TUCSON, Ariz. - Arizona beach volleyball head coach Steve Walker has signed a contract extension that will keep him in Tucson through the 2026 season, Arizona Vice President and Director of Athletics Dave Heeke announced on Wednesday. Â
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"Arizona Beach Volleyball's sustained excellence on the court, in the classroom and in our community is a direct reflection of Steve's tremendous leadership as head coach," Heeke said. "He has built the program into a contender on the national scene while helping grow the popularity of beach volleyball in Southern Arizona. Over the past decade, our beach volleyball program has achieved championship excellence in all facets under his guidance. The Wildcat Family and I look forward to a bright future and more generations of Wildcats becoming academic, athletic and life champions."Â
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Walker guided the Wildcats to a 21-12 overall record in 2023 and his career record stands at 180-82 in his 10 seasons as the head coach. He has coached four All-Americans and 15 All Pac-12 honorees, including three-time all-conference recipient Alex Parkhurst from 2021-23. He mentored Sarah Blacker, who set the program career record for individual wins with 92 and has one of the best winning percentages in program history.Â
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"I would like to thank Dave Heeke, our sport supervisor Krystal Swindlehurst and the rest of our executive team for believing in my leadership. Coaching the beach volleyball program at the University of Arizona has been nothing short of amazing. It's hard to believe we have already celebrated our 10th year of existence as a program, and I am very proud of the things we've accomplished up to this point. I'd also like to thank all the members of our team, past and present, and our amazing support staff for believing in the things we do on a daily basis. Without them, none of the moments we get to enjoy are even possible. As we transition into this year and beyond, we are going to work harder that we ever have to ensure we continue to provide our student-athletes a tremendous experience on and off the court."Â
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Consistency at a high level has been a staple of Walker's tenure at Bear Down Beach. In the nine full seasons at the helm – not including the COVID-19 shortened season in 2020 - the Wildcats have won at least 20 matches five times and have been ranked in the final AVCA Top 20 poll of the season each of the last eight years. Â
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In the classroom, the beach volleyball team is one of the elite groups of students on campus. As a team, the Wildcats received the AVCA Team Academic Award in 2023 for the eighth straight season after having a GPA of 3.30 or higher, and they also earned distinction on the Team Honor Roll for having a team GPA in the top 20% percent of all teams across the country. Over the last two seasons, Arizona has had 31 student-athletes named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll as well.Â
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