Jeff “CJ” Werneke took over the Lafayette volleyball coaching reins on May 22, 2025.
He spent the last three years as associate head coach at Binghamton University where he was part of a historic run. The Bearcats improved from 7-17 in 2021 to 17-7 in 2022. Binghamton went on to capture its first-ever America East regular season conference championship. The Bearcats notched 51 wins since his arrival (averaging 17 per season) and their 22-8 conference record was the best among its America East opposition in that timeframe.
At Binghamton, he helped mentor the program’s first-ever three-time AVCA All-American, first three-time America East player of the year and a conference-high 12 All-America East selections. At the end of the 2022 season, the America East recognized Binghamton with its coaching staff of the year award.
Before his successes with the Bearcats, Werneke made a stop at Columbia in 2021-22 as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator. He was instrumental in developing the team’s blocking and defensive systems, responsible for scouting, international outreach and tactical game plans in addition to his day-to-day tasks.
Werneke’s longest stint and most recent as a head coach came at the Big 10’s Rutgers in 2008-19. After a 2-22 start in the 2008 season, Werneke improved to double-digit wins in 2009, 2010 and 2011 before an 18-12 campaign in 2012. The 2019 season marked the Scarlet Knights’ first Big 10 wins (Northwestern and Iowa) since joining the conference in 2014. The institution’s RPI also jumped 85 spots in 2019 and Rutgers earned the AVCA Academic Award in nine of his 11 seasons in New Brunswick.
Before his decade-long tenure at Rutgers, Werneke spent six years (2002-08) as head coach at Fairfield, where he reached the 100-win plateau for his career in 2007. Hed the Stags to four consecutive MAAC regular-season titles and in the 2006 and 2007 seasons he was named the MAAC Coach of the Year. The 2007 season was his best in Connecticut, as Fairfield finished 21-13 overall and 17-1 in MAAC play.
Werneke was an assistant coach at Rutgers from 1999-2002, prior to accepting the head coaching role at Fairfield. One of his main responsibilities over that time was to handle all aspects of recruiting, as well as game day and travel operations. Across those three years, Rutgers accumulated a 55-27 record.
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Werneke graduated from Samford University in 1996 with a bachelor of arts degree in Social Science. He also had assistant coaching stops at his alma mater, along with East Tennessee State and the University of Montevallo.
He currently resides in Washington, N.J. with his wife, Jennifer, daughters, Rylie and Parker, and son, Noah.
Updated 5/22/25
