Bernie Wendling has joined the women's volleyball coaching staff as a volunteer assistant in 2025. A prep coaching icon, Wendling is making a reunion with his former student-athlete in Lancers head coach Mike Terrill, who played at Claremont High under Wendling's tutelage.

Wendling continues his 27-year run as head coach of Claremont boys volleyball, a program where he is approaching 700 wins, needing eight more this coming season to reach the coveted milestone. He also coached Claremont girls volleyball (and at Ayala High) for 21 seasons. He has collected 12 boys league titles and five with his girls teams as a 3-time Inland Empire Coach of the Year.

This is Wendling's second venture into college coaching as he spent three seasons at Whittier College (2017-2019). Terrill happens to be one of five former players under Wendling who are coaching at the college level. 

Among some of his greatest talents over the years, he coached current UCLA talent Caleb Sapp, who was a top 5 kills leader in in the country for preps in 2023 and 2024. He also guided Geoff Powell, a a NCAA Division I All-American at Lewis University (2013-16). 

A retired high school math teacher after 25 years of service in education, Wendling is happily married to his wife of 45 years Jacqui Bee and the couple has two sons and two granddaughters.