Over the past week, the Texas Wesleyan Athletic Department welcomed two new head coaches to Fort Worth — women's basketball coach Scott Hyland and beach volleyball coach Jorge Rodriguez.

Women's Basketball

Texas Wesleyan University Director of Athletics Ricky Dotson has announced Scott Hyland as the new head coach of the women's basketball program. 

"I'm extremely excited to have Scott join our university as the next women's basketball coach," said Dotson. "He's a proven winner, an outstanding recruiter, and a great fit for Texas Wesleyan. Throughout our process, Scott stood out as the person who will be able to continue the recent success of our women's basketball team and do it in a manner that serves the mission of the University and the values of our athletic department. "

With a career spanning over 30 years, Hyland has had an extensive career as both an assistant and head coach. His first job in women's basketball came at Omaha Central High School in 1996, where he served as an assistant coach. Hyland was a men's assistant coach at Dana College in Blair, NE., and at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. His first coaching position came as an assistant men's coach at his alma mater, the University of Mary, in Bismarck, N.D. where he played basketball as he earned a pair of degrees in communications and business and physical education.

Hyland also helped restore the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program to its former glory. Under his leadership, he led the Javelinas to the Lone Star Conference Tournament for the first time in nearly a decade. During his time there, the team showed improvement each year — going from 7-20 to 18-10 with a Lone Star Conference Tournament appearance. He went on to finish with a 44-64 record at A&M - Kingsville while his teams set 16 school records.

Hyland joins the Rams after an 11-year stint as the head coach of the women's basketball program at Hill College. There, he led the Lady Rebels to nine consecutive trips to the postseason, three conference titles in the last five seasons, and multiple top 25 rankings in the NJCAA national polls. Hyland has 213 wins under his belt and is the program's all-time leader in wins. Two seasons ago, Hyland eclipsed the 300-win milestone and now sits at 345 career wins. Under Hyland's direction, the Lady Rebels have been the 2nd-winningest program over the last five years in Region V, which is one of the best regions for women's junior college basketball in the nation.

Hyland has sent 36 of 40 sophomores on to play at four-year college programs, and had 37 of them graduate from Hill College on time. The Lady Rebels have also taken home several awards during Hyland's tenure at Hill. 17 players have been named to the NTJCAC all-conference team, seven have been named all-region, one conference freshman of the year and three conference defensive players of the year. In addition, 12 members of the Lady Rebels have been named NJCAA All-Academic over the past three seasons.

The Lady Rams are fresh off a historic season that saw them reach the Round of 16 for the first time in program history. The team finished with a record of 27-6, breaking the record for most wins in a row with 17 and the SAC title. 

Beach Volleyball

Jorge Rodriguez has been named the Head Beach Volleyball Coach at Texas Wesleyan University. Rodriguez has played at the highest level, with various teams in his country from 2007 to 2011. Rodriguez is certified as an FIVB Coach, USAV Coach and has been certified in Colombia, Spain and Germany. 

Coach Rodriguez, a native of Colombia, attended INCCA University for his first five years. There, he played volleyball and obtained a degree in Sports Science. After completing his degree, he received another scholarship to play for UDCA University. While continuing to play, he obtained a post-graduate degree in Sports Training and assisted his team in winning the regional championship that year and runner-up in the ASCUN National College Tournament. 

Coach Rodriguez started his career as a club and high school coach in 2005. After four years, he moved up to coach universities and high-level teams. As a head coach at FUAC University, the team qualified for the regional finals. During his tenure at UDCA University, the women's beach volleyball team achieved a regional 3rd-place finish and qualified for the national final. Rodriguez went on to qualify for nationals as head coach of Bogota's beach volleyball team and served on the team staff for Colombia's national beach volleyball team for one year. 

Shortly after moving to the USA in 2018, Coach Rodriguez continued his coaching career as an assistant coach with Cedar Valley College where he helped the Suns to make it to the conference semifinals during the 2021 season. He also served as club coach and director within the NTR region since 2018 with several different clubs in the area.

This past season, coach Rodriguez acted as the volunteer Beach Volleyball Assistant Coach at the NCAA Division I level with Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, TX. During his tenure with SFA the Lumberjacks made it to the second round of the Sun Belt Conference.
 
Rodriguez will be the first head coach in program history as the Lady Rams are gearing up for their inaugural season.