Arizona signs men’s tennis coach Clancy Shields to contract extension

It’s not the most successful program at Arizona, but it’s hard to find one that’s gotten better under its current coach than men’s tennis with Clancy Shields. And on Monday, the school rewarded Shields with another contract extension through the 2028 season.

The Wildcats reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history in May, with both trips coming since Shields was hired ahead of the 2016-17. This past season saw Arizona host NCAA tourney games for the first time, beating Boise State and Oklahoma State before falling at Ohio State, which ended up reaching the championship match.

“Clancy’s exceptional leadership has grown our men’s tennis program into a national power in college tennis,” Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke said in a news release. “He has also taken our program to new heights on the court, in the classroom and in the community. Arizona Men’s Tennis achieves excellence at the highest levels through Clancy’s tremendous passion for recruiting, coaching and development. Since Clancy was hired in 2016, the men’s tennis program has continued to embody our Wildcat Way mission by developing academic, athletic and life champions. I look forward to the incredibly bright future of Arizona Men’s Tennis under Clancy’s leadership that will continue to make history.”

Shields, who previously had his contract extended through 2026, has led the UA to at least a share of the Pac-12 regular season title the past two seasons, winning it outright in 2022. He has won the conference’s Coach of the Year award in 2019 and 2021.

“I’ve been lucky to call Tucson home for the past seven years, which is a special place with incredible people,” Shields said in a news release. “It has been a great honor to lead this program, and I love coaching our student-athletes as they make this the best job I could ask for. I am very proud of our program, which we have built the right way. I believe we will continue to have success for many years to come. I want to thank Dave Heeke for his belief in our program and the investment our administration has made with Arizona Men’s Tennis. Our future is incredibly bright!”

Arizona, which recently added Alex Free as associate head coach, is expected to return the bulk of the 2022-23 squad that went 23-7. The Wildcats have signed two players for next season: Sasha Rozin of Canada and Cole Stelse of Scottsdale.