James Wilson is in his third season at Utah State after being named the head coach on June 10, 2016.
During the 2018-19 campaign, Wilson led the Aggies to a 19-9 record for the second consecutive season, including a 6-1 ledger in Mountain West play. Individually, freshman Isaac Arevalo Gómez earned all-MW honors in singles play under Wilson’s coaching, as well as being named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year, the first time in program history an Aggie has earned Freshman of the Year honors. Arevalo Gómez also earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Mountain Region Rookie of the Year, and became the highest ranked Aggie in program history as he was ranked No. 111 by the ITA on March 5. Sophomore Jose Carvajal and freshman Rithvik Bollipalli earned earn both all-MW doubles honors, while Caravajal joined Arevalo Gómez with all-MW singles honors.
Wilson was named the 2017-18 Mountain West Coach of the Year after coaching USU to its third-straight Mountain West regular season title, as well as the team's second consecutive Mountain West Tournament title and team appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Wilson coached Utah State to its highest ITA ranking in program history at No. 37. The Aggies' season ended with a 4-1 loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 8 TCU, putting Utah State's record at 19-9 overall and 7-0 in conference play.
Individually, senior Jaime Barajas and sophomore Sergiu Bucur earned all-MW honors in singles play under Wilson's coaching. Barajas and freshman Jose Carvajal also earned all-MW honors in doubles. The Aggies also had success in the classroom as senior Andrew Nakajima and freshmen Felipe Acosta, Carvajal, Valdemar Holm and Addy Vashistha all earned academic all-MW honors. Acosta and Vashistha were both named Mountain West Scholar-Athletes and ITA Scholar-Athletes. Acosta, Carvajal, Nakajima, Vashistha and junior Austin Bass were each named Joe E. and Elma Whiteside Scholar-Athletes.
Wilson led Utah State to unprecedented success in his first season, coaching the Aggies to their second consecutive Mountain West regular season title, the team’s first-ever Mountain West Tournament title and a team appearance in the NCAA Tournament, another first in school history. The year came to a close with a 4-2 loss against No. 21 Northwestern, putting the Aggies at 23-9 overall and 6-1 in league play. The 23 victories were the most in school history.
Individually, sophomore Samuel Serrano and junior Kai Wehnelt earned all-MW honors in both singles and doubles under Wilson’s tutelage. The Aggies were also successful in the classroom as junior Andrew Nakajim, sophomore Jonas Maier and senior Jack Swindells all earned academic all-MW accolades. Swindells received two more academic honors, earning Mountain West Scholar-Athlete and ITA Scholar-Athlete kudos. Nakajima, Swindells, sophomore Austin Bass and senior Daneil Echeverry were named USU Whiteside Scholar-Athletes, rounding out the academic awards during the year.
Wilson came to Utah State after three years as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Texas Tech, helping the Red Raiders to three NCAA Tournament appearances and a national ranking as high as No. 6 in 2016. During his time in Lubbock, Texas Tech compiled a dual-match record of 60-26 and had numerous student-athletes in national rankings, including the No. 19-ranked singles player Felipe Soares and the No.12-ranked doubles tandem of Soares and Hugo Dojas. Soares was ranked as high as No. 8 in singles during the year and won the ITA National Indoors doubles title with Dojas in November, 2015.
Prior to his three-year tenure at Texas Tech, Wilson was an assistant coach at UNLV during the 2012-13 season, helping lead the Rebels to a 17-7 dual-match record, which was a 10-match improvement from the previous season when UNLV went 7-16. Wilson was also an assistant coach at William & Mary during the 2011-12 season, helping the Tribe to victories over such teams as Georgetown, Syracuse, Wake Forest and Wisconsin.
Wilson began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant with the men’s and women’s teams at Texas Tech, following his three years as a student-athlete with the Red Raiders. Wilson was a two-year team captain at Texas Tech and the Red Raiders were 47-28 overall and advanced to three NCAA Tournaments during his collegiate career.
Wilson earned his degree in psychology from Texas Tech in 2009 and worked toward his master’s degree in exercise and sports psychology, while serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the Red Raiders’ tennis programs. He was a member of the President’s honor list, the National Scholastic Honor Society, Big 12 Honor Roll and the Commissioner’s Honor Roll during his collegiate career.