Jordan Szabo - Women's Tennis Coach - Texas A&M Athletics

COLLEGE STATION, TX - 20220127 - Texas A&M Aggies Women's Tennis vs. Prairie View A&M Panthers

Photo by: Sydney Morriss/Texas A&M Athletics

Jordan Szabo

Title:
Assistant Coach
E-Mail:
jszabo@athletics.tamu.edu

Jordan Szabo will begin his second season as associate head coach and seventh season overall with the women's tennis program. Szabo lettered for the Aggie men’s tennis squad in four seasons from 2012-15. Through his first five years with the A&M women’s team, Szabo has helped guide the Aggies to winning seasons and NCAA Tournament appearances in every year of his tenure, including a National Quarterfinal finish in the 2022 and 2023 season. He also played a key role in the development of A&M All-Americans Tatiana Makarova, Jayci Goldsmith and Carson Branstine, helping guide the trio to six combined ITA All-America designations in a two-year span.

Following an illustrious playing career with the Maroon & White, Szabo elected to begin his coaching career at Texas A&M. After serving one year as a student assistant under Aggie men’s tennis coach Steve Denton, Szabo accepted an assistant coaching position with the Texas Tech Red Raiders men’s program before ultimately returning to Aggieland as a women’s tennis assistant under head coach Mark Weaver. Since his return to the Brazos Valley, Szabo was named the ITA Texas Region Assistant Coach of the Year and an ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year finalist in 2019. Following a program-record 33-2 campaign in 2022, Szabo was named the ITA Texas Region Assistant Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, eventually taking home the ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year award later in the offseason. In 2023, after another undefeated SEC regular season run, Szabo earned back-to-back ITA Texas Region Assistant Coach of the Year and ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year honors.

An exceptional recruiting coordinator under Weaver, Szabo played a key role in signing three top-three recruiting classes in each of A&M’s last three cycles. The Aggies landed the No. 2 group in 2018 followed by yet another No. 2 class in 2021 according to the Tennis Recruiting Network spring rankings. The Aggies’ most recent signing class in 2022 took home the No. 3 ranking according to TRN and featured a pair of athletes with Universal Tennis Ratings above 10.40. He is responsible for signing seven blue-chip prospects, also adding five-star American players and impressive international talent to bolster A&M’s roster.

Jordan Alexander Szabo was born in Melbourne, Australia, in the summer of 1991 to Sandra and Alex Szabo. His tennis career began at an early age, as there were a number of local tennis courts located behind his home. His love for the game blossomed, and he eventually began training with the national tennis academy through the Tennis Australia Federation. Szabo advanced to the Round of 16 in the Australian Open Juniors and finished his youth career rated as one of the top-five players in Australia. Szabo married Grace Wright, a former member of the Texas A&M soccer team, in the summer of 2022.

While a student-athlete at Texas A&M, Szabo was a part of 82 dual match victories from 2012-15. The Aggies secured four NCAA Tournament trips during his career, highlighted by an NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2015 and a NCAA Sweet 16 berth in 2013. A&M also captured the 2015 Southeastern Conference regular season championship in addition to the 2014 and 2015 SEC Tournament titles and 2013 SEC Western Division crown. Szabo picked up 73 doubles victories fueled by a trio of 20-win seasons and highlighted by a final No. 56 doubles ranking with Jeremy Efferding in 2015, qualifying for the NCAA Doubles championships in the process. Szabo tallied 56 singles wins for the Aggies over the course of his collegiate tenure. He earned 2014 SEC All-Tournament Team honors after he clinched the deciding points from the No. 6 singles position against South Carolina during the quarterfinal round and Florida in the championship match.

Szabo served as a student assistant coach for the Aggies in 2016. Texas A&M picked up 27 wins before dropping a 4-3 decision to Texas in the NCAA Tournament Second Round. He has worked alongside multiple Aggie men’s tennis legends, including Austin Krajicek, who advanced to the Men’s Doubles Final in the 2022 French Open.

Following his graduation from Texas A&M in 2016 with a degree in sport management, Szabo spent the 2016-17 season as the assistant coach for the Texas Tech men's tennis program. He helped direct the Red Raiders to the 2017 Big 12 Tournament championship match as Texas Tech knocked off both No. 6 Baylor and No. 8 Oklahoma State before falling to No. 4 TCU. Szabo helped guide Jolan Callieau to All-America honors after reaching the NCAA Individual Championship Singles Round of 16, becoming only the fourth Red Raider to earn All-America status. The Red Raiders' doubles team of Bjorn Thomson and Connor Curry competed in the NCAA Doubles Championship and was No. 18 in the final doubles rankings under Szabo’s tutelage.

After joining Weaver’s staff with the Texas A&M women’s tennis program, Szabo hit the ground running as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in the 2017-18 season. On the court, the Aggies finished 17-11 and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. Off the court, Szabo helped bring in one of the nation’s best recruiting classes and put the Aggies in position for a stellar 2019 season. A&M finished with a 24-8 record and landed both Goldsmith and Katya Townsend on the All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Freshman team. The Maroon & White upset the Texas Longhorns on the road in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in a 4-1 affair to reach the Round of 16 for the first time in Szabo’s assistant coaching career.

Texas A&M began the 2020 season with high hopes, but the season was unfortunately cut short due to the developing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. The Aggies had a relatively successful season, finishing 13-4 overall with postseason play cancelled. Szabo, alongside the Maroon & White looked to rebound in 2021, and they did so with a 21-8 overall record, undefeated record in SEC home matches, and a trip to the SEC Tournament Championship Match for the first time in program history. A&M capped off its stellar season with a trip to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 and saw both Makarova and Goldsmith earn ITA All-America honors in doubles while Makarova also drew All-America laurels in singles. Szabo played a key role in coaching the Moscow, Russia, native Makarova, who made history in 2021 by joining Rachel Pierson as A&M’s only letter-winner to earn All-America designation in both singles and doubles in the same season.

The Aggies followed their 2021 campaign up with the most dominant season in program history, amassing a 33-2 overall record with a perfect 13-0 mark in league play. Szabo was a part of the only coaching staff in A&M history to record multiple victories against SEC-powerhouse programs Florida, Georgia and Vanderbilt in a single season. The Aggies’ stunning 7-0 defeat of Georgia on the road in Athens propelled A&M to its highest ranking since falling in the National Championship match in 2013. In addition, Szabo helped guide the Maroon & White to its second-best NCAA Tournament finish in program annals, reaching the National Quarterfinals. In the postseason, Makarova and Goldsmith were named ITA Doubles All-Americans for the second time in their careers, while Branstine took home her first ITA Singles All-America honor. Szabo’s support of Weaver was rewarded by the ITA in the postseason, as Szabo became A&M’s second national award winner by taking home the 2022 ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year award.

*Last Updated 8/31/23