New Gators volleyball coach Ryan Theis departed Marquette as the program's all-time leader in winning percentage after leading the Golden Eagles for 11 seasons. (Photo: Courtesy of Marquette Athletics)
Theis Has Deep Professional And Personal Ties to Gators
Tuesday, February 18, 2025 | Volleyball, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After a whirlwind day of travel and life-altering meetings, Ryan Theis was back on Monday night.
He was back at the University of Florida. He was back at the O'Dome. He was back inside the Gators volleyball offices, leaning on the program's director of operations, Jackie Hensel, as his guide.
"It's an unbelievable opportunity,'' Theis said. "Never really pictured when I started coaching volleyball that someday I might be the head coach at Florida."
The announcement arrived late Monday afternoon that Theis, the head coach at Marquette for the past 11 seasons, was replacing legendary Gators coach Mary Wise. The 65-year-old Wise announced her retirement last week after 34 seasons. Theis served as an assistant under Wise during the 2006 and '07 seasons, but that ranks No. 2 on his list of connections to the program.
No. 1 is a good story.
Theis, a 46-year-old Wisconsin native who attended UW-Milwaukee, first stepped inside the O'Connell Center in December 1999. He was a student assistant doing whatever was needed for then-Panthers coach Kathy Litzau. He had decided to pursue a coaching career after his playing days ended when UW-Milwaukee dropped its men's volleyball program after his freshman season.
The Panthers faced Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, with Florida meeting Liberty in the four-team regional at UF. Illinois knocked out the Panthers, while Florida beat Liberty and then Illinois with a dynamic right-side hitter and two-time SEC Player of the Year named Jenny Manz, nicknamed "The Hammer" because of her powerful swings.
Manz was more than an exceptional player. She was Theis's future wife and the mother of their three sons.
"I wouldn't have known this at that time,'' he said.
Ryan Theis gets doused by his Marquette team following a postseason victory in 2022. (Photo: Courtesy of Marquette Athletics)
He wouldn't officially meet Manz until a few years later when he was an assistant at Indiana and Manz was an assistant at Northwestern. The story gets better. Theis and Manz later became colleagues at Northwestern when Theis joined the Wildcats' staff in 2004.
They were two young coaches climbing the professional ladder when, well, life happened. They fell in love and got engaged. Wise had an opening on her staff a couple of years later and called Manz to gauge her interest. Meanwhile, the late former Minnesota coach Mike Hebert called Theis about a potential job on his staff at about the same time.
"Mike was close to retirement at the time, so we thought there was more stability and a great benefit to go work for Mary Wise,'' Theis said. "It was a no-brainer for us."
Yes, there is more to this story. Wise initially wanted to hire Manz, but her heart was moving away from coaching and toward building a family with Theis.
"Jen ultimately convinced her she could hire me, and the rest is history," Theis said.
The opportunity to work under Wise boosted Theis's career, and after two seasons, he departed to become head coach at Ohio. Six seasons later, he returned to his home state to take over the Marquette program and built the Golden Eagles into a perennial NCAA Tournament team and fan favorite in the local community.
Sound familiar? Theis, using a strategy he picked up from Wise, even makes it a mission to visit the hometown of each player on his team sometime during their careers, either for a game or a team-bonding trip.
"They started to have some success first when I got there, braking into the NCAA Tournament,'' Theis said of his Marquette tenure. "I saw the potential to go further. There is a lot of in-state talent up there. That's probably how we made a pretty significant impact in the national spectrum. Here, I think the ability to do that at even a higher level exists.
"To compete for a national championship, you've got to have the right mixture of volleyball skill and athlete. If you can piece together a team that can control the ball and understand the game and be physical and play physical above the net — Florida's got a whole lot of physical pieces right now — you've got to put that right combination together."
It has been almost 17 years since he left UF in March 2008 to become a head coach for the first time. The past week has brought back memories as he pursued the job.
He considers the fan base one of the best in the country.
"Gator Nation is just unbelievable,'' he said. "I had to stop wearing Florida clothes when I would go recruiting because everyone in the airport would ask me if I go to Florida, if I work at Florida, what I do at Florida. I learned to just stick with Nike when I was out and about. It will be a little bit different now."
Soon after Wise's announcement sent ripples across the NCAA volleyball community, Theis and his wife thought out loud about whether it would be an opportunity to pursue. New Gators volleyball coach Ryan Theis went 258-87 in 11 seasons at Marquette, his .748 winning percentage the best in program history. (Photo: Dave Kallmann/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC)
From his years in the business, Theis took a pragmatic view. So much has to come together quickly, and many factors are out of one's control.
Still, the chance to replace Wise was too good not to give it a shot.
"There's always a mix of emotions when those types things come up,'' he said. "Is the opportunity there? Does it exist? Am I someone the administration would consider? When I heard it, I thought I would be a logical option. I didn't know if I would be their first option, but I thought I would be a logical one. It made sense to me, and it made sense to them.
"I think it's a great fit."
Theis and Jen made their way from Milwaukee on Monday after an agreement had been reached. His day was filled with momentous announcements. He informed his Marquette team. He met with the Gators on Monday evening, during which UF athletic director Scott Stricklin informed the team of the decision.
By around 8 p.m., Theis was in the office, eager to get started as others weighed in on the move.
"Beyond winning at a high level, Ryan has an intentional approach in developing the overall student-athlete — athletically, academically and socially — while embracing the community and university,'' Stricklin said.
"We are deeply grateful for Ryan's leadership and dedication during his time with us," Marquette athletic director Mike Roeker said. "His contributions have been instrumental in elevating our volleyball program and expanding its national presence."
Theis inherits a UF team that finished 24-8 and advanced to the Sweet 16 last season. Theis's final Marquette team finished 25-9 and advanced to the Sweet 16.
His first task is to connect with his new team, which includes First Team All-American outside hitter Kennedy Martin and setter Alexis Stucky, the 2022 SEC Freshman of the Year.
"Obviously, highly emotional for them, too,'' Theis said. "They're going through the process of a transition, and now that will soak in. I want to get in and start building a relationship with these guys as soon as possible. This is a great group of people and players, and the first and foremost thing is that these guys feel taken care of."
