| Alma Mater: |
Johnson C. Smith University |
| Graduating Year: |
2007 |
Head coach Justin Stuckey guides the Saint Louis University men’s and women’s tennis teams for a fifth season in 2023-24. The 15-year collegiate head-coaching veteran was named to his post on Aug. 14, 2019.
The 2023 season saw both Billiken teams enjoy success. The women’s team registered 18 wins (18-7), the second-highest total in program history. Elizabeth Mintusova was selected Atlantic 10 Conference co-Performer of the Year and captured a school-record 27 doubles victories, while Norhan Hesham was named to the All-Conference second team. Saint Louis posted a first-round victory in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship for a third consecutive season.
The Billiken men tied the third-highest victory total in team history, going 15-6. SLU’s No. 3 seeding for the A-10 Championship matched the highest in program annals, and three Billikens – first-team selection Ryota Fukushima and second-team choices Adam Behun and Andres Castellanos – earned All-Conference accolades.
Stuckey piloted the SLU women to a 13-8 campaign in 2022, the Billikens’ highest win total in five seasons. Also for the first time in five years, multiple Billikens earned All-Conference accolades as Hesham and Mintusova landed on the first and second teams, respectively.
In the classroom, the 2021-22 Saint Louis women earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic recognition for a second straight year under Stuckey’s leadership, while Mintusova became the program’s first A-10 All-Academic honoree since 2017.
The Saint Louis women have produced 13 A-10 weekly award recipients (10 Player of the Week, three Rookie of the Week) during Stuckey’s tenure.
Facing a schedule that included two matches apiece vs. Notre Dame, Purdue and Arkansas, the Billiken men’s team collected eight victories in 2022. That followed a 10-win season in 2021 – the team’s best since 2016 – that included a first-round A-10 Championship triumph.
The 2021 season also featured three Billikens on the All-Conference squad – Oscar Alvarez on the first team, Fukushima and Theo Ortis on the second team – for the first time since 2010, while Alvarez added A-10 All-Academic plaudits. Fukushima repeated on the A-10 second team in 2022, a year that also saw the Billiken men return to the ITA All-Academic list following a three-year absence.
Stuckey has coached men’s players who have collected seven A-10 weekly awards (three Player of the Week, four Rookie of the Week).
During his first year in Midtown, Stuckey’s men’s recruiting class was ranked 23rd nationally among mid-major programs by TennisRecruiting.net.
“We are very pleased to have Justin Stuckey join the Billiken family to lead the tennis programs,” SLU Director of Athletics Chris May said upon Stuckey’s hiring. “Justin comes highly recommended by well-respected individuals in the industry. He is deeply committed to supporting student-athletes, especially those who have high academic aspirations.
“Justin’s strong commitment to our department’s strategic objectives of educating, competing and building community will greatly benefit our student-athletes,” May said. “His belief in those objectives is reflected in the significant success his teams enjoyed, both on and off the court, in each of his previous coaching positions.”
“It was very clear to me during the interview process that the values of Saint Louis University align with my vision for both programs,” Stuckey said. “We will foster a championship mindset, excelling in the classroom and community while competing for Atlantic 10 Conference championships.”
Stuckey, whose teams have won 11 conference championships and made numerous national tournament appearances, arrived at Saint Louis following three seasons as men’s and women’s head coach at William Woods (Mo.) University, where he was selected men’s ITA Central Region Coach of the Year in 2017.
Both William Woods teams captured a conference championship and competed in the NAIA national tournament in each of Stuckey’s three seasons at the helm. The men’s team posted a three-year record of 53-16 and reached the 2017 and 2018 NAIA quarterfinals. The women’s squad went 48-24 and advanced to the national semifinals and quarterfinals in 2017 and 2018, respectively, in addition to earning ITA All-Academic recognition twice. Additionally, both William Woods teams achieved top-10 national rankings all three years. The women’s program ranked as high as No. 3, while the men’s program peaked at No. 4.
Stuckey coached three singles players and three doubles teams to ITA Central Regional championships. Three William Woods men’s players reached the top four of the national rankings during his tenure and, in one season, the team’s top six singles players were simultaneously ranked among the nation’s top 50. In each of his three seasons, the Owls consistently placed three doubles teams among the top 25 in the national rankings.
The William Woods women’s team led the nation at one point by having a then-record seven singles players simultaneously ranked among the nation’s top 50; five of those players reached the top 20. All three of the Owls’ doubles teams earned top-25 national rankings in each of Stuckey’s three seasons.
Stuckey’s two seasons at McPherson (Kan.) College included a pair of conference titles and national tournament berths for both the men’s and women’s teams as well as men’s ITA Central Region Coach of the Year plaudits both years. Both squads achieved program-best national rankings (No. 10 for the men, No. 14 for the women). Stuckey guided the women’s team to a 20-0 conference record in his two years at the controls, and the men’s team recorded its first win over a nationally ranked NCAA Division II team.
McPherson produced a regional singles champion and doubles champion both years, two Bulldogs’ men’s players achieved top-four national singles rankings, and two of Stuckey’s doubles teams reached the top four of the national rankings, with one pairing advancing to the ITA Small College Championship semifinals. Five of his women’s players garnered top-10 regional rankings in singles.
Stuckey’s first head-coaching position was at Wittenberg (Ohio) University, where he served six seasons. The Tigers turned in records of 85-53 and 70-55 in men’s and women’s competition, respectively, and both teams were regionally ranked. Stuckey coached Wittenberg student-athletes to 23 All-Conference awards and brought in TennisRecruiting.net nationally ranked recruiting classes in 2010 and 2014.
In his first season, Stuckey took a men’s team that had claimed just three victories during the previous two years and led it to a 15-win campaign. The Tigers posted a winning record each season, and the 2011-12 team collected a school-record 17 victories. The 2010-11 Wittenberg women registered a school-record 19 wins. Stuckey guided the NCAA Division III programs to several victories over Division II opponents and nationally ranked NAIA teams.
Stuckey’s first venture into collegiate coaching was as a graduate assistant at Wright State during the 2007-08 school year. He earned a master’s degree in education from the Dayton, Ohio, university.
Stuckey is a 2007 graduate of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, earning a bachelor’s degree in sports management. A four-time first-team All-Conference honoree, he played No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles, won two conference doubles championships and claimed a league singles title. The two-time team Most Valuable Player and three-year captain helped lead the Golden Bulls to four straight conference championships as well as a berth in the 2004 NCAA Division II Championship.
During his junior, collegiate and professional careers, Stuckey was coached and mentored by James Cuthbertson, Tony Pack, Rachel Fair, Matt Dektas and Garnett Purnell. As a junior player, Stuckey attained the American Tennis Association’s No. 1 ranking in the 16-and-under age group.
Stuckey has coached 13 All-Americans and 25 players who have earned various ITA regional and national awards. He is certified by the Professional Tennis Registry and is a member of the United States Tennis Association and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
