Nick Crowell

University of Oklahoma

Team:men

Nick Crowell was named the head men’s tennis coach at the University of Oklahoma by OU Vice President and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione in July of 2016.

In five seasons at the helm for the Sooners, Crowell has compiled a record of 76-46 and has led OU to four NCAA tournament berths while coaching three players to All-America honors.

In 2020-21, Crowell led the Sooners to the program’s 11th consecutive NCAA tournament berth while guiding three players to All-Big 12 honors.

OU kicked off the season with a 4-0 upset of then-No. 12 Wake Forest, marking the first time any team had swept the Demon Deacons since 2016, when the Sooners did so in the NCAA tournament. The team’s signature win came as a 4-1 rout of No. 15 Arizona, who would go on to finish third in a strong Pac-12 conference.

Junior Mason Beiler and sophomore Alex Martinez capped the year with All-Big 12 singles second team honors. Martinez also garnered doubles second team honors alongside freshman Nathan Han, in addition to claiming the No. 3 position title by virtue of completing the rigorous Big 12 slate at 5-0.

A program record-tying six Sooners earned Academic All-Big 12 honors, with Mason Beiler, Mark Mandlik, Matt Rodriguez, Justin Schlageter, Max Stewart and Jake Van Emburgh all securing first team accolades.

Though the 2019-20 season ended roughly halfway through the slated schedule due to COVID-19, Crowell’s Sooners got off to an 11-4 start. OU went undefeated (5-0) during the month of February, beginning with a 5-2 rout of then-No. 24 Kentucky on the road and punctuating the month with a 4-3 upset of No. 15 Florida State at the USTA National Campus
in Orlando, Fla.

Under Crowell’s tutelage, sophomore Mason Beiler was named ITA Central Region Player to Watch while freshman Mark Mandlik earned Rookie of the Year honors. Additionally, Beiler, Jochen Bertsch and Max Stewart were all named to the Academic All-Big 12 first team.

In 2018-19, Crowell guided the Sooners to their 10th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and their sixth Sweet 16 a in seven seasons as OU went 17-11.

During the 2019 season, OU played one of the toughest schedules in the nation and downed eight ranked opponents, including an upset of then-No. 13 Texas A&M in the NCAA second round.

Crowell led three players to All-Big 12 honors: Spencer Papa and Alex Bakshi in singles and Bakshi and Stefano Tsorotiotis in doubles. Under Crowell's tutelage, Papa and Bakshi qualified for NCAA singles tournament and Bakshi and Tsorotiotis punched their tickets for the doubles championships to mark the third consecutive season OU has sent multiple players to the individual championships.

Crowell coached three players to ITA Central Region honors as Papa was named Senior Player of the Year; Jake Van Emburgh was tabbed Player to Watch; and Mason Beiler was Rookie of the Year. Additionally, Crowell earned his second ITA Central Region Coach of the Year award after receiving the honor in 2018.

Under Crowell, the Sooners posted a perfect APR score and four OU players earned Academic All-Big 12 accolades.

During the 2017-18 season, Crowell recruited and rotated nine new players in the lineup after graduating the majority of the team the previous season and finished 20-6 overall, tying for the ninth most wins in a season in program history. Despite being projected to finish sixth in the conference after Papa suffered an injury prior to the start of the season, the Sooners flourished in the face of adversity and finished tied for second place in the Big 12.

OU’s signature win in 2018 came as a thrilling 4-3 victory over then-No.5 Texas A&M, who went on to clinch the SEC regular season title, in a match played at the USTA National Campus. The Sooners also upset No. 14 Oklahoma State in the final contest of the regular season, taking down in-state rival, 4-3, on the road. The win was one of just two Big 12 matches in 2018 in which the visiting team came out on top.

Under Crowell’s tutelage, newcomer Alex Bakshi and freshman Jake Van Emburgh collectively brought home all three of the Big 12 Conference’s player awards: Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year, marking the first time in conference history that one school earned all three titles.

Crowell coached Bakshi to ITA Central Region Player to Watch honors, the award given to a nationally or regionally ranked player who is anticipated to be one of the top returning regional players the following year. Van Emburgh earned ITA Rookie of the Year honors after posting the most wins of any OU player and going undefeated in conference action in his debut season.

Crowell led the Sooners to their ninth straight NCAA tournament berth and hosted their ninth consecutive NCAA Regional at the Headington Family Tennis Center. He also guided newcomer Ferran Calvo to an NCAA singles berth, and Bakshi to a second round finish in the NCAA singles tournament.

In 2016-17, Crowell coached the Sooners to a 17-11 record and an NCAA round of 16 finish in his first year at Oklahoma. Crowell guided Alex Ghilea to All-America honors, with Ghilea making a run to the quarterfinals of the NCAA singles championships as just the second Sooner to do so. The Neamt, Romania, native beat three top-25 opponents, including two in the top-10, during his run, and ended his career with 100 singles wins, tying him for third in program history in singles wins.

Under Crowell’s tutelage, Spencer Papa and Andrew Harris brought home OU’s first individual title in tennis with the NCAA doubles national championship. Papa and Harris’ magic title run included victories over teams ranked No. 23, No. 6, No. 3, No. 4, before capping the championship by beating the No. 1 pair in the nation, Georgia’s Robert Loeb and Jan Zielinski, on their home court.

Papa and Harris finished the season ranked No. 1 in the final ITA doubles release, and earned All-American status, as well as being named ITA All-Stars. By virtue of the championship, the duo earned a wildcard entry into the 2017 US Open doubles draw.

Following his collegiate career, Andrew Harris has gone on to play at Wimbledon (2019), the US Open (2019) and earned a wildcard into the singles main draw at the Australian Open (2020) in his hometown of Melbourne.
Crowell’s players have gone on to earn 119 professional titles.

Prior to his arrival in Norman, Crowell spent 13 years as an assistant coach and associate head coach at Florida State University where he helped lead the Seminoles to the NCAA tournament in each of those seasons.

Crowell, who was promoted from assistant to associate head coach in 2008 after five years with the Seminoles, has been named the Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year three times in his career, the most recent coming after the 2015 season when he helped lead FSU to its most wins since 2009.

Crowell developed some of the nation's top collegiate talent while at Florida State. In 2016 he helped FSU seniors Benjamin Lock and Marco Nunez cap remarkable careers. Lock ranked in the ITA Top 10, the first Seminole since 2009 to reach that mark, while becoming just the third singles player in school history to earn All-America honors. In doubles, Lock and Nunez ranked in the Top 20 much of the year and finished at No. 24. Under the guidance of Crowell, the pair beat three of the top five teams in the country. At season's end, Lock was named the country's Most Improved Player by the ITA, a first for a Seminole athlete. Lock also reach a career-high ATP ranking of 695 under Crowell. In total, players Crowell coached at Florida State have gone on to win 63 professional titles at the Challenger and Futures level.

In 2009 Crowell helped coach the second Florida State doubles tandem to ever earn All-America honors in Connor Smith and Vahid Mirzadeh. Crowell coached a total of six All-Americans during his tenure at Florida State.

Crowell also has experience in the junior ranks. In 2010 he coached the Florida USTA Under-18 Team to a national championship. The win marked the first time since 1983 that the Florida team had won the prestigious tournament. His team's triumph over two of the top three ranked teams was described as one of the greatest upsets in 25 years. For his efforts he was named the USTA Florida Junior Coach of the Year.

A native of Amarillo, Texas, Crowell spent his playing days at the University of Texas. He was a two-time All-American in doubles and won the ITA National Indoor Championship in doubles with partner Michael Blue during his senior season. He finished his career with 98 doubles victories.

Crowell is married to the former Lindsey Smith and the couple has a daughter and two sons.