Doug Reynolds - Associate Head Coach - Throws - Track & Field Coaches

Doug Reynolds

Title:
Associate Head Coach - Throws
Phone:
864-1897
Email:
throwcoach@ku.edu

Doug Reynolds rejoined the Kansas track and field coaching staff in September 2022. He serves as the associate head coach, focusing on the throws events.

In his expansive and remarkable career, Reynolds has coached four NCAA individual champions, one NCAA collegiate record holder, and four Olympians. Additionally, he has worked with three IAAF World Championship competitors, 59 NCAA Division I All-Americans, 29 individual conference champions, and three conference Athlete of the Year recipients.

COACHING CAREER

Before returning to Kansas, Reynolds made stops at Florida State, New Mexico State, Alabama, Kentucky, Boise State and Arizona. Reynolds coached three athletes to All-American honors during his time as an assistant coach at Florida State, joining the Seminoles after spending four years as the Director/Head Coach of Track and Field and Cross Country at New Mexico State.

In his first season as head coach of the Aggies (2017), Reynolds led the women’s cross country team to their first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championship, making it the first women’s WAC Championship the school had won since 2009, while the men took third.

During his first indoor season with the Aggies, Reynolds had three athletes take home WAC individual titles at the 2018 WAC Indoor Championships, while finishing third as a team. During the outdoor season, NM State placed third at the WAC Outdoor Championships, which was the program’s best ever finish, after winning eight titles including in three of the four throwing events.

In 2019, Reynolds built upon his successful first season, finishing second in the WAC in both the indoor and outdoor Track & Field Championships, winning seven individual outdoor titles and three indoor titles. In 2020, he led the Aggies to their first indoor conference championship in school history by winning the WAC, earning him the 2020 Mountain Region Indoor Coach of the Year title after the Aggies racked up seven individual titles.

While at Alabama, Reynolds earned the USTFCCCA South Region Assistant Coach of the Year award from the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in 2014 after the Crimson Tide took home the gold and silver medals in the weight throw at the SEC Indoor Championship. Additionally, in 2016, his throwers swept the medals in the discus at the SEC Outdoor Championships for the first time in program history, with eight throwers placing in the men’s national top-20 rankings in either the discus, hammer throw, javelin or shot put during the 2016 season.

At Kentucky, Reynolds was named the 2006 NCAA Mideast Region Throws Coach of the Year.

NOTABLE ATHLETES

At Kansas, Reynolds’ star pupils have included Dimitrios Pavlidis, Sofia Sluchaninova, Patrick Larrison and Scott Russell.

Reynolds helped Pavlidis win the Outdoor Big 12 discus title in 2024 and 2025, with a second place finish in 2023. These dominant seasons were also displayed with Pavlidis’ third and sixth place finishes at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 2024 and 2025, respectively. In addition to his Kansas discus records, Pavlidis became the Greek National Record holder with a discus performance of 65.11 meters in 2025 and now holds 14 of the top 20 throws ever in Greece history.

Larrison’s crowning collegiate achievement was winning the 2023 Indoor Big 12 Championship in the shot put. In 2025, Sluchaninova entered the Kansas top five performances in the discus with her 60.21 meters performance, ranking fifth as a performance and becoming the second best performer in the school’s history. In 2026, she finished second in the discus at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship, and earned her second career Second-Team All American honors with a ninth place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championship, after finishing 12th in 2025.

Under Reynolds’ guidance, Russell was a six-time All-American who claimed five Big 12 titles in three different events. He also won the NCAA Championship in the javelin and weight throw in 2002 and held the collegiate record at a point in his career in the weight throw with a best throw of 24.38 meters (80 ft.) at the NCAA Championships.

At Florida State, Reynolds coached Sara Zabarino, who placed fifth in the javelin at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

While at Alabama, freshman Elias Hakansson smashed the school records in both the weight throw and the hammer throw multiple times under Reynolds’ coaching, earning SEC All-Freshmen honors after finishing third in the weight throw at the SEC Indoor Championship and third in the hammer throw at the SEC Outdoor Championship. Hakansson closed out the season by earning First-Team All American honors after finishing eighth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Reynolds also coached Hayden Reed at Alabama, who won the discus title at both the NCAA Outdoor Championship and USA Track & Field meets.

During his time at Kentucky, Reynolds coached a host of athletes to NCAA and SEC championships. Reynolds coached Rashaud Scott to an NCAA title in the discus. Reynolds also helped UK’s Colin Boevers to two SEC discus titles and UK to four straight titles from 2008-2011. In 2011, Reynolds helped Boevers achieve fourth place at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

On the women’s side, Reynolds helped to coach Mary Angell to the 2011 SEC runner-up in the discus. Angell also competed at the USA Track & Field Championships. Under Reynolds’ guidance, Ashley Muffet earned four All-America honors, two SEC Commissioners Cups, two SEC championships and a 2009 SEC Outdoor Co-Field Athlete of the Year award with her strong performances in the shot put and discus.

Reynolds also spent time at Boise State, coaching six-time All-American Jarred Rome. Rome was a two-time United States outdoor champion in the discus. He also represented Team USA at the 2004 and 2012 Olympics.

Reynolds currently coaches Rachel Dincoff, whom he has worked with since 2016, and Sasha Emilianov, whom he has worked with since 2023. Dincoff was a participant at both the 2022 World Championships and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she competed in the discus throw for Team USA. Emilianov was a participant in the 2024 Paris Olympics for Moldova, as well as a finals participant at the 2025 World Championships and currently holds the Moldovan national record in the event.

PERSONAL

A graduate of Arizona, Reynolds earned national recognition as a Pac-10 champion in the discus, which also earned him a No. 1 NCAA ranking in the event. In 1996, he was the National Junior College Athletic Association shot put and discus champion and competed in both the 1997 and 1999 World University Games, where he took home a bronze medal in the discus. He competed at the 1999 and 2003 Pan American Games for the United States, where he was a finalist in the discus both years. During his career, Reynolds’ highest ranking was third in the country and 10th in the world in the discus throw.

Reynolds’ wife, Tracy, is a Kansas native. Doug and Tracy have three children - Sadie (17), Owen (14) and Brandtley (11).
.