Jordan Szabo, a two-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Assistant Coach of the Year, was named the eleventh head coach of Auburn women’s tennis. A former men’s tennis player at Texas A&M, Szabo has been the associate head women’s coach at his alma mater for the past two seasons – his seventh season at the program in College Station.
“Jordan is an outstanding evaluator/recruiter, has been a direct part of championships, and cares deeply about the development of student-athletes both on and off the tennis court,” Cohen said. “We are extremely excited to have Jordan and his wife Grace join the Auburn family.”
Szabo will take over a program that is currently in the midst of a postseason run – defeating BYU 4-0 to advance to the second round on Saturday, May 4 against host school No. 10 California for a chance to qualify for a third consecutive NCAA Super Regional.
“I am so excited to be the head women’s tennis coach at Auburn,” Szabo said. “I will give my all to Auburn and the women’s tennis program and be relentless in my dedication to helping the student-athletes develop and elevating the program further with the goal of winning championships.”
With Szabo on staff, the Aggies won three consecutive Southeastern Conference regular season titles and had four straight conference tournament final appearances. In the NCAA Tournament, Texas A&M reached the Elite Eight the last two seasons and Sweet 16 every year since 2019.
This season, Texas A&M has posted a 22-7 overall record en route to sharing the SEC regular season title while hosting NCAA opening rounds for the third consecutive year as the nation’s No. 13 overall seed. The Aggies’ Mary Stoiana and Lucciana Perez were named SEC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively.
Szabo's influence extends beyond team accomplishments, as he played a significant role in the development of notable players such as Tatiana Makarova, Jayci Goldsmith, and Carson Branstine, who collectively earned six ITA All-America designations over a two-year period.
Szabo's coaching journey began following his playing career at Texas A&M from 2012 to 2015. Starting as a student assistant under men's tennis coach Steve Denton, Szabo gained early coaching experience before transitioning to an assistant coaching position at Texas Tech. He eventually returned to College Station to join the women's tennis program under head coach Mark Weaver.
Szabo secured the ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year title during the 2022 offseason and continued to see success into the 2023 season with another undefeated SEC regular season and subsequent back-to-back honors as the ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year.
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Patrick is a sophomore from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
