LOGAN, Utah – Utah State head men's tennis coach
Aaron Paajanen has been named the Mountain West Coach of the Year the league announced on Thursday.
In his seventh season at the helm, Paajanen led the Aggies on an undefeated run through conference play to win the MW regular season title before winning three matches in three days to also claim the MW tournament title, earning the program's third-ever bid to the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship.
Paajanen helped five Aggies earn spots on the all-MW teams as
Jean-Baptiste Badon,
Xavier Calvelo and
Roman Venger all earned spots on the singles team while Badon and
Dmitri Goubin plus Calvelo and
Jakub Medved received nods to the doubles team. USU's five all-conference honorees are tied for the most by the team in a single year alongside the 2024 season.
USU set a program record this season with a streak of six-consecutive sweeps, including five to begin MW play, and has climbed to 51st in the ITA Rankings, the program's highest ranking since the end of the 2018 season. The Aggies also posted an undefeated record at home for the first time since 2018.
Paajanen joins former Aggie coaches Clancy Shields (2016) and James Wilson (2018) as the only coach of the year winners in program history.
Up Next
The Aggies head into the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship with a first-round matchup at No. 9 Oklahoma on Friday, May 1, at 3 p.m. (MT). Should USU win, they would face the winner between Duke and USC on Saturday, May 2, at 4 p.m. (MT).
Fans can follow USU's men's tennis team on Twitter @USUMensTennis, on Facebook at /UtahStateMensTennis or on Instagram at USUMensTennis. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.
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