Athletics

Scott Mallernee - Baseball
Scott Mallernee begins his second year in charge of the VU Baseball program after being hired in the summer of 2004. A second-year collegiate head coach, Scott brings quality baseball experience to guide the program and is hoping to see some major development within the team after having a year under his belt. Mallernee completed his collegiate playing career with a two-year stint at Missouri Western State College where he was a scholar-athlete and catcher for the Griffons. He began his coaching career with an internship at Mississippi State University as he earned his Master of Science degree in Sports Administration in 2000. He has since served as an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky University, University of Kansas, and most recently at the University of Michigan. A catcher by trade, Mallernee hopes to transfer his knowledge of the game and strong work ethic into his collegiate players at Vanguard. Scott is also in training to become an NAIA Champions of Character Certified Instructor. Coach Mallernee can be reached by e-mail at smallernee@vanguard.edu or by phone at (714)556-3610, extension 208.

Bob Wilson - Men's Basketball
Bob assumed the position of Head Men’s Basketball Coach on September 9, 2003, after completing the final 11 games of the 2002-03 season on an interim basis. Entering his eleventh year as VU’s Athletic Director, Wilson begins his third full season at the helm of the men’s basketball program with a career coaching record of 348-319. He accumulated 20 years as the head coach at Phillips University (Oklahoma) and UH Hilo before exiting the coaching field to become Vanguard’s Director of Athletics. As of the summer of 2005, Wilson also became the Program Center Director for VU’s newly established Champions Of Character Program Center. Mr. Wilson’s e-mail is bwilson@vanguard.edu or you can reach him by phone at (714)556-3610, extension 279.

Fred Litzenberger - Men's Basketball
Fred was hired as the Men’s Basketball Associate Head Coach during the summer of 2005. Joining the Lions after a decade with the University of Oregon men’s and women’s basketball programs, Litzenberger will collaborate with Coach Bob Wilson to direct the Vanguard men into the future. Fred served six seasons with the UO women’s team and the last four years with the UO men’s basketball program. While serving UO as an assistant coach, the Ducks won three Pac-10 titles and advanced to the postseason nine times. Known as a defensive guru, Litzenberger has over 20 years experience as an NCAA Division I assistant at the University of Oregon, Colorado State University, Fresno State University, and the University of Miami. He also has over a decade of head coaching experience at the collegiate, army and high school level. Filled with over 35 years of collegiate coaching experience, Litzenberger will begin a new chapter in his career with the Vanguard University Lions. Known to be a teacher of the game, the Lions will surely benefit from his youthful enthusiasm, love and knowledge of the game, and distinct desire to teach young people. Fred, who will coordinate VU’s future recruiting efforts, can be reached via e-mail at flitzenberger@vanguard.edu or by phone at (714)556-3610, extension 207.

Russ Davis - Women's Basketball
Russ begins his tenth year as the head coach of the Women's Basketball program at Vanguard University with a career coaching record of 227-74. In 1998 he was named GSAC Coach of the Year after his team went 12-0 while winning the GSAC title, and made its first appearance at the NAIA National Basketball Tournament. His Lion teams have now won six GSAC Championships, including two three-peats (1999-2001 and 2003-05). His teams have competed in seven NAIA National Tournaments, finishing as high as third place. Davis earned his third consecutive GSAC Coach of the Year award in 2005, fourth total, after guiding VUSC to the GSAC regular season title and the GSAC Postseason Tournament Championship. The Lions also established a new program record for wins in a season with a 32-4 overall record last year. Vanguard has had 29 women's basketball players make the NAIA Scholar-Athlete list and 12 NAIA All-American players since Davis has been with the Lions. Contact Coach Davis by e-mail at rdavis@vanguard.edu or by phone at (714)556-3610, extension 206.

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Bryan Wilkins - Cross Country/Track and Field
Bryan has the longest tenure of any current coach on the VUSC athletic staff. Entering his 18th year as the Men’s and Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field Coach, Wilkins continues to rely on his distance running background to build strong traditions in his programs. Last season his women’s cross country team had the strongest season in program history, placing fourth in GSAC and Region II and finishing 19th in a first-ever team appearance at the NAIA Cross Country Championships. He has had two men's cross country teams qualify for the NAIA National Cross Country Meet with 22nd place as their highest finish in 1994. During the past four seasons, Wilkins has had 45 track athletes qualify and compete at the national level, with 19 making the NAIA All-America team. In his time at VU, he has coached 33 NAIA All-Americans and 27 NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Coach Wilkins can be reached by e-mail at bwilkins@vanguard.edu or by phone at (714)556-3610, extension 360.

Randy Dodge - Men's Soccer
Randy returned to his alma mater in 2002 and began his collegiate coaching career. In 2004, Dodge and the Lions set a school record for wins in a season with an overall record of 16-5 and earned the program’s first GSAC Title, a Co-Championship with Azusa Pacific. Randy was named the GSAC Men’s Soccer Coach of the Year after leading the Lions to a program-best 9-1 conference record. Now entering his fourth year as VU’s head coach, Dodge brings in a collegiate overall coaching record of 37-23. A 1993 graduate of Vanguard and former four-year player and team captain on the men’s soccer team, Randy brings vast coaching experience to the Lions. Dodge holds a USSF "A" License and is a Region IV head coach in the Olympic Development Program for the 90 age group. He has coached at the high school level for 16 years and is currently the head coach for the boys and girls programs at Aliso Niguel High School. Dodge also served three seasons as an assistant coach in the men’s soccer program at UCI in the late 1990’s. In 2005, an experienced Lion team will be attempting to defend the GSAC Championship and make it to the Region II playoffs for the second straight year. You can e-mail Coach Dodge at rdodge@vanguard.edu or contact him by phone at (714)556-3610, extension 205.

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Kerry McGrath-Crooks -- Women's Soccer
Kerry enters her sixth year as the head coach of the Women's Soccer program at Vanguard with an overall collegiate record of 42-40-6. The Lions are coming off a 7-9-2 overall record in 2004, and will have the services of 12 returning players, including nearly an entire starting lineup for 2005. Crooks is also the head coach of the girl's team at Edison High School where she has won five Sunset League titles and five Coach of the Year awards since she started in 1991, and has earned a 243-72-50 career high school record. During the 2002 high school season, Kerry’s team topped a league championship by winning the 2002 Southern Section CIF Championship and Crooks earned her first CIF Coach of the Year award. As a player at UCI, Kerry garnered awards as a starting defender and scholar-athlete during her four-year career. At VUSC in 2005, Crooks will have an experienced roster searching for its first playoff berth since the 2001 season. You can contact Coach Crooks via e-mail at kmcgrathcrooks@vanguard.edu or by phone at (714)556-3610, extension 406.

Beth Renkoski - Softball
Beth completed her 15th year with the Vanguard softball program in 2005, nine years as the head coach (296-208-3) and six seasons as an assistant. The team won the GSAC Championship in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, and again in 1999 when Renkoski was named the GSAC Coach of the Year. The softball program has also won three District or Regional Championships and made three trips to the NAIA National Tournament, where they finished fifth in 1998 and 1999, and third in 1995. The softball team has accumulated 19 NAIA Scholar-Athletes and eight NAIA All-Americans since 1991. Coming off a 25-25 season in 2005, the Lions will be hunting for their first postseason appearance since 1999. Renkoski is also an Associate Athletic Director in the VUSC Athletic Department and a Certified Instructor within VU’s Champion of Character Program Center. You can e-mail Renkoski at brenkoski@vanguard.edu or reach her by phone at (714)556-3610, extension 361.

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Mattias Johansson - Men's and Women's Tennis
Mattias has had an unmatched impact on the men’s and women’s tennis programs at Vanguard. He has played a tremendous role in seven consecutive NAIA National Tournament appearances for the VU Men's Tennis program, a streak broken during the 2002 season when the Lions were eliminated in the Region II Tournament. Mattias was the #1 singles player for the 1995 and 1996 teams and has led the team to Nationals eight times since then as the head coach. The Lions’ highest National Tournament finish was in 2000 and 2004 when they tied for third place. Johansson is beginning his tenth season as the men's coach and sixth season coaching the women’s team at VU, after earning his second GSAC Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year Award in 2005 when the VU ladies won the GSAC Title with an undefeated 14-0 record. Women's Tennis has qualified for Nationals in 1996, 1999, 2003, 2004, and 2005, finishing tied for third last season for the second straight year. Ranked in the NAIA top 25 for the past five seasons under Johansson’s direction, the Lion women (ranked 2nd in the NAIA) will shoot for a third consecutive GSAC Championship and their second straight Region II Championship in 2006. Johansson has coached twelve NAIA Scholar-Athletes and 16 NAIA All-Americans among the men’s and women’s teams. Johansson’s e-mail address is mjohansson@vanguard.edu or you can reach him by phone at (714)556-3610, extension 402.

Erikka Gulbranson - Volleyball
Returning from the finest season in school history with a 25-14 overall record, Erikka begins her fifth season as the head coach of the women’s volleyball program at Vanguard. Gulbranson was a 4-year team captain as a player at Cal State Bakersfield, and helped lead the Roadrunners to 3 NCAA Division II Championship appearances and 2 second-place finishes. She has over 12 years of coaching experience to her credit, including junior club, high school, individual, camp, and clinic experience. At the university level, Erikka has served as an assistant at CSUB, University of Idaho, Utah State University, and University of Southern California. The past three summers, Gulbranson has been coaching the USA Girls Youth National Team in international competition. After serving two seasons as an assistant coach, Gulbranson became the USA GYNT head coach and led the team to a fourth place finish at the FIVB U-18 World Championships in China this summer. Fresh from international competition, Gulbranson is fired up to try for another VU school record, a third straight winning season. She enters the 2005 season with the most wins of any coach in the history of VU volleyball with an overall collegiate record of 54-70 and hopes to get the Lions back into the Region II playoffs for the second year in a row. Contact Coach Gulbranson by e-mail at egulbranson@vanguard.edu or by phone at (714)556-3610, extension 204.

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