Austin West is entering his second season with the Redbird Track & Field program. West coaches the jumps and multis, and serves as the program’s recruiting coordinator.
West was named the 2026 Men’s Outdoor Assistant Coach of the Year in his first season with the Redbirds. Under his guidance, athletes earned three MVC titles, seven additional all-MVC honors, and rewrote the program’s top ten lists 11 times. Freshman Voldy Makabu cleared a personal-best mark of 2.14m (7' 0.25") to win the high jump at the 2026 MVC Outdoor Championships (May 16-17). Makabu earned MVC Male Freshman of the Year honors, along with qualifying for the NCAA Division I West Region First Round (May 27-30). Sophomore Victor Byaundaombe won the outdoor MVC triple jump title with a personal-best 15.33m (50’ 3.5”). Sophomore Astor Snaider earned the triple jump title at the 2026 MVC Indoor Championships (March 1-2) with a mark of 15.19m (49' 10"). Along with their strong athletic performances, three student-athletes were named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team under West's watch for the 2026 season.
West spent the 2024-25 season as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln working with the high jump and combined event groups. During this role, West helped the Huskers to an individual NCAA title, five Big Ten event titles, bronze medals in both the European and World Indoor Championships and national qualifiers in the men's and women's high jump, women’s long jump and decathlon.
Prior to his role with the Huskers, West acted as an assistant coach at Iowa City West High School, where he worked with the hurdle and horizontal jumps groups from 2022-2024. Under his direction, athletes earned two state titles, six state meet medals, one Drake Relays Boys Athlete of the Year award and two top-five team finishes at the state meet in Iowa’s largest high school division.
West brings experience as both a coach and All-American athlete. West attended the University of Iowa, where he earned bachelor's degrees in Exercise Science and History in May 2023. He obtained his master's from Iowa in Sport and Recreation Management in December 2024. West earned CSC First-Team Academic All-American honors in 2023-24. While in Iowa City, West competed for the Iowa track and field team, earning first-team All-America honors in the combined events three times from 2022-24. West owns the Iowa school record in the decathlon with a score of 8331. West also captured the 2023 Big Ten title in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 49.34 that ranks as the second-fastest performance in program history.
West has medaled at four United States Championship meets, including earning a bronze medal at the 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships. West has represented the U.S. three times in international competition and was the 2025 NACAC champion in the decathlon.
