Florida men’s tennis head coach Bryan Shelton announced Friday he would step down from the position. His decision came after 11 seasons as head coach. He cited a shift in focus to family time and coaching his son, Ben Shelton, as reasons for the departure.
Shelton started his Florida coaching career on June 8, 2012, after spending 13 seasons as the head coach of the Georgia Tech women’s tennis program. He led the Yellow Jackets to a national title in 2007 and four-straight Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championships from 2005-2008.
The coach dealt with several player departures during his first year at Florida.
Despite being left with just seven available scholarship players in his first spring, Shelton led the team to a 15-11 overall record, a No. 16 national ranking and the third seed in Southeastern Conference Tournament.
In 2021, he brought the Gators their first-ever National Collegiate Athletic Association National Tennis Championship. He is the only Division I head coach to win both the men’s and women’s NCAA national title.
Ben Shelton was a member of the 2021 championship team. As a freshman, he was a SEC freshman of the week and Division I Men’s ITA Scholar-Athlete.
On May 28, 2022 Shelton became the fourth UF player in program history to win the NCAA singles draw. He announced his decision to leave Florida to pursue a professional tennis career on Aug. 22, 2022.
He left to prepare for the Australian Open in December 2022. His father, stuck to professional obligations, stayed behind to prepare for the Gators’ 2023 season opener against Texas Jan. 15.
“The huge moments in their lives you want to be part of,” Bryan Shelton said in a statement.
He plans to no longer miss his son’s matches and hopes to be courtside lending a hand.
“I’m not done working,” Shelton said.
Contact Krisha Sanghavi at ksanghavi@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @krishasang.
Krisha Sanghavi is a third-year public relations and economics major. In her free time, she loves cheering on Miami sports teams and spending time with her friends.
