SRHS grad is GM for pro VB team
By Hector Trujillo
Scripps Ranch High School graduate Jeremy Waller was recently named as the general manager and vice president of operations for the San Diego Mojo, which will be competing in the inaugural womens Professional Volleyball Federation season in 2024.
Waller played baseball at Scripps Ranch High School in the early 2000s before moving on to play for the Palomar College Comets in 2004. He then went on to play on scholarship with San Diego Christian College before transitioning to coaching youth travel baseball followed by coaching stints at Mt. Carmel High and Grossmont College.
“While I was at Grossmont College, I really thought about what I wanted to do for myself just from a career perspective,” Waller said. “It was either follow the path of my dad and uncles, which was venture into coaching at the major league level, or go a different route – and I chose to become an entrepreneur.”
His family is heavily involved in the sport of baseball, with Waller’s father and two uncles reaching the professional level along with his four brothers who all played at the collegiate or pro level as well. After coaching at Grossmont, Waller started an online scheduling platform business for youth travel baseball teams with one of his siblings which then progressed to hosting baseball tournaments.
“I want to make my friends, family and the greater community proud of what we’ve put together,” he said. “This is something that is groundbreaking.
There’s been attempts for volleyball leagues in the past, but nothing on this level or this scale on a national level.”
The San Diego Mojo’s official brand reveal was on Nov. 9, 2023, in downtown San Diego with Super Bowl 44-winning quarterback Drew Brees and three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings, who is the team’s co-owner, being among those attending.
“So many people are excited, and we’ve received a lot of support from corporate partners, community groups, schools, volleyball programs and others as to what we’re doing and the way we’re going about it,” Waller said. “The men’s game is so terminal. Like most men’s sports, it’s all about force and execution, so there’s not a lot of excitement in that.”
In his current role as general manger, Waller has had conversations with members of the San Diego Wave front office and sees the relationship as complimentary to each other. There is no doubt that soccer and volleyball are among the two sports that are gaining in popularity as exemplified by the success of the Wave in its first two seasons and the fact a women’s collegiate volleyball match on Aug. 31 held in Nebraska had more than 92,000 fans attend, which broke the previous record set in the 1999 Women’s World Cup final.
“It’s really about uplifting women’s sports and putting it in a position where it should be,” Waller said. “One of the things we like to see is how well the National Women’s Soccer League is doing. Obviously, you have the WNBA that was really the first to emerge. You have the NWSL and now you have volleyball. You’re seeing this tremendous amount of momentum and I’m just happy to be part of it.”
The San Diego Mojo will play its home games at Viejas Arena on the campus of San Diego State University under head coach Tayyiba Haneef-Park and assistant coach Deitre Collins-Parker, who was the head coach of the San Diego State womens volleyball team from 2009 to 2019.
The San Diego Mojo open the regular season on the road against the Atlanta Vibe on Feb. 1 with the first home game coming on Feb. 23 versus the Grand Rapids Rise.
“I think having a young daughter, it makes me much more aware of the importance of having true influential role models that are of value,” Waller said. “We will be the epitome of competitive spirit, but a servant’s heart. From the moment we step foot on the court we’re out there to win a championship, but when we step off the court it’s really about how we can help others and help grow this sport in our community.”