(LEBANON, Ill., June 3)—McKendree University director of athletics Chuck Brueggemann announced on Monday that Todd Tucker has been hired to serve as the Bearcats' men's and women's head tennis coach.
 
Tucker comes to McKendree after spending two years in the same role at Salem University in West Virginia. There, Tucker engineered a turnaround of both Tigers' programs that saw the women's squad improve by 17 wins during his tenure, while the men's team bettered its record by nine wins in the same span.
 
"We are excited to bring Todd into the McKendree family as our head tennis coach," said Brueggemann. "He brings a vast amount of experience coaching and developing top tennis talent. In just a short amount of time Todd built the Salem men's and women's tennis teams into nationally-recognized programs. His development of players at both the collegiate and junior levels made him a top candidate for our position, and we look forward to the stability he will bring to our tennis program."
 
At Salem, Tucker took a women's team that had just one victory in his first season and helped lead the Tigers to a 19-3 mark this year. Salem put together a 16-match win streak during the season and collected its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Under his guidance, the Tigers made school history by reaching the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Tournament in both singles and doubles.
 
Tucker coached the Salem men's team to a similar turnaround. The Tigers registered just three victories in his first season on the sidelines before going 12-5 in 2018-19. Salem produced an ITA doubles champion and singles semifinalist for the first time in program history in 2018. The Tigers also earned another program first by receiving ITA Atlantic Region rankings in both singles and doubles.
 
"I'm very excited and honored to be part of such a prestigious University like McKendree," said Tucker. "The administration and staff have made me feel welcome and I look forward to working with everyone to add to the rich history that McKendree possesses. We really have a good base of returning student-athletes to build a strong foundation and help our student-athletes achieve their goals of being part of a first-class institution and a first-class tennis program."
 
A coach with experience at all levels of NCAA tennis, Tucker arrived at Salem after spending a year as an assistant men's tennis coach at NCAA Division III Capital University. Prior to that, Tucker joined the staff at NCAA Division I Wright State University for the 2013-14 season before being elevated to the role of interim head coach for both programs the following season.
 
Tucker began his collegiate coaching career after spending time as the director of player development at the Ivan Lendl International Junior Tennis Academy in Hilton Head, S.C. He has also served as the director of tennis at both the Lakewood Racquet Club in Lexington, Ohio (2006-11) and the Zanesville Country Club (1999-2005).
 
An accomplished tennis player in his own right, Tucker was ranked nationally as a junior by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in the early-to-mid 1980s. He captured a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national championship while playing at North Greenville College in 1988. After that, Tucker played professionally on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour from 1988-90.
 
Tucker earned his bachelor's degree from Ohio Christian University and went on to receive his master's degree from Salem.