz. -- University of Arizona head beach volleyball coach Steve Walker has agreed to a new contract to lead the program through the 2022 season.

Walker has built Arizona Beach Volleyball into a program of national success and prominence since the program's creation in 2013, including guiding the Wildcats to their winningest season in 2019. A Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Coach of the Year recipient, Walker has grown the program into a regular in the national rankings, finishing in the top 15 in each of the last five seasons. 

"The University of Arizona and Arizona Athletics are excited to have Steve continue to lead our Beach Volleyball program," said Vice President and Director of Athletics Dave Heeke. "Arizona Beach Volleyball has grown and developed into a program of distinction and has had outstanding success under Steve's leadership. The program proudly represents our University, athletics department and community with outstanding student-athletes. We look forward to Arizona Beach Volleyball continuing to be a program of excellence with Steve as its head coach."

Walker, the 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year has coached four All-Americans since 2015 and led the Wildcats to the inaugural NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships in 2016, finishing tied for fifth in the eight-team tournament.

"As we all grow with the NCAA's newest championship sport of beach volleyball, I would like to thank Dave Heeke and the McKale Executive Staff for their continued support and belief in me to lead this program," said Walker, who will enter his seventh season as the UA head coach in 2020. "I also want to thank the incredible support staff that that our student-athletes and I work with on a daily basis for their continued efforts. And of course, much of the credit goes to the players; those from the early days of the program who helped place us among the nation's best, and to the current team that's working hard to elevate our program even higher. I am very proud of what we've achieved since the program was rolled out in 2014 and look forward to our ascension in the years ahead."
 
The 2019 season saw the program set a UA record for wins with a record of 25-6, which included an impressive 15-match win streak to end the regular season. Arizona finished the season ranked in the top 12 nationally. Mia Mason and Olivia Hallaran earned All-Pac-12 Second Team honors while six other Wildcats earned Top Flight awards from the AVCA. With an athletics department high 3.824 team GPA, the Wildcat quartet of Jonny Baham, Natalie Anselmo, Brooke Burling and Mia Mason were all selected to Pac-12 All-Academic teams.

In 2018, the Wildcats went 20-12 and finished the season ranked 14th in the AVCA Top 25.

In 2017, led by first-team all-conference seniors Madison and McKenna Witt, the Wildcats went 17-10 and ended the season ranked No. 13 in the final poll.

In the sport's first season as an NCAA-sanctioned sport, Walker led Arizona to the first ever NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships in 2016. The Wildcats finished tied for fifth at the inaugural eight-team championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Madison and McKenna Witt were named All-Americans while Walker was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for his masterful leadership of the Wildcats, who also finished the season as the Pac-12 runner up at the first conference tournament.

The foundation for Arizona's immense success at the NCAA level was built during the program's first two seasons. After winning eight matches in year 1, the Wildcats burst onto the national scene in 2015, posting an 18-3 record and sent two pairs to the AVCA Sand Pairs Championship, concluding with a final-four appearance and eventual AVCA All-America honors for Kaitlyn Leary and Madi Kingdon. Arizona finished the season ranked No. 10 in 2015, Walker's second season.

Prior to becoming Arizona's first beach volleyball coach, Walker served as UA's indoor volleyball associate head coach. He served as an assistant coach with the Wildcats for three seasons from 2003-05, helping to lead the program to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2005. He left Arizona after the 2005 season to become the women's volleyball head coach at UC Davis, where he has coached for two seasons before returning to Arizona in 2007.