ALMA, Mich. – Alma College Athletics is proud to announce the next head coach of the Scots men's and women's tennis programs with the hiring of Lucas Huffman as announced by Athletics Director Dr. Phil Miller.
"Lucas is a wonderful addition to our athletics staff, He brings tremendous energy, a genuine passion for the sport of tennis, and the leadership qualities needed to guide our men's and women's tennis programs," said Miller. "He has a bright future ahead as a head coach, and I look forward to working alongside him as he leads our programs to continued growth and success."
The Wartburg College graduate of 2023 comes to Alma after previously serving as the assistant coach of his alma mater for the past academic year. Huffman was instrumental in Wartburg's success as the women finished their season in the American Rivers Conference tournament semifinals, amassing a program-best 21 wins on the season, while the men also finished their season in the A-R-C tournament semis as well. The men's team also notched three All-Conference Honorable Mention awardees for their season efforts as well.
Before his alma mater, Huffman coached at A-R-C competitor Coe College, where he was an assistant coach on the women's side of action. While at Coe, Huffman and the women finished runner-up in the A-R-C tournament finals while also helping lead two individuals to conference singles championships. During the 2023 fall season, Huffman was honored, along with the Coe coaching staff, as being named the A-R-C Co-Coaching Staff of the Year after a second-place finish in the conference. While at Coe, Huffman helped lead and coach numerous individuals to conference Player of the Week awards, with the only conference team losses coming at the hands of regionally ranked Luther College during his time.
"I am extremely excited to join the team in Alma and begin building a program to match the standard and expectations of the college," said Huffman. "A huge thanks goes out to Dr. Phil Miller and Dr. Joe Odenwald for their belief and trust in me to guide this program. I'm excited to get out on the courts and get to work with the Scots of present day and lead them to something great."
Prior to his collegiate coaching career, Huffman was an Assistant Tennis Professional as Smithfield Tennis and Pickleball Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for over two years. While working as a teaching tennis professional, Huffman assisted in leading academy clinics while also managing the parks and recreation programs the academy had to offer. Huffman was also coaching summer camps ran by Nike at Stanford University in the summer, leading high level high school talent and assisting in day-to-day clinics during his time.
As a four-year letter winner at Wartburg, the highly decorated Huffman was the All-Time Wins leader in all categories, as well as a seven-time A-R-C Player of the Week, an Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic member, All-Conference First Team for Singles and Doubles action and a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree. Huffman was also a two-time State champion in Iowa for Linn-Mar High School as well.
A native of San Antonio, Texas, Huffman graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Wartburg. Huffman also has a minor in Mathematics, graduating in 2023.
