CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois women's tennis head coach Evan Clark has announced the addition of Jacob Eddins to the Fighting Illini staff as an associate head coach. Eddins joins the Orange and Blue following a successful four-year stint at West Virginia.
"I'm so happy to welcome Jacob, his wife Michaela, and their family to Champaign and to the University of Illinois," opened Clark. "To add someone of Jacob's caliber to our group is major victory for this program. Jacob's vast experience in college tennis and recruiting will only help our program take the next steps in our quest of winning championships. It was important to me when I started this process to identify someone that truly wanted to be at Illinois for the right reasons. Throughout the process, it became very clear that Jacob was that individual. His genuine excitement and eagerness to join our program was evident and that's what I'm most excited about. Jacob will have both feet in from the very first day and will bleed orange and blue."
"I've had the opportunity to get to know Jacob over the years and been lucky enough to call him a good friend," continued Clark. "I've admired his talents from afar and now feel very fortunate to have him put his talents to work for our Illinois women's tennis program. Most importantly, I'm thrilled for our student-athletes to be able to work with and learn from Jacob. They will quickly learn that Jacob will provide the foundation for them to grow into better student-athletes and better people. We could not be more excited for Jacob to get started and to become part of the Illini Family."
Eddins served as an assistant coach at WVU for three seasons before being promoted to the associate head coach role. This past year, Eddins and the Mountaineers had a historic season, which included the program's highest ITA national ranking at No. 51, an 11-4 start during the 2023 spring slate and the program's first-ever victory over Kansas State, which also marked the squad's first Big 12 victory since 2018.
"I am so excited to be joining the Illini family," began Eddins. "I would like to thank head coach Evan Clark and senior associate director of athletics Dr. Breanna Robinson for offering me such an amazing opportunity. I would also like to thank my wife, Michaela, and our four children for allowing me to pursue my dreams in college tennis. I could not do what I do without them and their unconditional support."
"I can't wait to get to Champaign and get started with this group of amazing young women," Eddins added. "I hope to provide a great experience for our student-athletes and provide a foundation that leads to consistent development every day both on and off the courts while competing for championships. I-L-L!"
Eddins helped WVU tennis improve in several aspects of the program. In 2019-20, he was a part of a West Virginia team who produced the best start to a women's tennis season since 1986. Eddins also aided in recruiting the highest-rated signing class in program history in 2020, which came in at No. 29 nationally in Tennis Recruiting Network's (TRN) annual list.
A native of Huntington, West Virginia, Eddins came to Morgantown after serving as the assistant coach at Auburn for one year. During his season with the Tigers, Eddins helped guide the team to a 14-win season, in which they held a team-high national ranking of 25 and upset then-No. 13 Georgia Tech during the 2019 ITA Kickoff Weekend. Eddins also aided in Auburn securing the 15th-best recruiting class in the nation during the Fall of 2018.
Prior to the 2018-19 season, he served as the associate head coach at Western Carolina, where he helped oversee one of the most successful stretches in WCU history that included a school-record win total in 2016.
Eddins' coaching career also includes stops at Pittsburgh, Cornell and Marshall.
Before his time at Marshall, he was a two-time West Virginia high school state singles champion, as well as the doubles state champion his senior year. Eddins graduated from Marshall University in 2008 with a degree in business management and a minor in marketing.
He and his wife, Michaela Kissell-Eddins, have four children, Kylie, Gavin, Jayce and Carter.
