Wesley Stephens was hired as the Director of Cross Country and Assistant Track & Field Coach in March of 2021. Stephens returns to VCU after serving as a graduate assistant with both the cross country and track & field programs in 2018-19. At VCU, Stephens will develop and implement training for both the men's and women's cross country and distance runners.
In 2021, Stephens assisted the women's track and field team to its seventh Atlantic 10 title during the outdoor season. Sophomore Noah Peterson earned all-conference honors in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase. During the cross country season, he guided freshman Kendall Phillips to a 45th-place finish at the Atlantic 10 Championships, the highest finish by a VCU freshman since joining the Atlantic 10. Phillips was also named Atlantic 10 Rookie Performer of the Week Sept. 21.
Stephens most recently served as an Assistant Men's & Women's Cross Country/Track & Field Coach at Alcorn State University from 2019-21 while also serving as the Interim Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach in 2019. At Alcorn State, Stephens developed and implemented training for cross country and distance while overseeing all aspects of the men's and women's cross country programs. During his tenure, he helped sign the largest recruiting class in program history in 2020 at 23 student-athletes, including a NCAA Division II All-American in cross country and the 2018 Nevada Gatorade Male Cross Country Runner of the Year. Under Stephens' coaching, Runelda Jackson and Christian Franklin earned All-SWAC honors in the 5000-meter run and 3000-meter run at the 2021 Indoor SWAC Championship. Jackson also earned All-SWAC honors in the 5000-meter run at the 2020 Indoor SWAC Championships. Multiple school records were set under Stephens, including Jackson in the indoor 5000-meter run and Franklin in the indoor mile, 3000-meter run, 5000-meter run, and outdoor 1500-meter run. On the multis side, Dekari Courtney earned All-SWAC honors in the pentathlon and 60-meter hurdles at the 2020 Indoor SWAC Championships, and Justice Edwards earned All-SWAC honors in the pentathlon at the 2020 Indoor SWAC Championships. Stephens also handled travel logistics, apparel orders and equipment orders. Stephens also developed the slogan and letter for the Braves 4 Track fundraising initiative.
Stephens is from Alexandria, Virginia, where he attended West Potomac High School. Upon graduating, he enrolled at La Salle University before transferring to Howard University in Washington, DC. During his time at Howard, Wesley was a 3-year student-athlete as a member of the Men’s Cross Country and Track & Field team, where he was a 5-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference qualifier and currently holds the school record in the Decathlon.
Stephens also spent 4 years teaching high school and serving as a head cross country and track & field coach in Las Vegas, Nevada. During his tenure as head coach, Wesley has coached 9 individual regional champions, 6 individual state champions, 11 national qualifiers and led Desert Pines High School to their first ever state men’s championship in track & field in 2016.
Stephens graduated from Howard in 2014 with a Bachelors in Journalism and a minor in Spanish and also holds a Master's of Sport Leadership from VCU's Center for Sport Leadership.
