Kyle Russell

Kyle Russell is currently in his fifth season as the head coach of the men's and women's tennis teams at Loyola University New Orleans. He recently completed a historic 2018 season, setting a program record for wins in a season on the men's team with 12, while earning the first ever spot in the top-25 on the women's side. While the men's team finished two spots outside of the top-25 to end the year, the women's squad reached a program-high at 21st in the country.

The 2018 women's team took down three ranked teams during the year and reached the semifinal round at the SSAC Championships for the first time. Three members of the team, Manuela Alban, Arianna Pepper and Koral Martinez, were recognized by the NAIA as All-American Honorable Mentions. Pepper was also selected to the LSWA Second Team and named the SSAC Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while Alban was chosen as the SSAC Freshman of the Year.

The 2018 men's team ended their season with five SSAC honors, including Ernesto de Diego's selection to the All-Conference Team for the second year in a row. Four members of the Pack were given SSAC All-Academic honors, with three of those student-athletes earning Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete awards as well.

To close out the 2017 season, six men and three women earned postseason honors from the SSAC, led by Ernesto de Diego who became the Wolf Pack's first All-Conference selection since 2013. In both the 2017 and 2016 seasons, Russell helped guide three members of the men's team to Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athlete awards.

In his second season with the program in 2016, Russell led the Wolf Pack to earning their first votes in the NAIA Men's Top 25 Coaches Poll. The 2016 men's team was selected by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) as an All-Academic Team, while the women were honored with the Sportsmanship Award by the SSAC.

During the 2015 season, Russell coached two SSAC All-Academic and NAIA-Daktronics Scholar-Athletes and led the Wolf Pack men to the opening round of the SSAC Championships in Mobile, Ala.

Russell’s previous coaching experience includes serving as the head coach at the College of Santa Fe as well as working as an assistant at the Air Force Academy.

During his time with College of Santa Fe, Russell guided and coordinated all aspects of the NAIA program, including practices, off-court training, recruiting and scheduling. Prior to his time in Santa Fe, he spent one year as the Assistant Men’s Tennis Coach at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. He designed and conducted all practices and spearheaded recruiting efforts in addition to other duties within the guidelines of an NCAA Division I program.

Russell also served as the Director of Tennis at Colorado College in Colorado, Springs in 2007 where he led the men’s and women’s program. His responsibilities included recruiting academically qualified athletes, coordinating travel arrangements and scheduling practices and matches.

Russell has also coached at numerous tennis clubs all over North America. He has worked with top ranked WTA doubles player Abigail Spears and has produced a number of high school state champions.

Russell graduated from the University of New Mexico (UNM) in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurial studies. He was a four-year letterwinner in tennis while at UNM, and in 2000, he was a member of the Mountain West Conference championship team. Additionally, he was a Mountain West Academic Selection in 2001 and a Western Athletic Conference Academic Selection in 1998.