Matt Hill

-- How ASU men's tennis team went from non-existent to nationally ranked (by Carson Breber, ASU State Press/ Sept. 21, 2020) -- Coach Hill uses battle with cancer to find his calling (by Sophia Briseno, ASU State Press/Feb. 12, 2018) -- How a terrifying diagnosis led Matt Hill to Arizona State (by Rob Werner, WCSN/Mar. 15, 2018) Arizona State University men's tennis named three-time American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Matt Hill as its head coach on June 29, 2016, and his aggressive scheduling and creative recruiting led ASU back to the NCAA Tournament in just his first season and the first at ASU since spring of 2008. On Thursday, July 20, 2023 the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced the 26 head coaches who have been elected to the Division I Men’s and Women’s Operating Committees. These coaches were chosen by their fellow ITA Member Coaches and will serve a three-year term that will span until June 2026. Matt Hill has been elected to the Division I Men's Operating Committee for the Southwest Region. In 2023, Hill led the Sun Devils to NCAA Regionals for the third time since 2019 while Murphy Cassone went to the NCAA Semifinals of Singles. A sophomore, Cassone is the first Sun Devil Men's Tennis All-American since Sargis Sargsian in 1995 and has qualified for the ITA/ATP Accelerator Program. Cassone was selected for the second summer in a row to the USTA Collegiate Summer Team. He finished the season being ranked No. 12 in the final ITA singles rankings and posted a 22-7 record, winning 11 of his last 12 matches to conclude the season, with nine of the 11 victories coming in straight sets. The Kansas Native found success in doubles, winning 15 matches during the season. Cassone also was nominated on the Pac-12 All-Conference First team after going 8-2 in singles play during the regular season, alongside teammate Max McKennon earning Pac-12 All-Conference second-team honors. 2022 was the year of Murphy Cassone, standout freshman for the Sun Devils. Hill led freshman Murphy Cassone to his first NCAA bid in the Singles Championships. This is the second consecutive season where Hill sent a player to the Singles Championships. Cassone was also named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, ITA Southwest Rookie of the year, and National ITA Rookie of the Year. He was also named to the USTA Collegiate Summer Team and qualified for the US Open. Hill and the Sun Devils ended the season with a 9-15 record and a 2-5 record in the Pac-12. These records included a 4-1 upset over No. 33 Texas Tech, a trio of upsets over No. 5 Baylor, and a pair of upsets over No. 21 Pepperdine. Pac-12 play included wins over California and Washington. In 2021, Hill brought the Sun Devils to the NCAA Regionals for the second time in three years, where Nathan Ponwith made it all the way to the Singles Championship. The Sun Devils made it to the second round of the Regionals after defeating No. 32 Wichita State in a close 4-3 dual. By the end of the season, Hill had four Devils compete in the ITA Southwest Regional and to the ITA Fall Championships. Hill and the Sun Devils reached a high of No.17 in the NCAA rankings and No. 5 In Pac-12 rankings throughout the season. The Sun Devils ended their season with a 17-9 record and a 3-4 Pac-12 record. Pac-12 play included wins over Utah, No.4/28 UCLA, and No. 1/23 Stanford. Their regular season included wins over No. 22 Pepperdine, No. 50 Tulsa and No. 28 Oklahoma. The 2020 season was cut short for Hill and the Sun Devils due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Before the season was cut short in mid-March, ASU played in 11 games with a 4-7 record and hosted seven of those. Even though the season was short, it included dominating wins over Grand Canyon (4-0), Northern Arizona (6-1) and Michigan State (7-0). In October of 2020, freshman Max McKennon competed in the French Open. The 2019 season was opened with a home tournament that included four teams from the 2018 NCAA Tournament. The season ended with an even 14-14 record and a 4-4 Pac-12 play record. The season included a handful of big wins, including those over No.13 Michigan and in-state rivals No. 25 Arizona. For the first time in his coaching career at ASU, Hill led his team to the NCAA Championship, where they made it to the second round after shutting out No. 33 Miami, 4-0. Matt Hill also hit his 100th career win at ASU when the Sun Devils defeated No. 41 San Diego in a nail-biting 4-3 win. Duo Ponwith and Kellovsky become the No. 9 duo in the country, which is the highest-ranked duo for ASU since 1991’s pair Gyetko and Lomicky. ASU finished 14-11 and 3-4 (fifth) in the Pac-12 as Hill put together one of the nation's best recruiting classes in his first year in Tempe. The class, ranked No. 5 in the country by Tennis Recruiting Network, was highlighted by international players Benjamin Hannestad, who had twice represented Denmark in the Davis Cup and Michaël Geerts, who held a 94-87 record on the professional circuit before joining the Sun Devils. ASU roared into conference play, netting a Blue Gray Tennis Classic title, becoming the first Pac-12 school to do so in one of the oldest collegiate tennis tournaments in the country. The Sun Devils defeated Alabama in the championship match, who made it all the way to the Sweet 16 as a team in the NCAA Tournament. Three Sun Devils were ranked at some point in the season, including Geerts who's No. 20 ranking for the final three weeks of the season secured him the best ranking by a Sun Devil since Sargis Sargsian in 1995. ASU earned a No. 20 ranking by ITA on Feb. 20 and was ranked every week from there on out including a season-high No. 13. The squad earned some head-turning singles victories as well, including Geerts' upsets over No. 1 Martin Redlicki and No. 2 Mikael Torpegaard to become one of only three players in the country to notch wins over the top-two ranked athletes. The Sun Devils earned a postseason nod as a team and Geerts also made the singles tournament. The team traveled to Texas A&M and fell to Baylor, but finished ranked No. 38 in the ITA rankings.   Get to know Coach Matt Hill ???? #CoachingResume pic.twitter.com/QFfsbx7s56 — Sun Devil M. Tennis (@SunDevilMTennis) May 19, 2017 Hill spent the previous four seasons as the head coach of the University of South Florida, leading the Bulls to three consecutive AAC team championships and a No. 17 final ranking in his final season. USF advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season in 2016 after qualifying just twice in 10 previous campaigns prior to Hill's arrival.   Prior to his time at South Florida, Hill had two successful stops at a pair of nationally ranked SEC programs in Mississippi State and Alabama. Hill will be the Sun Devil program's first head coach since Lou Belken led the program from 1983 through 2008.   "Matt is a very talented and well-rounded young coach. His record is one of great success wherever he has been," said Anderson at the time of his hire.  "He has an established history of developing young talent and recruiting high-character student-athletes that are successful both on and off the court. Matt has demonstrated an incredible work ethic and we are proud that he has decided to apply that ethic to the building of a championship-caliber program at Arizona State."   The 2016 Bulls reached a program-best ranking of No. 13 in the nation before finishing in the Top 20 at No. 17. Hill coached two-time All-American Roberto Cid to a ranking of No. 2 in the nation, the best ranking of any tennis player, men's or women's, in program history. USF also played one of the toughest schedules, notching 16 wins over ranked opponents and playing just four matches against unranked foes.   In 2015, Hill guided the Bulls to their best finish as USF advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament after winning their second-straight conference championship while Oliver Pramming earned Most Outstanding Player honors.   The Bulls won the inaugural American Athletic Conference tournament in 2014 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Hill coached Cid to the first-ever All-America honor in USF history as he made an impressive run in the NCAA singles tournament.   An accomplished recruiter, Hill took over the USF program and immediately brought in five players in his first recruiting class that were either ranked among the top 100 juniors in the world or had already earned professional ATP points. His 2013 and 2016 recruiting classes were both ranked in the top 10 in the nation.   Hill was also active in the academic and developmental success of the USF program. His 2015 squad was awarded the AAC Academic Excellence Award for having the highest GPA among team sports in the conference. His teams were consistently among the top performing academic programs at USF, finishing with the highest GPA among all men's teams in 2016.   Additionally, Hill oversaw the start of a capital fundraising campaign geared toward a $3 million renovation of the tennis facility and personally helped secure over half a million dollars toward that goal.   "I'm incredibly honored and humbled at the opportunity to restart the Sun Devil men's tennis program. There are many great players that have competed at Arizona State in the past and I think everyone, including myself, is incredibly excited to get this program back where it was and to take it to new heights as well," Hill said. "I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity and the trust that Ray Anderson, Don Bocchi and Scottie Graham have shown me and I look forward to getting started."   During Hill's five years as an assistant coach at Mississippi State, he helped the Bulldogs improve from a No. 58 ranking in 2008 and a No. 72 ranking in 2009 to top 20 finishes in his final two seasons, including a No. 11 final ranking in 2012 – the program's best finish since 1998.The Bulldogs posted the program's best record (20-7) since that same 1998 squad went 21-5.   Mississippi State went 9-2 in the powerful Southeastern Conference, finishing third in the league, and successfully defending the SEC Western Division title. The Bulldogs defeated 14 teams ranked in the top 50 and seven in the top 25 en route to earning an NCAA bid.   MSU earned a No. 20 final ranking in 2011 after producing a 14-9 record, while winning the SEC Western Division title with an 8-3 mark. Hill was instrumental in helping five Bulldogs to All-SEC honors, while supporting Per Nilsson to SEC Coach of the Year honors. He was recognized for his efforts by being named ITA Southern Region Assistant Coach of the Year and SEC Assistant Coach of the Year.   Hill's recruiting prowess shined with the Bulldogs as he served as the team's recruiting coordinator, bringing in seven players that were either ranked in the top 100 among the world's juniors or became ranked in the top 125 players in the country upon arriving at Mississippi State. His 2009 recruiting class was ranked 13th in the nation.      While at MSU, Hill and the Bulldog staff had one of just three programs with five singles players ranked in the Top-75 nationally while his efforts in promoting the team helped grow the fan base by over 600 percent with the Bulldogs ranked in the top 5 nationally in average attendance during the 2009 and 2011 seasons.   Prior to joining the Bulldogs' staff, Hill served as a volunteer assistant coach at Alabama for two seasons. He helped the Crimson Tide improve from a No. 56 final ranking the season before he joined the staff to a No. 14 ranking in 2007, his second year with the program. Hill helped coach five nationally ranked players and helped Alabama reach two NCAA Tournaments during his stint, including a trip to the round of 16 in 2007.   A native of Holt, MI, Hill earned a degree in business marketing with a specialization in professional tennis management from Ferris State University in 2005 and a master's degree in human performance from Alabama in 2007. Also a member of the tennis team while at Ferris State, Hill helped lead the Bulldogs to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals for the first time in school history.   Adding to his credentials, Hill is a member of the USTA High Performance Coaching Program, and has coached the Zonals National Team for the Southern Section during the summer. Hill is a Level I USPTA Professional with a Specialization in Competitive Player Development.  He also previously served on the board for the USTA Collegiate Team Committee to help increase tennis affinity across all college campuses in the South. YEAR-BY-YEAR WITH MATT HILL 2023: 14-12/2-6 in Pac-12 (NCAA Regionals, Cambridge) 2022: 9-15/2-5 in Pac-12 2021: 17-9/3-4 in Pac-12 (NCAA Regionals, Fort Worth) 2020: 4-7 before season canceled due to COVID-19 2019: 14-14/4-4 in Pac-12 (NCAA Regionals, Fort Worth) 2018: 14-11/3-4 in Pac-12/5th (first year at Arizona State) 2016: 21-9 (final season at South Florida) 2015: 22-7 2014: 19-7 2013: 12-10 2012: 8-14   ABOUT @SUNDEVILMTENNIS  In May of 2016, Ray Anderson announced the immediate reinstatement of the men's tennis program through a lead gift of $1M from he and his wife, Buffie, to bring the total of varsity-sponsored sports at ASU to 26. Arizona State added four programs over 18 months. In addition to men's tennis, Arizona State elevated its National Championship-winning club ice hockey team to NCAA-status and added women's lacrosse and the emerging sport of women's triathlon.   In addition to several other high-profile collaborations, ASU and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), the governing body for collegiate tennis, announced a strategic alliance that will collaboratively leverage resources to grow the sport of tennis locally, nationally, and globally. The ITA moved its headquarters from Princeton, N.J. to the ASU Tempe Campus.