University of Florida Athletics Director Jeremy Foley announced Bryan Shelton as the men’s tennis head coach on June 8, 2012. Shelton came to Gainesville after 13 seasons as the head coach of the Georgia Tech women’s program, where he led the Yellow Jackets to a national title in 2007, and a successful professional playing career that included reaching No. 55 in the ATP singles rankings and No. 52 in the ATP doubles rankings.
Announcing his decision to step down from collegiate coaching in June 2023, Shelton finished his Florida career with a 211-83.
In 2023, Shelton became the fourth head coach in program history to win 200 matches, joining Ian Duvenhage, Andy Jackson and Bill Potter. Accomplishing the feat on Jan. 28 in the win over Mississippi State in the ITA Kickoff Weekend's championship match, Shelton was the fastest of the four to the milestone. The 2023 season marked the first under Shelton utilizing five freshmen on the roster and was the most any Florida team had since 2008. Despite the high roster turnover and a regular season schedule featuring 14 matches against top-25 opponents, Shelton led the team to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time and the programs 31st consecutive appearance.
Finishing the 2023 season ranked No. 22 in the nation with a 14-14 record, Shelton guided Will Grant (doubles) and Axel Nefve (doubles, singles) to All-American honors. Additionally, Jonah Braswell, Grant and Nefve earned All-SEC honors. For the eighth term in a row, the program led all Florida male teams with the top cumulative GPA with a 3.53. Also, the program posted a perfect 100 in the Graduation Success Rates in the Fall.
In 2022, Shelton led the team to an NCAA Quarterfinals appearance, a third-consecutive SEC regular season championship and an SEC Tournament title.
In addition, sophomore Ben Shelton won the program's second-straight NCAA Singles title, finishing the year as the No. 1-ranked player and earning Florida's first ITA National Player of the Year award.
Shelton coached both Ben and Sam Riffice to four All-American honors as they advanced to at least the singles and doubles quarterfinals of the NCAA Individual Championships. Named the SEC Coach of the Year and ITA Southeast Regional Coach of the Year, Shelton coached the team to 26 wins as Florida became the first SEC school to win three-consecutive SEC regular season championships all with an undefeated 12-0 record. Shelton's 2022 team totaled four players with All-SEC honors - Andy Andrade, Sam Riffice, Ben Shelton and Duarte Vale - while Nate Bonetto was named to the All-Freshman team. During the 2022, Shelton's team etched their names in the record books as Andrade broke the all-time singles record with 134 career wins and Vale ranks second in history with 208 overall career wins. The team also put up record academic numbers in the spring semester as they put together an 3.79 GPA.
Also, for the third time in four years, Florida went undefeated in SEC play and undefeated at home overall.
In 2021, Shelton led a program which won its first national championship in school history with a 4-1 win over Baylor at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. In addition to the NCAA title, Shelton's 2021 squad won the SEC title and junior Sam Riffice was crowned as the NCAA Singles Champion. Shelton was named the SEC Coach of the Year for the third time in his career while also picking up ITA Southeast Regional Coach of the Year accolades as his team's 26 wins were the second most in school history and the best mark under Shelton.
Shelton became the first head coach in DI college tennis history to win a women's national title (2007 at Georgia Tech) and a men's national championship. He is the 24th coach across all NCAA sports to lead two different programs to a national team title. Of those 24, Shelton is the fifth to coach a national championship team in a men's AND women's sport.
Shelton's team consisted of two ITA All-Americans in Sam Riffice and Duarte Vale, five players on various SEC teams and the singles national champion.
In 2020, despite the abrupt end due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gators opened the spring as the nation's No. 1 squad for the first time under Shelton's presence. Hanging within the ITA National Top 10 throughout the entirety of the season, Florida was on pace for another successful season in tallying 11 nonconference wins prior to SEC conference play, including finishing 2-1 at ITA National Team Indoors for the first time since 2010. The Gators then opened SEC play strong, corralling three consecutive 7-0 sweeps, prior to a loss at Texas A&M and the consequent cancellation of the remainder of season at the hands of COVID-19. UF finished the season 15-3 and 3-1 in SEC competition, as the Gators finished ranked No. 9 in the ITA National Team rankings. The Gators receiver five ITA All-American honors among three players, leading the nation for most All-American awards received. Additionally, Sam Riffice was named the ITA Southeast Region and National Player to Watch.
In 2018-2019, Shelton’s squad looked even younger than the year before. With only three upperclassmen on the team, he relied on his freshman and sophomores to build the bulk of the lineup and this young team did not disappoint. They finished 25-4, which is tied for the most wins in program history since 2000. They also recorded 20 wins over top-50 opponents. In his seventh season, the Gators finally won the coveted SEC Regular Season title as they were perfect in the conference and won the first outright and undefeated conference title for Florida since 2003 and first overall since 2005. They finished tied for third in the SEC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the first time under Coach Shelton and just the third time in program history.
For the first time since 2007, Florida also earned two ITA All-American singles honors as freshman Sam Riffice and sophomore Oliver Crawford became the 29
th and 30
th players to earn the distinction.
He was named the 2019 SEC and ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year and coached the program to a record of eight SEC post-season honors as Riffice earned SEC Freshman of the Year, Second-Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman honors. Crawford picked up his second consecutive First-Team All-SEC accolade, while Andy Andrade and Johannes Ingildsen were placed on Second-Team All-SEC and Lukas Greif was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. Crawford and Riffice also picked up ITA post-season honors from both the southeast region and nationally.
In Shelton's sixth year at Florida he put one of his youngest rosters on the court. He featured three freshman, a sophomore, a junior and a senior on most nights. Although the team lacked experience they didn't lack talent. The group battled to finish 19-10 and 9-3 in the SEC. They finished third in the conference in both the regular season and tournament and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight for the second time under coach Shelton and just the fifth time in program history. Shelton's group also earned the most ITA All-American honors with four as Alfredo Perez picked up singles and doubles honors while Johannes Ingildsen, McClain Kessler and Duarte Vale each earned All-America honors in doubles.
During the 2017-18 season he coached Oliver Crawford to First Team All-SEC honors, SEC All-Freshman team honors and to the SEC Freshman of the Year award. Crawford was also named the ITA Rookie of the Year in the Southeast Region. Also earning SEC honors under Shelton was Alfredo Perez who earned first team honors and Johannes Ingildsen who earned second team honors.
Coach Shelton had to deal with some tough circumstances in his first year at the helm. After several departures from the 2012 squad left the team with just seven available scholarship players for the spring, Shelton led the team to a 15-11 overall record, No. 16 national ranking and the third seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Florida also earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament and hosted an NCAA Regional for the sixth-straight year. UF faced 13 teams ranked in the top 25 and had six wins against teams ranked in the top 20.
Shelton turned the team around in his second season at UF, leading Florida to the NCAA Round of 16. The No. 14 Gators challenged the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes, but eventually fell to OSU, 4-3, concluding a 17-10 season.
Before entering the collegiate coaching ranks, Shelton spent one season as a national coach with the United States Tennis Association. While coaching with the USTA, he worked with top juniors such as Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, Robby Ginepri, Bobby Reynolds, Ashley Harkelroad, Tanner Cochran, Jamea Jackson and Carlie Gullickson.
Shelton spent nine seasons as a player on the ATP Tour, winning two singles titles and a pair of doubles titles, before retiring following the 1997 U.S. Open. In his professional career, Shelton was a seven-time U.S. Open participant, six-time Wimbledon participant, six-time Australian Open participant and a four-time French Open participant. He reached the finals of the 1993 French Open in mixed doubles with partner Lori McNeil and was a semifinalist with McNeil in mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 1993. Shelton also reached the Round of 16 in singles at Wimbledon in 1994.
As a player at Georgia Tech, Shelton was an All-American and four-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, helping guide the Jackets to a school-record 26 dual-match wins as a senior in 1988. He ranks second on the Jackets’ career singles wins list with 101 victories and was inducted into the Georgia Tech Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Georgia Tennis Hall of Fame in 2002. He was also inducted into the Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.
Prior to the 2000 season when Shelton took the reins at his alma mater, Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets’ women’s tennis program had never made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In 13 seasons under Shelton, Tech compiled a 227-108 (.678) record and qualified for the NCAA Tournament every year. The Yellow Jackets won a national title in 2007, four-straight regular season Atlantic Coast Conference Championships (2005-08), four ACC Tournament titles (2005-07, 10) and back-to-back ITA National Indoor Championships (2007-08). The national title in 2007 was Georgia Tech’s first NCAA team title in any sport in school history. Shelton was named the 2007 ITA National Coach of the Year and the ACC Coach of the Year four times (2002, 05, 07, 08). He was also named the ITA South Region Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2006.
Along with the great team success that Shelton achieved at Georgia Tech, he also guided some individuals to outstanding results. In 2008, Shelton coached sophomore Amanda McDowell through the 2008 NCAA Singles Championships, helping her claim the first NCAA Individual title in school history. Before 2000, the program had never had a player earn All-American honors. Under Shelton, the Yellow Jackets had the ITA National Player of the Year twice (McDowell, 2008; Irina Falconi, 2010), the ITA National Player to Watch (Kristi Miller, 2006) and ITA South Region Rookie of the Year (Miller, 2005). Falconi won back-to-back ACC Player of the Year awards (2009, ‘10) under Shelton’s tutelage and Tech has had two ACC Rookie of the Year winners (Kelly Anderson, 2003; Miller, 2005), 12 All-Americans and 23 All-ACC selections in the past 13 seasons. Two players also won the prestigious Honda Award for Tennis (Miller, 2006; McDowell, 2008).
The Bryan Shelton File
- Birth date: December 22, 1965
- Alma Mater: Georgia Tech, 1988 (Bachelor's of Industrial Engineering)
- Family: Bryan and his wife, Lisa, have two children, Emma and Ben
Coaching Honors
- 2022, 2021, 2019, 2016 SEC Coach of the Year
- 2021 (UF- M), 2007 (GT- W) National Championships
- First coach in NCAA DI history to win a national title in both men's and women's tennis
- 2007 USTA/ITA National Coach of the Year
- 2022, 2016 SEC Tournament Champions
2022, 2021, 2019 SEC Regular Season Champions
- 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008 ACC Coach of the Year
- 2022, 2021, 2019 ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year
- 2005, 2006 ITA South Region Coach of the Year
- 1993 Georgia Tech Hall of Fame Inductee
- 2002 Georgia Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee
- 2006 Huntsville-Madison County Hall of Fame Inductee
Shelton's Accomplishments at Tech
As a Coach
- 2007 National Champions
- 2007, 2008 ITA National Indoor Team Champions
- 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 ACC Champions
- 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 ACC regular season champions
- Has won .678 percent of his matches to rank as the winningest tennis coach in Tech history
- Has won a school-record 227 matches
- Led Tech to its only 13 NCAA appearances in history
- 12 All-America selections in 13 years
- 23 All-Atlantic Coast Conference players in 13 years
- Nine Academic All-America or All-District honorees
- 52 student-athletes named to ACC Honor Roll (3.0 GPA or higher) through 2011 season
- No. 1 national ranking during 2006 and 2007 seasons
- No. 1 final national ranking in 2007
- School-record 29 wins in 2007
As a Player
- 1988 All-American
- 1986 ACC Champion, No. 1 Doubles (Richy Gilbert)
- 1985 ACC Champion, No. 1 Singles
- Four-time All-ACC Selection
Shelton's Coaching Career
|
Overall |
Conference |
|
| Year |
School |
M/W |
W-L |
Pct. |
W-L |
Pct. |
Pl. |
Postseason |
| 2000 |
Georgia Tech |
W |
14-8 |
.636 |
4-4 |
.500 |
T-4th |
NCAA Second Round |
| 2001 |
Georgia Tech |
W |
11-12 |
.478 |
4-4 |
.500 |
5th |
NCAA First Round |
| 2002 |
Georgia Tech |
W |
15-10 |
.600 |
3-5 |
.375 |
5th |
NCAA Second Round |
| 2003 |
Georgia Tech |
W |
14-7 |
.667 |
5-3 |
.625 |
4th |
NCAA Second Round |
| 2004 |
Georgia Tech |
W |
12-11 |
.522 |
4-4 |
.500 |
T-4th |
NCAA Second Round |
| 2005 |
Georgia Tech |
W |
21-4 |
.840 |
9-1 |
.900 |
T-1st |
NCAA Round of 16; ACC Reg. Season & Tourn. Champs |
| 2006 |
Georgia Tech |
W |
23-6 |
.793 |
9-2 |
.818 |
T-1st |
NCAA Round of 16; ACC Reg. Season & Tourn. Champs |
| 2007 |
Georgia Tech |
W |
29-4 |
.879 |
10-1 |
.909 |
T-1st |
NCAA Champions; ACC Reg. Season & Tourn. Champs; ITA Ntl' Ind. Champs |
| 2008 |
Georgia Tech |
W |
22-6 |
.786 |
10-1 |
.909 |
T-1st |
NCAA Elite Eight; ITA Ntl' Ind. Champs; ACC Reg. Season Champs |
| 2009 |
Georgia Tech |
W |
18-8 |
.692 |
9-2 |
.818 |
T-3rd |
NCAA Round of 16 |
| 2010 |
Georgia Tech |
W |
19-10 |
.655 |
5-5 |
.500 |
7th |
NCAA Second Round; ACC Tournament Champs |
| 2011 |
Georgia Tech |
W |
13-10 |
.565 |
5-6 |
.455 |
T-7th |
NCAA Round of 16 |
| 2012 |
Georgia Tech |
W |
16-12 |
.571 |
6-5 |
.545 |
6th |
NCAA Round of 16 |
| 2013 |
Florida |
M |
15-11 |
.577 |
7-5 |
.583 |
T-3rd |
NCAA First Round |
| 2014 |
Florida |
M |
17-10 |
.629 |
8-4 |
.667 |
4th |
NCAA Round of 16 |
| 2015 |
Florida |
M |
14-9 |
.609 |
8-4 |
.667 |
T-4th |
NCAA First Round |
| 2016 |
Florida |
M |
21-7 |
.750 |
10-2 |
.833 |
2nd |
NCAA Elite Eight; SEC Tournament Champions |
| 2017 |
Florida |
M |
19-10 |
.655 |
9-3 |
.750 |
3rd |
NCAA Round of 16 |
| 2018 |
Florida |
M |
19-10 |
.655 |
9-3 |
.750 |
3rd |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2019 |
Florida |
M |
25-4 |
.862 |
12-0 |
1.00 |
1st |
NCAA Final Four; SEC Champions |
| 2020 |
Florida |
M |
15-3 |
.833 |
3-1 |
.750 |
N/A |
Canceled due to COVID-19 |
| 2021 |
Florida |
M |
26-2 |
.929 |
12-0 |
1.00 |
1st |
NCAA Champions; SEC Champions |
| 2022 |
Florida |
M |
26-3 |
.897 |
12-0 |
1.00 |
1st |
NCAA Quarterfinals; SEC Tournament Champions; SEC Champions |
| 2023 |
Florida |
M |
14-14 |
.500 |
5-7 |
1.00 |
8th |
NCAA First Round |
| Totals |
24 seasons |
|
438-191 |
.696 |
178-72 |
.712 |
|
|
