Joshua Walker joined Ryan McGuyre's staff in the spring of 2022, officially being named assistant coach on March 10. He was promoted to Associate Head Coach in February of 2023.
In 2024, Walker helped steer his squad to a season with 23 wins, including 14 in conference for a third-place Big 12 finish. BU went to its school record ninth-consecutive NCAA Tournament, hosting the first and second rounds for the fifth time in eight years. The Bears were the regional fourth seed and the No. 15 seed overall headed into the tournament. The green and gold saw multiple NCAA Tournament records be broken for the program including kills, attack percentage, service aces and digs in a five-set match. Walker and company helped coach senior Elise McGhee to an Honorable Mention AVCA All-America finish as well as being unanimously named First Team All-Big 12, while Jackie Barrett Frazier, Lauren Briseño and Allie Sczech were named to the second team. Briseño enters the Baylor record books for her 89 career service aces and 1,412 digs. McGhee entered the record book for her 30-kill match against TCU (10/25), while Barrett Frazier also saw her name etched in history for the first triple-double by a BU player since 2009, posting 10 kills, 16 digs and 23 assists against Iowa State (10/30). McGhee capped off her senior season being the first Bear to be drafted to the Pro Volleyball Federation, called as the 34th overall pick, second in the fifth round of the PVF draft by the San Diego Mojo. The Bears were featured in all AVCA Coaches' Polls, finishing the season in 20th and 20th in RPI.
Walker helped coach the Bears to their eighth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament in his second season in Waco, 2023. Baylor had three AVCA All-Region honors coupled with four All-Big 12 honorees for the season, along with three being named Academic All-District. Walker saw his student-athletes break multiple personal records on the season, and three Bears enter the record book for single-match attack percentage, career assists. Baylor won out in Colorado State’s Ram Volleyball Classic, notched a win over No. 19 Ohio State, and carved out season sweeps against Cincinnati and UCF while splitting series with Iowa State and Kansas State. He was named to the 2023 ABIS Volleyball Black Coaches Watchlist.
After the 2022 season's conclusion, Walker became an assistant coach for USA Volleyball on the women's side. He coached Lauren Briseño and Allie Sczech to a gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Cup and saw Briseño named to the USA Volleyball Collegiate National Team. In addition, he coached the U18 & U19 Teams as a part of the National Team Development Program.
Baylor's 2022 season, Walker's first on the women's side, was the Bears' fourth-straight NCAA Sweet 16 appearance and seventh season in a row both making the NCAA Tournament and tallying 20 or more wins. BU finished with a 25-7 overall, 12-4 Big 12 and 16-1 home record that included 13 sweeps of its opponents, ranked wins and a program-best attack percentage in a match. Baylor registered season sweeps of Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and West Virginia. Senior middle blocker Kara McGhee earned Honorable Mention AVCA All-American honors while freshman setter Averi Carlson was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and AVCA Southwest Region Freshman of the Year while collecting the most weekly Big 12 accolades by a Baylor freshman with five. The Bears saw players earn major milestones with McGhee having tallied her 500th career block while fellow senior Lauren Harrison had her 1,000th career kill. Overall, the Bears had nine weekly Big 12 accolades, four AVCA All-Southwest Region players, six earn All-Big 12 honors and had 10 accolades overall from non-conference tournaments. Baylor was ranked in every iteration of the AVCA Coaches Polls, never dipping outside of the top-18 teams, and finished the season ranked 15th as only one of two Big 12 teams on the poll. BU also finished 14th in the final NCAA RPI.
"We are thrilled to add Joshua Walker to our staff," said McGuyre. "He is an elite-level coach and already a proven national champion. He has competed at the highest level and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our staff. He is very sharp tactically and will provide both offensive and defensive instruction. He has a passionate love for the Lord and understands servant leadership. His transition from the men's game will sync well with what we are already doing, as well as providing fresh perspectives and innovation to help us continue to improve. He has a beautiful family and we are excited about all of them joining the Baylor family."
Walker, a native of Virginia Beach, Va., came to Waco after spending seven seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Hawaii-Manoa with the men's volleyball team, his alma mater.
"Josh Walker has been an integral part of UH men's volleyball as a player and as a coach for a long time," said Hawaii men's head coach Charlie Wade. "He was a role model representative as a student-athlete on and off the court and has continued his contributions as a coach. He has developed a wide skill set as a coach, which will ensure his continued success as an assistant and when he becomes a head coach. He has worked extremely hard to prepare himself for future challenges, and we wish him and his 'ohana only the best as they embark on new challenges. I am very grateful for all he has done for Hawai'i men's volleyball."
During his tenure with the Rainbow Warriors, Walker accumulated a 155-34 record. He has coached 12 All-Americans as well as helped coach his team to finish top-five in the nation in the past six seasons, including four Final Four appearances and three National Championship appearances. UH was the 2021 NCAA Men's Volleyball National Champion after going 17-1 on the season and 10-0 in conference play. He and the Warriors went back-to-back, winning the title again in 2022 with a 27-5 record and 18-0 at home.
He became the first UH assistant coach to be named AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year since the award's inception in 2010, earning the award in 2019.
Walker was tasked with overseeing the academic progress of his student-athletes, which have received national recognition with a team cumulative GPA of 3.3 or above for three out of the last five years.
In addition to his coaching duties at UH, he spent two summers (2017, 2019) as a Southern California Volleyball Association High Performance Coach. Starting in 2021, he served as a USA Volleyball National Team Development Program Assistant Coach for summer and winter for the men.
Walker returned to his alma mater to start coaching with the men's squad under the direction of Charlie Wade in 2016 after his professional playing career.
For 2011-12, he played for Al Baniyas Sports Club in Abu Dhabi, then with the Panathinaikos Athletic Club in Athens, Greece, in 2012-13. Walker then played with Boldklubben Marienlyst in Odense, Denmark, from 2013-14. While in Denmark, he also earned MVP honors. In the summer of 2014 and '15 he played in the Premier Volleyball League with Team USA. For the 2014-15 season, he was in Oulu, Finland, with the Lentopalloseura Etta, where he was an All-Star in the Finland Volleyball League.
Walker was a varsity athlete at Hawaii from 2006-2011, where he was an AVCA All-American and two-time All-Conference player in the MPSF. He finished his four-year career with 1,428 kills (3.91 k/s) which ranked fifth in program history at the time. He graduated in 2011 with his bachelor's in English from UH.
Joshua and his wife, Tehane Walker, have five children: Shiloh Ku'upuaihane Ann Walker, Kamanukilakila (Kamanu) Joshua Walker, Kupa'amauloaikapo (Kupa'a) James Walker, Keahi'anapa John Adrien Walker and Kalahikiola Jeremiah Walker (Kala). Each child has a Hawaiian name: Ku'upuaihane means 'My beloved flower that gives life;' Kamanukilakilameans 'Bird having poise that commands admiration;' Ku'paamauloaikapo means 'Having strength through the darkness;', Keahi'anapa means 'Flashing Fire', and Kalahikiola meaning 'the dawning of a new day.'