(Des Moines, IA) – On Thursday, Drake University Athletics Director, Brian Hardin, named Justin Stuckey as Drake’s new Head Men’s Tennis Coach. Stuckey brings a well-versed career of 16 years to lead the Drake Bulldogs this coming tennis season.
The former coach at Saint Louis has amassed a 424-244 record with ten conference championships with teams on multiple levels of success. In five years with the Billiken’s men’s and women’s programs, Stuckey carried the team to simultaneous Atlantic Ten Conference tournament semifinal runs and coached six All-Atlantic Ten players, including the Atlantic-Ten Women’s Player of the Year. While doing so, he led the men’s team to their first-ever regional ranking (#7) and led the women’s team to the most consecutive wins in a single season in program history. Stuckey is well-known for rebuilding programs after leading Saint Louis to their first career-winning record in 1981 and led the Billikens to 30 combined victories in the past two seasons, the most in 44 years.
In a press release from Drake University, Stuckey said, “I’m thrilled to be the new leader of the men’s tennis program at Drake University. I’m grateful to Brian Hardin and the search committee for giving me this opportunity. The culture, community, and standard of excellence are very apparent within the [Drake] athletic department. There is a strong tennis tradition at Drake. The first-class resources also allow for student-athletes to build community and consistently compete for championships. I could not be prouder to join the Bulldog family and continue to contribute to the tennis legacy.”
The long-term coach formally has coached at William Woods University and McPherson College while also working as a graduate assistant at Wright State. Stuckey formally played at Johnson C. Smith University in North Carolina where he earned First Team All-CIAA recognition and was the Rookie of the Year and MVP in the final two seasons.
