Head Coaches
Men's Tennis Head Coach
Matt Roberts
Mississippi State Head Coach (2015-present)
Matt Roberts enters his11th year as Mississippi State’s head coach in 2024-25 having guided the Bulldogs the NCAA Championships each year of his tenure save for the 2020 season, which was canceled due to COVID-19.
Roberts is a four-time ITA Southern Region Coach of the Year (2017-19, 2023) as well as the 2018 SEC Coach of the Year. The Bulldogs have advanced to the Round of 16 at the NCAA Championships (2016, 2018-19, 2021) six times during Roberts’ tenure, including one trip to the Quarterfinals (2018).
Under Roberts’ watch, MSU won back-to-back SEC Tournament Championships in 2018-19. It marked the first time in school history the Bulldogs had won the conference tournament in consecutive years. State also posted back-to-back 11-1 regular season records in league play during those seasons while eventually reaching the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals and Round of 16 respectively.
Roberts has coached 32 All-SEC players including three-time SEC Player of the Year Nuno Borges. Borges went on to win ITA National Player of the Year honors in 2019 and finished that season as the National Runner-Up. Borges, who now plays professionally on the ATP Tour, was also a national semifinalist in 2017-18. He is the first player in program history to accomplish those feats.
Roberts also mentored Giovanni Oradini, who reached the NCAA Round of 16 in 2018 and Quarterfinals in 2019 as well as Florian Broska, who played in the NCAA Singles Championships in 2021-22 and was named the 2022 Southern Region Senior of the Year.
During his time as both an assistant and head coach in Starkville, Roberts has worked with nine All-Americans, two SEC Freshmen of the Year, three SEC Scholar Athletes of the Year and four ITA Rookies of the Year.
Roberts has also produced nine doubles tandems that have reached the NCAA’s - including three that have reached the Round of 16 - three Quarterfinalist teams and one semifinalist tandem of Oradini and Niclas Braun in 2019.
Mississippi State Assistant Coach (2013-14)
In the summer of 2012, Roberts joined the Bulldogs’ staff as an assistant under Per Nilsson.
Roberts helped Nilsson lead Mississippi State to a 37-21 record during his two seasons as an assistant and into the NCAA Championships. The Bulldogs reached the Round of 16 in 2013 and the second round the following year.
Roberts was awarded as the ITA Southern Region Assistant of the Year in 2014.
Michigan State Assistant Coach (2010-12)
Prior to joining the Mississippi State staff, Roberts was an assistant for three years at Michigan State under legendary coach Gene Orlando. Went 49-34 in his three years assisting Orlando, helping improve the Spartans from 13-14 in his first season to 18-9 and 18-11 in his next two seasons.
Arkansas-Little Rock Volunteer Assistant Coach (2008)
Helped lead to the Trojans to one of the most successful seasons in school history. The UALR team finished the 2008 campaign ranked No. 8 in the ITA Central Region.
Playing Career
Roberts is no stranger to the SEC. A three-time captain and four-year letterwinner (2003-06) at the University of Arkansas, Roberts knows what it's like to play in the rigors of the league. During his time in Fayetteville, Roberts amassed a career record of 84-50 in singles play, helping lead his team to a top 25 ranking in each of his four seasons. Roberts' upperclassman years are where he shined the most, registering a 54-19 record and two All-SEC honors as a junior and senior.
Before attending Arkansas, Roberts was one of the top-ranked juniors in the United States.
From 2000-02, he was ranked as the No. 1 Southern junior and climbed to be as high as number seven in the national junior rankings. Roberts was an instrumental part in Pulaski Academy winning the 2002 Arkansas High School State Championship, where he also captured the individual championship.
While playing professionally on the ATP circuit, Roberts achieved career high rankings of No. 517 (singles) and No. 522 (doubles).
Personal
A native of Little Rock, Ark., Roberts graduated from Arkansas in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in coaching and teaching.
Women's Tennis Head Coach
Chris Hooshyar
Chris Hooshyar was named the 14th head coach in Mississippi State women’s tennis history on June 12, 2023.
Before he arrived in Starkville, Hooshyar spent 10 seasons at Auburn. Hooshyar was an assistant coach and later an associate head coach with Auburn women's program for five years before spending the next five seasons in the same capacities with the men’s team.
While with the Tiger women’s program, Hooshyar was named ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2016 while also earning ITA Southern Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2018. After continuing his career with the men’s program, Hooshyar saw more recognition for his coaching success and was named ITA Southern Region Assistant Coach of the Year in 2022.
For the 2023 season, Hooshyar helped lead the team to a 17-12 record and an NCAA Championship appearance. The team finished the year ranked No. 26 nationally in the ITA polls. He also helped lead Tyler Stice to the NCAA Singles Championship and Finn Murgett and Raul Dobai to the NCAA Doubles Championship.
Hooshyar was named associate head coach of the men’s team in July of 2022 after Auburn finished with a 21-11 mark and ranked No. 23 as a team, advancing to the SEC semifinals and the second round of the NCAA Championships. He also helped All-Americans Murgett and Tad Maclean and All-SEC selection Stice to earn individual NCAA bids.
A noted recruiter, Hooshyar was instrumental in bringing some of the top talent to the Tigers’ men’s program. In 2021, he helped Auburn become No. 39 in the ITA rankings with individual NCAA qualifiers in singles (Stice) and doubles (Maclean and Murgrett). Maclean and Murgett were 2021 NCAA doubles finalists.
In his five seasons with Auburn women’s program, Hooshyar helped lead the Tigers to two-straight NCAA Sweet 16 appearances. Three Tigers were named All-SEC – Alizee Michaud (First Team), Andie Dikosavljevic (Second Team) and Taylor Russo (Freshman). Michaud and Dikosavljevic advanced to the NCAA Singles Championship. Michaud and Russo advanced to the semifinal round of the NCAA Doubles Championship.
In 2016, the Manchester, England native helped lead the Tigers to many program firsts. Auburn set program records for single-season wins and single-season SEC victories and finished the season 24-8 (9-4 SEC). The Tigers hosted an NCAA Regional for the first time in program history.
Before his time at Auburn, Hooshyar spent two seasons at Southern Methodist University with the women’s program, the same school where he played for four seasons as an undergraduate.
In his two years as a volunteer assistant, he helped coach the Mustangs to a 13-win turnaround from the 2012 spring season to 2013. The Mustangs went 14-10 in 2013 and reached the Conference USA Tournament semifinals, while also tallying four wins against ranked opponents. The team finished the year ranked No. 51 nationally in the ITA rankings.
As a player, Hooshyar captained the SMU men’s tennis team for his final two seasons and compiled 35 singles wins in his four years. He posted the third-highest win total on the team in singles during his final year and second highest in doubles.
Hooshyar’s best season came during his sophomore year when he went 14-8 in singles play, including a singles win in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Championship against Texas A&M. Hooshyar defeated Mike Beatty in straight sets, 6-0 7-6(6), for his first NCAA victory.
As a junior player in England, Hooshyar was ranked as the top player in the country throughout the junior process.
Hooshyar graduated from SMU in 2010 with a degree in sociology and a master's degree in conflict resolution. Hooshyar and his wife Meagan have two daughters, Charlotte and Halton.