Herb Halinski has been the bowling coach at Kansas Wesleyan since April 2023.
In 2024-25, Halinski led the KWU men's bowling team to a KCAC Championship as the season marked the first where the KCAC Championship Tournament served as the qualifying event for the NAIA National Championships. The Coyotes did it as the underdogs battling back through the elimination bracket to claim the tournament title. After losing to Avila in the first round of bracket play, the Coyotes came back through, beating the Eagles twice in the championship series to claim the title. KWU made its first appearance in the NAIA National Championships since 2023, and qualified ninth, facing No. 8 seed Pikeville in the first round. Down 3-2, the Coyotes won the sixth and seventh games to win the match. KWU then faced top-seeded SCAD Savannah in the next round, with KWU jumping out to a 2-0 lead, but SCAD would win the match. KWU won its next two matches over Cumberland and St. Francis (Ill.), but fell to Concordia (Mich.) in the next round. KWU posted a Top 6 finish, the highest ever for the team since the bracket play format began in the national championships. The team had six Academic All-KCAC honorees and three were named Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
In 2023-24, his first season leading the team, the Coyotes captured the KCAC Men's Bowling Invitational event on March 2. The team had a pair of third place finishes on the season in the Morningside Mustang Invitational and the SWIBC VI tournament as well. KWU had three All-KCAC selections led by Jackson Penny being named to the first team. KWU also three Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes and three Academic All-KCAC selections.
Halinski comes to KWU after coaching the McPherson High School boys’ and girls’ teams the past 17 years. He was the Kansas High School Bowling Coach of the Year in 2014 and has been a member of the Kansas Bowling Coaches Association and a United States Bowling Association Silver Level Coach since 2009.
Halinski also has served as manager of the McPherson Bowling Association since 2012 and was inducted into the McPherson Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 2014. He’s a tournament bowler himself and has attended the World Bowling Coaches conferences.
Halinski served as a Special Education instructor at McPherson High for 25 years and was head of the department for the last 12 years. He is a graduate of Kansas State and earned a master’s degree in education from KSU.
