Tennis coach Clancy Shields to leave Utah State

Clancy Shields, the Utah State University head men’s tennis coach, has recently signed to be the new head coach of the University of Arizona Wildcats men’s tennis team and will not be returning to Utah State for the 2016-17 season.

After three years with the Aggies, Shields will replace Tad Berkowitz, the Wildcat’s former head coach, who resigned last month. The Wildcats are ranked last in the Pac-12 and posted a 0-7 conference record and 8-17 overall record for the 2015-16 season.

“I am overjoyed to join the Wildcat family and lead the men’s tennis program at the University of Arizona,” Shields said in a news release. “I look forward to working with our student-athletes, the fantastic athletics department, and the Tucson community. The Arizona brand is one of the best in the country, and I believe our tennis program will be competing with the very best shortly.”

Shields led the Aggies to the 2016 Mountain West title with a 6-1 league play record. He was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year and Wilson/ITA Region Coach of the Year. Aggie sophomore Jaime Barajas was named Mountain West Player of the Year and junior Jack Swindells earned all-Mountain West honors under Shield’s direction. The Aggies were ranked No. 62 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings this past season –– the highest ranking in the program’s history with a total of 21 wins.

Before joining the Aggies, Shields was a member of the Boise State University men’s tennis team where he was named the 2009 WAC Player of the Year and earned All-WAC first-team honors. He was an assistant coach for the Broncos for four years and helped them earn back-to-back Mountain West Conference titles.