The NCAA tournament is familiar territory for Pepperdine’s head men’s volleyball coach Jonathan Winder (’08). As a Pepperdine student-athlete, Winder competed on two separate NCAA tournament teams, each yielding vastly different results. In 2007 he experienced the disappointment that comes with a first-round exit. However, in 2005, he became one of the rare few to savor the sweet success of a national championship. As a competitor, he’s endured all that the biggest tournament of the year has to offer—but he’s never gone through it as a head coach.
“As a player, I was incredibly grateful for my teammates and the moment,” Winder explains. “As a coach, there’s even more pride in being here. I get to see the amount of work that it takes for a program to be successful at this level and how much administrative support we receive.”
This year marks Winder’s third as the Waves’ head coach. Now dictating the action from the sideline, his goal has not changed since his days as a student-athlete. Each year, he says the main objective is to win a championship—both on and off the court.
While these high expectations are not unique to any NCAA Division I coach, Winder’s approach to achieving competitive success is out of the ordinary. Rather than focusing solely on athletic prowess, Winder and his coaching staff have prioritized cultivating a culture of character—a team driven to succeed not only in volleyball but also in life. Winder believes that this holistic approach has propelled his team to the high level of success they enjoy today.
“I’ve always believed that character produces excellence,” he says. “The two have to go hand in hand.”
Four Key Values
Winder has established a team culture around four key values—respect, competition, learning, and resilience. These principles serve as the foundation of his program and influence its every aspect from recruitment to daily practice routines. Winder views it as his responsibility to ensure that these values are consistently instilled in his team—values that shape students’ athletic performance as well as their personal growth.
“I’ve always viewed my role as a coach as an environmental engineer,” he says. “Coaches control the environment, and culture is something that’s caught.
With this mindset, the Pepperdine men’s volleyball staff takes a highly intentional approach to working with their student-athletes. Winder and his assistant coaches view themselves as mentors who holistically invest in their players’ lives on the court, in the classroom, and in their spiritual growth. The results of this approach speak for themselves.
Throughout the 2024–25 academic year, the men’s volleyball team maintained a collective 3.7 grade-point average. In competition they started 15 different players and still achieved a 20-9 record, ending the year as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference champions. Winder believes that both the academic and athletic achievements of the group highlight their willingness to learn, grow, and compete with character—a principle at the heart of their mission and one that’s compelling to prospective student athletes.
“On my visit to Pepperdine, I witnessed the culture and what the coaches are trying to instill in the team, and that’s a big reason why I committed to play here,” says Cole Hartke, a Pepperdine first year and the nation’s leading freshman scorer. “Our coaches teach us that there’s more than just volleyball to life. There are things beyond the game.”
Winder makes no claim to having invented this character-driven coaching philosophy himself. Rather, he asserts that he’s bringing back to life the same culture he experienced as a Pepperdine athlete.
“The character development occurs alongside the volleyball team development,” says Winder. “I got the chance to play in the Pepperdine environment, so I know what that felt like. As the head coach, I’ve been trying to re-energize the culture I experienced—an environment that is competitive, respectful, and tough.”
Learning Along the Way
During his time at Pepperdine, Winder played under head coach Marv Dunphy (’74), who led the Waves to four NCAA titles during a 34-year tenure. This experience, coupled with Winder’s time as a professional player in Europe and a collegiate coach on the women’s side at the University of Washington and Fresno State, has helped make him into the leader he is today.
From Dunphy, he learned how to teach the game, emphasizing positivity and communication in the learning process. Relying on these fundamentals, he is constantly refining his methods. Prior to Pepperdine, he earned experience commandeering both men’s and women’s teams at Fresno State, where he produced 11 All-Mountain West conference honorees. Additionally, he alternated between coaching beach and indoor volleyball at the University of Washington and helped produce eight all-Americans and 18 all-conference athletes in the process. These dynamic and varied environments have provided Winder with invaluable insights into developing young athletes.
“I feel blessed to have had the journey I’ve had,” explains Winder. “I’ve learned a lot of different perspectives on how to get the most out of every team, no matter what.”
Now all these varied coaching avenues have aligned for Winder. At his alma mater, he’s been able to apply his prior knowledge to jumpstart the culture of excellence that’s synonymous with Pepperdine volleyball. Yet when asked about how he wants his players to remember him, he does not mention winning or losing. Instead, he wants them to remember the family feel of the program.
With this goal in mind, Winder has elevated his team to a level that gives them the chance to play for a national championship. His investment in their lives is one of the galvanizing factors motivating the Waves athletes to keep striving for the title and to keep reaching for the values of respect, competition, learning, and resilience.
“I want my players to feel like they’re a part of our family,” says Winder. “I want them to feel like I’m a part of their journey. My hope is that I helped them on and off the court equally. At this stage in life, that’s the role I want to play. When they leave Pepperdine, I want them to feel motivated and equipped to take on the world.”
Winder and the Waves take on Loyola Chicago on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 4:30 PM PDT in the NCAA quarterfinals in Columbus, Ohio. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
