Dustin Taylor Named OSU Men’s Tennis Head Coach
STILLWATER – Best-known for his player development ability, Dustin Taylor is the new head coach of Oklahoma State men's tennis, it was announced today.
Taylor served as associate head coach at the University of Virginia from 2014-17, where he was a part of three consecutive NCAA team championships, an ITA national indoor championship and two NCAA singles champions in his three seasons in Charlottesville.
After his time at Virginia and before arriving at OSU, he was a lead national coach for U.S. Tennis, helping top Americans Denis Kudla and Tim Smyczek break into the top 100 in the world rankings. Taylor was a driving force in the organization's Team USA initiative to help support and assist the top American players on the ATP Tour.
"My family and I are absolutely thrilled to be joining the OSU family and would like to sincerely thank Coach Holder, Chad Weiberg, Chris Young and Oklahoma State University for providing us with this once in a lifetime opportunity," Taylor said. "We are humbled and honored to be representing such a prestigious university in a state that we hold near and dear to our hearts. We will take great pride in continuing its rich history of success, both on and off the court.
"The most important thing is to provide these young men with a truly holistic approach to their development and a memorable experience that they will look back on with great pride. To do so, it will be important to instill a winning culture from day one - a culture based on discipline, competitiveness and team, with our goal of bringing them freedom and fulfillment, both on and off the court."
From 2010-14, he served his first term as a national coach, overseeing top junior and collegiate players in their transition to the professional ranks. Included on the list of top 100-ranked players he worked with during that time are Steve Johnson, Tennys Sandgren, Bradley Klahn, Marcos Giron and more.
In addition to his coaching and development work at the USTA, Taylor also organized tournament schedules and made the final decision on all ATP and ITF wildcards in USTA Pro Circuit events – a role that required him to be aware of worldwide tournament results and rankings, the status of players' eligibility and ever-changing rules and regulations. He did all this while continuously communicating with tournament directors throughout the country to ensure proper execution and dissemination of selected wildcards.
Notable appointments during his career include serving as head men's tennis coach for the 2011 Pan-American Games and leading the 2008 New York Sportimes of World Team Tennis to a semifinal appearance.
"I am thrilled to welcome Dustin and his family to Oklahoma State," OSU director of tennis and head women's tennis coach Chris Young said. "I have known Dustin since he was a player at Tulsa and have seen him grow into an elite coach. I have always respected the work he has done developing our top American players and helping collegiate players successfully transition to the pro tour. Now, I am excited to work alongside him, learn from him, and work together to make Oklahoma State men's tennis the best it can be. Both programs here are going to benefit from the knowledge and experience that Dustin brings."
Taylor played collegiately at the University of Tulsa, where he was an All-American and NCAA quarterfinalist in 2003 and the Farnsworth Senior Player of the Year in 2004. A four-time all-Western Athletic Conference honoree, Taylor earned WAC player of the week honors seven times, a mark that set the record for all sports.
A 2005 graduate from Tulsa with a degree in business, Taylor married his college sweetheart, the former Jennie Huber. They have five children; McKenzie, Brooklyn, Tatum, Decker and Hayes.
Taylor's appointment at Oklahoma State is pending board approval.
Dustin Taylor Year-by-Year
2005-10: ATP and Junior Development Coach
2010-14: United States Tennis Association: National Coach, Men's and Collegiate Tennis
2014-17: Virginia – Associate Head Coach
2017-19: United States Tennis Association – Lead National Coach, Team USA
2019-21: Har-Tru – Business Development Manager
2019-21: ATP and Junior Development Coach
2021-present: Oklahoma State head coach
Prominent pupils
Steve Johnson, No. 21 ATP ranking
Tennys Sandgren, No. 41 ATP ranking
Denis Kudla, No. 53 ATP ranking
Bradley Klahn, No. 63 ATP ranking
Ryan Sweeting, No. 64 ATP ranking
Tim Smyczek, No. 68 ATP ranking
Robert Kendrick, No. 69 ATP ranking
Ryan Shane, 2015 NCAA Singles Champion
Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, 2017 NCAA Singles Champion