Chase Remains On Pace as Wroubel Ranks 2nd Among Nation's Winningest Active Coaches
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
September 18, 2026
PONTIAC — While the Pontiac Notre Dame Prep girls volleyball team pursues wins in Michigan this fall, parents, supporters and others around the program are also paying attention to what a program in Alabama is doing.
Why? It has everything to do with a prominent coaching record on the national level.
At the moment, it’s a nice neck-and-neck race to see who will finish this season as the active coach with the most wins nationally, Betty Wroubel of Notre Dame Prep or Ann Schilling of Bayside Academy in Daphne, Ala.
Going into the season, Schilling had 1,796 career wins, three more than Wroubel. As of Wednesday, Schilling had added 16 wins to her total to make it 1,812, while Wroubel added 14 for a grand total of 1,807.
The two are also third and fourth, respectively, on the overall all-time wins list nationally. Two coaches who are retired, Jodi Manore of Temperance Bedford (2,231) and Jack Magelssen of Portage Northern (1,832), top the list.
Schilling and Wroubel are fast approaching Magelssen, but if there is one person who isn’t too occupied with it all, it’s Wroubel.
Sure, she has a good laugh or smile when parents or other school officials have casually come up to her over the past few weeks to mention the situation. But as has been the case throughout her legendary career, there is a greater purpose for her.
“It’s the kids’ winning,” Wroubel said. “I get to facilitate a little bit. But it’s really about the kids, and I’ve been blessed with some really good kids here over the years and some coaches who have coached with me.”
Notre Dame Prep senior Nicole McDowell said trying to win so Wroubel can keep up with Schilling hasn’t really been talked about much among players this season. But that doesn’t mean the chase can’t provide a little more incentive the rest of the fall.
“That will help motivate us more,” McDowell said.
The head coach of Notre Dame Prep since 1994, Wroubel remains an institution for not only her school, but the volleyball coaching community statewide.
Wroubel has guided Notre Dame Prep to four Finals titles in Class B/Division 2, with the latest in 2021. When Notre Dame Prep won the Class B championship in 2007 (fall season), the Fighting Irish not only captured the school’s first volleyball title but became the first program in Oakland County history to win at the Finals.
“I just love being around the kids, and they provide the energy and keep you going,” said Wroubel, who is also the athletic director and varsity softball coach at Notre Dame Prep.
Even as eras and the sport have changed drastically, players have enjoyed playing for Wroubel as much as she’s enjoyed coaching them.
“She really is competitive and she’s hard on us, but she wants to win and all of her intentions are good,” said McDowell, who has committed to play collegiately for Rider University (N.J.) and is a returning all-state player. “Outside of volleyball, she is the most generous person I know.”
Time will tell if Notre Dame Prep (14-12-2) can continue to pile up wins this season for itself and Wroubel.
While the coaching wins angle could be a fun storyline for the program and its supporters to follow, it certainly won’t sway Wroubel from her ultimate objective to make her players better volleyball players and women.
“I just love my job,” she said. “I think this is where God has placed me. There’s a place where we’re all supposed to be, and this is part of my mission. This is where I’m supposed to be. God has blessed me with great support and great athletes, and I just love it here.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep girls volleyball coach Betty Wroubel encourages her team during a match last season against Warren Regina. (Middle) Wroubel, right, accepts the 2021 Division 2 championship trophy from Vicky Groat. (Top photo by KMS Photography.)
Reaching Higher Returns, Expands
June 19, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The annual Reaching Higher showcases of Michigan’s top high school basketball players will return for their 10th year June 23 at Milford High School in Highland Township, and for the first time volleyball players will take part in the Reaching Higher experience during a showcase July 18 also at Milford.
Nearly 200 athletes with aspirations to play basketball and nearly 80 with hopes of playing volleyball at the college level will train and scrimmage under the tutelage of high school coaches from across the state and in front of college coaches expected to represent a number of NCAA, NAIA and junior college programs.
For both sports, the Reaching Higher experience includes classroom sessions for student-athletes and their parents as well as on-court drills and scrimmaging. The events aim to give athletes a vision of what it takes to become a college player and also succeed in college life. Reaching Higher is a combined effort by the Michigan High School Athletic Association with the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan and Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association.
For both sports, participants were selected by a committee of coaches association members based on nominations by member basketball or volleyball coaches. A complete list of June 23 expected attendees can be found on the basketball Reaching Higher page of the MHSAA Website, while a complete list of expected attendees for volleyball will be posted closer to that event on the Reaching Higher page for that sport.
The boys basketball event begins at 11 a.m. on June 23, with scrimmages running from 1-3:30 p.m. The girls basketball event begins at 3 p.m., with scrimmages from 5-7:30 p.m. Speakers for the boys session include Reggie Butler, a standout at Southfield-Lathrup High School who went on to play at Xavier University and professionally overseas. Girls session speakers include Cassie Breen, who starred for Brownstown Woodhaven High and Central Michigan University and played professionally this past season in Spain.
Longtime coach Dave Ginsberg will speak with athletes; he coached at a number of Michigan high schools and also was an assistant men’s basketball coach at Central Michigan University for 16 years, and he currently serves as the secretary/treasurer of the National High School Basketball Coaches Association. Longtime high school and college coach Marc Comstock – currently the boys varsity coach at Grass Lake High School – and former Saginaw Valley State University and current Flint Powers Catholic athletic director Mike Watson will conduct sessions with parents during players’ drill and practice sessions.
The volleyball event begins at 9:30 a.m. on July 18. A schedule for the day including speakers will be added to the volleyball Reaching Higher page of the MHSAA Website closer to the event.
Below, State Champs Sports Network explains a little bit more about the history of the basketball Reaching Higher event.