Pearce Wins Second-Straight MWC Coaching Award

PROVO, Utah -- BYU men’s tennis coach Brad Pearce was named Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year Thursday after leading his team to a 6-0 conference record and conference championship title.

“Any time you’re in a position to be considered for such an award, it’s always humbling,” Pearce said. “I accept this award with a great deal of humility and gratitude to the guys on the team, my assistant coach and BYU. I feel like this conference has been very competitive this season. We were fortunate to get through some of the matches we did against great conference opponents.”

In 2010, Pearce received the award following another 6-0 season. Additionally, he was also named the Mountain Region Coach of the Year and received the 2010 USTA/ITA Campus and Community Outreach Award. In February, the Professional Tennis Registry named Pearce the Jim Verdieck College Coach of the Year.

Pearce began coaching the No. 35 men’s tennis team as an assistant to Coach Jim Osborne in 2001 and became head coach in 2003.

In 2006, Pearce was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame and the Utah Tennis Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the NCAA ITA Collegiate Hall of Fame in 2009. He currently serves on the nominating committee of the United States Tennis Association and the Collegiate Varsity Committee. To this day, he is one of only 16 Americans in the last 23 years to reach the final eight in singles at Wimbledon.

The Cougars’ season continues May 13 in Los Angeles, where they will take on No. 31 San Diego at 11 a.m. in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.