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Cori (Schnell) Wentz’s basketball career began at age three in the Prince of Peace Christian School gymnasium. Karen Blackwell, her PE teacher, advised her parents to sign her up for basketball because Cori could dribble with both hands. When asked if that was unusual, Karen replied, “Yes, especially when she did it while walking on a balance beam!” The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

During Cori’s two-year middle school career, she led Prince of Peace to back-to-back state championships and a national championship runner-up finish. In high school, Cori became the all-time leading scorer for POPCS basketball. She was the first sophomore to join the 1,000-point club and remains the only POPCS player, male or female, to score more than 2,000 points during her high school career. She received TAPPS First Team All-District and First Team All-State honors all four years of high school. Additional awards included Newcomer of the Year, District MVP for three years, and Academic All-State recognition.

Cori established the following school records:

• Most points in a game: 45
• Most points in a season: 845
• Most career assists: 294
• Most career steals: 311
• Most career points: 2,680

After graduating from POPCS in 2016, Cori accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where she went on to become a four-year letter winner on the women’s basketball team. In the spring of 2020, she graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science in American History, conferred with honors.

On May 23, 2020, due to COVID-19 restrictions, Cori was commissioned alongside her future husband, Anthony Wentz, as a second lieutenant on the 50-yard line of Eagle Stadium. She served as an Army Air Defense Artillery Officer, working with the Patriot Missile System during two overseas deployments. Her Army awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with “C” Device, and the Combat Action Badge.

Following the tragic passing of her husband, Anthony, in an Air Force flight training accident, Cori returned to her Prince of Peace home and found a new, healing love for coaching the sport that had always helped carry her through life’s trials. While continuing her military career, Cori served on the coaching staff of two TRLT State Championship teams and one LBAA National Championship team.

After leaving the Army as a captain, Cori returned to the DFW area full-time and served as the POPCS Middle School Girls Basketball Head Coach, an assistant coach for the POPCS Varsity Girls Basketball Team, and a substitute teacher.

Now, Cori will continue her full-circle journey at Prince of Peace as the Varsity Women’s Basketball Head Coach. In this role, she looks forward to investing in the next generation of POPCS student-athletes while giving back to the school and community that have given so much to her.