Eric Wagenlander originally joined the UNA men's basketball staff in 2023 as the Director of Player Development. After one season in that role, he took an assistant coaching job at West Ashley High School in Charleston, South Carolina. He officially returned to UNA on June 11, 2025 as an assistant coach.
Ironically, his connection to Charleston is what led him to UNA the first time, as he worked alongside Ahmad Smith at Charleston Southern during the 2017-18 season.
Wagenlander was a four-year letterman at Wofford College from 2013-17, helping lead the Terriers to back-to-back SoCon titles in 2014 and 2015. He played for Coach Mike Young, who coached at Wofford for 17 seasons before taking over at Virginia Tech in 2019.
Wagenlander’s coaching career started at Charleston Southern for one season, then led him to two seasons at James Madison as the director of operations. He then joined Young’s staff at Virginia Tech for the 2020-21 season as a program assistant.
After spending much of his adult life in the game of basketball, Wagenlander transitioned to football in 2021 as he accepted a front office job in the NFL with the Houston Texans. He worked two years in team development and logistics. This led him back to basketball with his player development role at UNA in 2023.
"It's great to welcome Coach Wagenlander back to the Shoals,” said Pujol. “Eric has had success as a player and has coached at the highest levels. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge that everyone in our organization will benefit from. I'm extremely grateful that Eric has rejoined our basketball family."
In 11 years as a player and staff member, Wagenlander has been involved in eight winning seasons and three NCAA Tournaments. He was also named to the TopConnect “Top Young Coaches” list in 2020.
“I’m blessed to be back in Florence with Coach Pujol, and at such a great university,” said Wagenlander. “I can’t wait to get to work with our team and continue the success they have had. UNA and Florence have something special going on, and I’m just grateful to be a part of it.”
