John Roddick announced his resignation today after seven years as director of tennis and head men’s tennis coach at UCF.
Roddick’s tenure featured an overall record of 93-62 (.600), three NCAA Championship appearances (2017, 2019, 2021) and an American Athletic Conference title in 2021. That 2021 campaign included a 22-4 record, a fifth consecutive winning season, and a second-round NCAA appearance after the Knights’ first NCAA victory.
Knight squads under Roddick’s direction also qualified two players for the NCAA singles bracket—Korey Lovett in 2017 and Gabriel Decamps in 2019 and 2021. UCF saw three pairings make the NCAA doubles bracket—Lovett and Eero Vasa in 2018, Bogdan Pavel and Trey Hildebrand in 2019 and 2021, then Pavel with Lleyton Cronje in 2023. Roddick-coached players achieved five All-America honors via NCAA singles and doubles play.
Roddick also had oversight for the UCF women’s squad that produced a pair of AAC crowns and five NCAA Championship team appearances over those same seven seasons.
“I would like to thank Terry Mohajir and Danny White for the opportunity to represent UCF,” said Roddick. “It was an exciting time to be at UCF and witness the trajectory of UCF athletics. I am grateful to all of my players who worked so hard to put UCF tennis on the map. I’m very proud of all of those guys.”
“We’re extremely grateful for all that John has done with both our tennis programs,” said Terry Mohajir, UCF vice president and director of athletics. “He helped our men’s squads achieve new accomplishments in terms of NCAA success. We wish him all the best in his next chapter.
Roddick’s youthful 2023 men’s roster with seven freshmen still produced three All-AAC selections in singles—Pavel, Cronje and rookie Yassine Dlimi, as well as an all-league doubles pairing. That came after a trio of all-conference doubles picks in 2022--Cronje, Hilderbrand and Pavel. The ’23 team advanced to the AAC semifinals.
UCF’s 22 victories in 2021 marked the highest Knight win total as a Division I program and one of three 22-plus win seasons in team history. A dozen of those wins came over ranked opponents and 14 victories were consecutive, leading UCF into the second round of the NCAA Championship. The team also achieved its highest ranking in program history at No. 9.
Decamps repeated as an All-American in singles in 2021 as the first Knight to be named All-American more than once. He became the first UCF player to go beyond the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship, reaching the quarterfinals. Hilderbrand and Pavel were tabbed as All-Americans in doubles, while Roddick was named AAC Coach of the Year as the first UCF men's tennis head coach to earn a league honor since 2005.
A shortened 2020 season saw one of the team’s best starts in program history before it came to a halt due to COVID-19. It saw UCF rise to its highest ranking in program history at the time at No. 22. The 10-3 mark was the best start in 17 years. After a fall runner-up team finish at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American event, Decamps went 21-8 in singles and became the first singles All-American in program history.
Roddick’s third campaign in 2019 featured the No. 8 recruiting class in the country. The Knights returned to the NCAA Championship as an at-large selection for the second time in three years after being edged in the AAC championship match.
In 2018 Roddick’s team knocked off four ranked opponents during the year, led by the doubles team of Lovett and Vasa. That duo achieved a 15-2 mark at No. 1 doubles and climbed to a school-record No. 3 ranking in the Oracle/ITA poll. They also became the first doubles team in program history to earn a spot at the NCAA Men’s Doubles Championship, where they reached the Round of 16. At season’s end, they were named ITA Doubles All-Americans, a UCF first.
In his first season with the Knights in 2017, Roddick guided the UCF to a 16-7 record, as his Knights defeated four ranked teams. The Knights earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship, their first appearance since 2005. Lovett became the first player in program history to be selected for the NCAA Men's Singles Championship.
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Roddick was named UCF director of tennis on May 29, 2016, serving as the men's head coach with oversight of both the men's and women's programs. He joined the Knights after seven seasons as men's tennis head coach at the University of Oklahoma. He led the Sooners to a third consecutive NCAA runner-up finish in 2016 and was named the ITA national coach of the year in 2014. He was a four-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year.
Under Roddick's guidance, the Oklahoma men's tennis team earned its first Big 12 championship (2012), its first ITA No. 1 weekly ranking (2014) and first No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Team Championship (2015). Roddick compiled a 146-48 record (.752) with the Sooners.
Prior to his tenure at Oklahoma, Roddick served as the ATP Tour Coach for his brother Andy Roddick. During that time, Andy defeated the top three players in the world in a six-week span. From 2002-09, he also served as director of Roddick Total Tennis, a high-performance boarding academy in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. He also mentored top touring professionals such as his brother, Mardy Fish and Uladzimir Ignatik. In 2006 and 2008, Roddick served as captain of the United States' World Team Cup squad.
Roddick's first collegiate coaching jobs were as an assistant coach at Florida State (1999-2000) and Georgia (2000-02). During his two-year stint at Georgia, the Bulldogs won the national championship (2001) and finished as runners-up (2002).
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Roddick earned All-America honors four times at Georgia and was named the Bulldogs’ Athlete of the Year in 1998. He also added three Southeastern Conference All-Academic Team selections. As a top junior player, he qualified for the 1993 and 1994 U.S. National Teams—with his player rating climbing as high as No. 6 in the world in singles and No. 3 in doubles.