STATESBORO - Andrew Goodwin, a rising star in the collegiate coaching ranks, has been named the next head men's tennis coach at Georgia Southern, as announced today by Director of Athletics Jared Benko. 

"I'm excited to welcome Andrew to Georgia Southern," Benko said. "I had the good fortune of working alongside Andrew at Mississippi State and saw firsthand how talented of a coach and leader he is. He is frequently mentioned as one of the elite assistant tennis coaches in the country, and he has earned this opportunity to lead his own program. As a native of Georgia, he also has tremendous ties in the state and is excited to come back home. We hit a home run with this hire!"

"First off, I would like to thank Jared Benko, Chris Davis and Brandy Clouse for trusting me to lead the men's tennis program," Goodwin said. "The energy and excitement in the Georgia Southern Athletics Department is contagious. I am ready to give everything I have to this team, this staff, and this incredible university. Hail Southern!"

Goodwin comes to Statesboro from the University of Tulsa, where he served as the associate head coach for the Golden Hurricane for the 2022-23 season. The team finished the year with 11 victories and a ranking of No. 55 in the ITA Division I National Rankings. Included in the 11 wins for Tulsa were victories over No. 38 Oklahoma State and No. 58 South Florida.

Before being promoted to associate head coach in October of 2022, Goodwin assisted the Golden Hurricane in 2021-22, helping Tulsa to a 15-12 overall record and a No. 44 national ranking. He helped tutor American Athletic Conference Player of the Year Kody Pearson that season.

Goodwin's coaching experience includes assistant coaching stops at Charlotte, Alabama, Mississippi State and Michigan while with additional work on the USTA Player Development Staff.

In the 2020-21 season, Charlotte won 13 matches and advanced to the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament. Senior Ignasi de Rueda, who finished the season ranked No. 77 in the Oracle/ITA National Singles Rankings, and junior Henry Lieberman were both named to the All-Conference USA First Team for singles.

In the 2019-20 season, Goodwin's first back in Tuscaloosa as a coach, Goodwin helped the Tide to an 11-5 overall record and No. 26 national team ranking before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team reached a season-high No. 17 ranking on March 3. 

Goodwin joined the Crimson Tide after spending the previous two seasons as the assistant coach of Mississippi State. Before then, he spent one season as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Michigan.

Goodwin immediately made an impact on the Bulldog program, continuing the team's established momentum from recent years. In the 2017-18 season, State realized its most success overall in 20-plus seasons, making the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time since 1998 and claiming the SEC Tournament crown for the first time since 1996. The Bulldogs had three All-Americans in the 2017-18 and numerous other team and individual honors.

The following year, Goodwin helped State continue its winning ways, helping guide the Maroon and White to its second straight SEC Tournament crown. That team bested its overall mark from his first year on staff, going 24-4 and reaching the NCAA Round of 16. Individually, the Bulldogs had four All-Americans in the 2018-19 season, along with a host of other team and individual accolades, including Nuno Borges earning ITA National Player of the Year. Goodwin was recognized as the ITA Southern Region Assistant of the Year for his efforts.

Goodwin went to Starkville after spending a season as a volunteer assistant on Coach Adam Steinberg's staff at the University of Michigan. In Ann Arbor, he helped guide a squad that finished 23-7 overall and 9-2 in Big Ten play in 2016-17, while the team also finished the campaign ranked 25th nationally.

Upon completing his collegiate playing career at Alabama during the 2014-15 season, Goodwin served as an undergraduate assistant for the Crimson Tide in the fall of 2015 and then as a volunteer coach for the spring 2016 campaign.

In addition to his stints at collegiate institutions, Goodwin has served with the USTA in a pair of roles. In the summer of 2016, he worked with USTA Player Development, where he learned under numerous national coaches and assisted with the USTA Collegiate Team. In June 2017, he had the opportunity to work with the USTA Collegiate National Team coaching top American college players on the ITF Futures circuit.

Goodwin began his collegiate tennis career at Southern Miss, playing two seasons before transferring to Alabama. He won more than 90 collegiate matches in his four seasons of play at the two schools. 

He kicked off his freshman season at USM with a bang, holding a 22-7 overall singles record, 19-3 in dual matches, highlighted by a pair of eight-match win streaks. He built on that success as a sophomore, leading the Golden Eagles in singles and doubles, winning 25 and 19, respectively. In dual match play, he compiled a 16-7 mark in singles and went 11-9 in doubles, with 10 of those victories coming at the No. 1 position.

With the Crimson Tide, Goodwin quickly established himself as one of the team's best players and earned the team's Tenacity Award for his outstanding work ethic as a senior. In his two seasons in Tuscaloosa, he compiled a 30-24 record, including a 12-6 ledger at the No. 6 spot. In his junior season, he won 13 singles matches and 11 in doubles.

Goodwin excelled in the classroom, being twice named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll during his time in Hattiesburg. He also received a Conference USA Academic Medal, awarded to student-athletes with GPAs of 3.75 or higher, and was named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete. Goodwin continued his off-court success at Alabama as a member of the 2014 and 2015 SEC Academic Honor Roll and the 2015 SEC Community Service Team. 

Goodwin teamed up with Vikram Hundal as a player after college to win the doubles crown at the U.S. Open National Playoffs Southern Sectional Qualifying Tournament in June 2016.

A native of Alpharetta, Georgia, Goodwin graduated from Alabama with a degree in finance and economics in 2015.

The hiring is pending a successful background check.
 

The Goodwin File

2023-Present: Head Coach, Georgia Southern
2022-23: Associate Head Coach, Tulsa
2021-22: Assistant Coach, Tulsa
2020-21: Assistant Coach, Charlotte
2019-20: Volunteer Assistant Coach, Alabama
2017-19: Assistant Coach, Mississippi State
2016-17: Volunteer Assistant Coach, Michigan
2015-16: Undergraduate/Volunteer Assistant Coach, Alabama