Brandon Stokes was named head coach of the men’s tennis program on August 1, 2013.
In his second season at the helm, the program continued to make education a priority as they had two student-athletes named Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar Athletes. Six student-athletes earned Fall AD honors while six earned the recognition in the spring.
While they continued their excellence in the classroom, the Broncs made major improvements on the court. In 2015, the Broncs more than doubled their win total from 2014 as they recorded 10 wins. A year after being the sixth seed in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, the Broncs earned the second seed and came within one game point of forcing a third set tiebreak in the deciding match for the WAC Championship.
Stokes coached Juan Cruz Soria to the WAC Player of the Year award while Koby Jansen and Hector Ramirez earned Second Team All-WAC Singles honors. He also guided the doubles team of Soria and Jansen to their first ranking as they were ranked 79th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Stokes’ first season saw the Broncs continue their excellence in the classroom and start to lay the foundation to build the program.
The Broncs earned ITA All-Academic Team honors and had three student-athletes named as ITA Scholar Athletes. Six student-athletes earned Fall AD Honor Roll honors while four earned the recognition in the spring and four earned Spring Academic All-Western Athletic Conference.
On the court, the Broncs garnered regular season wins over Oral Roberts University, Prairie View A&M University and conference rival Kansas City. The Broncs also recorded their first-ever Western Athletic Conference Tournament win after defeating Seattle U in the opening round.
Stokes was named head coach at FAU in June of 2008 and met immediate success, going 18-8 during the 2008-09 season. He led FAU to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament finals during his first season and semifinal berths in 2010-11 and 2011-12. Overall, Stokes led FAU to four winning seasons and a record of 56-37 (.602) while coaching eight All-Conference student-athletes.
Off the court, Stokes had 25 student-athletes earn spots on the FAU honor roll and 14 earn spots on the Sun Belt Conference honor roll. His team earned the FAU outstanding team academic performance award in the spring of 2011. In 2010, a member of the Owls earned ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-District honors while a teammate earned the athletic department's Sportsmanship Award.
Stokes started his college-coaching career in 2004-05 at the University of North Alabama. As the assistant for the men's and women's teams, he assisted in recruiting, player development, and strength and conditioning while helping both teams to NCAA Tournament berths.
In 2005-06, Stokes joined the Division I ranks at Wofford College as the assistant coach for the men's and women's teams. During his tenure, the men's team set a school record for wins in a season, with 10, and two men's players earned All-Southern Conference honors.
Stokes spent the next two seasons as an assistant coach for the men’s tennis team at the University of Central Florida. While with the Knights, he continued to assist in recruiting, practice design and implementation, and player development. The Knights won 12 dual matches each year. In 2006-07, the Knights made the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament for the first time in program history after spending eight weeks nationally ranked. In 2008, the program was honored with a top-10 national ranking for mid-major programs by tennisrecruiting.net.
Before coaching in the collegiate ranks, Stokes worked as an independent tennis coach in Atlanta, Georgia, specializing in junior development. He also was an associate head coach at ACE Tennis Academy and an associate tennis pro at Northside Athletic Club. Stokes began his coaching career at the high school level, as an assistant girls’ tennis coach at Tuscarawas Central Catholic High School in New Philadelphia, Ohio.
The 1994 University of Toledo graduate was a two-year letter-winner for the Rockets. He was named to the Dean's List three times and to the President's List, and earned Mid-American Academic Honorable Mention honors.
Stokes is married to Alisha Stokes and they have one son, Wyatt Jackson Stokes.
