Men's Tennis
- Title:
- Cornelia Drake and John Van Ryn Jr. '28 Assistant Coach of Tennis
Ryan Keckley, who enjoyed a successful undergraduate career at Notre Dame before moving into the coaching ranks, was named as the Cornelia Drake and John Van Ryn Jr. '28 Assistant Coach of Tennis at Princeton University on June 25, 2012.
In his three seasons, Keckley has helped Princeton to 48 wins including 18 in the 2015 spring season, the second-most in a single campaign in program history. That season also saw Keckley and the Tigers end a 17-year NCAA tournament drought, returning to the draw for the first time since 1998. For his efforts, Keckley was named the ITA Northeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year, his second such award in four seasons.
Prior to Princeton, Keckley was been an assistant coach at the University of San Diego for three seasons. In May 2012, he earned the Wilson/ITA Southwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Toreros to their second straight NCAA tournament. USD advanced to the Round of 32 in both seasons.
USD ended the 2011-12 season at No. 26 in the ITA rankings, sweeping Fresno State in the first round of the NCAAs before falling to UCLA. In 2010-11, USD ended at No. 29, sweeping BYU in the NCAA first round before falling to USC. That top-30 final ranking was a jump from the No. 61 year-end ranking in Keckley's first season, 2009-10.
The Toreros had a player in each of the last two NCAA singles tournaments during Keckley's tenure as well as a team in the 2011 NCAA doubles event. At the end of Keckley's first season in 2010, the Toreros brought in the 14th-ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to TennisRecruiting.net.
"We are delighted to have Ryan join the Princeton tennis family," Princeton head coach Billy Pate said upon Keckley's hiring. "He is undoubtedly one of the most personable and dynamic people among college tennis coaches. He is a rising star in the industry and will have a tremendous impact on our outstanding young men, particularly in the area of player development and recruiting."
Pate was an assistant coach at Notre Dame from 2000-02, earning the head coaching position at Alabama a year before Keckley arrived in South Bend.
"I am thrilled to be joining Billy and the Princeton family this year," Keckley said upon his hiring. "The university's athletic and academic reputation is second to none, and I'm honored to be part of such a respected institution. I look forward to many great years with the Tigers on and off the tennis court."
Keckley was a mainstay in the ITA doubles rankings while at Notre Dame, ending his career with the third-most doubles victories (81) in program history.
The Irish advanced to the NCAA tournament in all four of his years there, twice reaching the Round of 16. Keckley earned three All-Big East Tournament Team doubles honors as well as achieving Big East Academic All-Star status three times.
While helping the Irish to three Big East Conference championships, Keckley was ranked as high as No. 7 in the nation in doubles while also reaching No. 115 in singles play. He played in the 2007 NCAA doubles tournament and was also an ITA Midwest Regional doubles champion.
Keckley, a South Bend, Ind., native, was the 2002 Indiana state high school singles champion before moving on to his hometown school.
