Aaron Paajanen (Pie-ya-nen) is in his sixth season as the head men’s tennis coach at Utah State, as he was hired on July 22, 2019.
During the 2023-24 season, Paajanen led the team to clinch the program's fourth Mountain West regular season title, posting an overall record of 18-5 and a conference record of 5-1. The team received numerous accolades, including Freshman of the Year for Mohammad Alkotop. Graduate senior Bodin Zarkovic was named to the All-MW singles and doubles teams, while senior Stijn Paardekooper earned spots on the All-MW singles, doubles, and All-Tournament singles teams. Additionally, Alkotop and junior Sergi Micó Fenollar were named to the All-MW singles team, sophomore Nuno Pinheiro was named to the All-MW doubles team, and Alkotop and Martirosian were named to the All-Tournament doubles team. Throughout the season, the Aggies were ranked in the top 100 nationally since February 20, reaching as high as 53rd after achieving a 7-1 record in non-conference matches.
In the 2022-23 season, he posted an overall record of 12-13 and 3-3 in conference to finish tied for third in the Mountain West Conference. Under Paajanen, seniors Bodin Zarkovic and David Cierny were named to the All-MW Singles and Doubles teams. In the conference tournament, he led the Aggies to the finals. They beat UNLV 4-3 to advance to the semifinals and beat the number one seed New Mexico 4-3 to advance to the finals.
In the 2021-22 season, Paajenen led the Aggies to an 11-12 overall record, including a 4-2 mark in Mountain West play to finish second in the conference. Under Paajanen's tutelage, juniors David Cierny and Bodin Zarkovic were each named to the All-MW Singles and Doubles teams. USU also had seven players receive Academic All-MW honors while six players were named Mountain West Scholar-Athletes.
In his second season at the helm of the program, the Aggies bounced back from the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. Paajanen led USU to a 12-8 overall record, going 3-4 in Mountain West action. Three Utah State players earned all-Mountain West honors. Sergiu Bucur and Felipe Acosta were both named to the all-conference singles team, while the duo of Acosta and Javier Ruiz received doubles accolades.
During the 2019-20 campaign, the Aggies finished with a 3-11 record as the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Paanjanen guided Sergiu Bucur to earn all-Mountain West honors in singles after he went 8-10 overall, including a 7-7 record in dual match play.
The Aggies were successful in the classroom as well, as five student-athletes earned academic all-MW honors, three were named MW Scholar-Athletes and five were named ITA Scholar-Athletes.
Paajanen came to Logan after four years at Detroit Mercy, where he oversaw both the men’s and women’s tennis programs. Paajanen led the Titan men to a program-record 15 victories in 2018, capturing UDM’s first Horizon League in men’s tennis in program history. Individual accolades followed for Paajanen, as he was named the 2018 Horizon League Coach of the Year, also the first in Titan tennis history. Under his watch, the Detroit Mercy men improved every year, winning 11 matches in 2017, an eight-match improvement from the previous year, to the program-record 15 wins in 2018. By his third year, the Titan men combined to go 24-4 in conference singles with a pair of players earning all-league honors.
In his first season with the women at Detroit Mercy, Paajanen coached one of his players to a perfect 9-0 record in Horizon League action, while a second earned second-team all-Horizon League honors in her senior season.
Prior to Detroit Mercy, Paajanen was an assistant coach at Santa Clara for two years, helping the Broncos climb as high as No. 42 nationally during the 2013-14 season. During his tenure, two players were ranked in the top-20 in singles in the Northwest Region, while six student-athletes earned all-conference accolades. Paajanen was also instrumental in helping the Broncos build a 2014-15 recruiting class that was ranked No. 12 in the nation and No. 1 among mid-major programs.
Paajanen began his Division I coaching career at Loyola Marymount, where he spent four seasons as an assistant coach. There, he helped his players to eight all-West Coast Conference honors and a number of victories over nationally-ranked opponents.
Paajanen cut his coaching teeth at Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix, Ariz., as an assistant coach under the direction of his father and longtime coach Jim Paajanen on the men’s side and his mother, Barbara, on the women’s side.
As a player, Paajanen began his career at Glendale (Ariz.) Community College under head coach Greg Prudhomme, and was ranked as high as No. 33 in the NJCAA in singles. Paajanen then spent his sophomore season at Cowley College (Arkansas City, Kan.) under head coach Larry Grose, earning NJCAA All-American honors before finishing his career at Point Loma Nazarene, where he was named a team captain and graduated with a degree in kinesiology.