SAN ANTONIO -- UTSA men's tennis has added Cullen Dees, who spent the last two years as an assistant coach at Texas, to the coaching staff, it was announced by head coach Rodrigo da Silva.
"We are very excited to welcome Cullen to UTSA family," da Silva said. "Cullen brings a strong work ethic, on and off the court, as well as a wealth of postseason experience. He is a great addition to our team."
Dees helped direct the Longhorns to the 2019 NCAA Championship under interim head coach Bruce Berque, the first national title in UT men's tennis history. Dees helped mentor three UT standouts to a total of four All-America accolades from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, the most for the Longhorns in 11 years.
Dees, a native of Canyon, Texas, served as the volunteer – and later interim – assistant coach at Texas for the last two years. He has previous experience as the men's and women's head coach at the University of the Ozarks for two seasons, and as an assistant men's and women's coach at Schreiner University for three seasons.
"I want to thank Coach da Silva for this opportunity," Dees said. "He has done a wonderful job with this program and I'm grateful for the chance to work alongside him. I really enjoyed hearing Rodrigo talk about the goals and vision for the program and there is definitely an excitement about the future. I am eager and ready to get to work and I am so excited to be here at UTSA."
In his first season with Texas, Dees helped the Longhorns to a 19-7 record and an appearance in the NCAA Championships Round of 16.
Before joining the Longhorns, Dees spent two seasons as head coach for both the men's and women's tennis teams at the University of the Ozarks. In each of his two years, he took both to the American Southwest Conference (ASC) Tournament, marking the first time in school history both reached the tournament in the same years.
On the men's side, Dees guided four players to All-ASC honors in 2017. He also led six to the ASC All-Academic Team over the course of his two seasons, along with six to the ITA Scholar-Athlete Team. The women were also impressive with five receiving both ASC All-Academic Team and ITA Scholar-Athlete honors. They also claimed the ASC Sportsmanship Award both seasons.
Dees spent the previous three seasons at Schreiner University as the assistant men's and women's coach. In just one year, Dees helped elevate Schreiner to among the best tennis teams within the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), highlighted by an undefeated conference record (4-0) on the women's side in 2015. The men's team finished with a 3-1 conference mark and advanced all the way to the semifinals of the SCAC Tournament in 2015.
During his time at Schreiner, the women's program averaged 12 wins per season, while the men's team posted three straight winning seasons in conference play. The women's team finished No. 18 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association West Region poll following the 2015 spring season. Also during the 2015 spring season, the men defeated regionally-ranked Hardin-Simmons. A combined 22 women's and men's players received all-conference honors during his tenure.
Dees was a four-year standout for Hardin-Simmons University from 2009-2012, achieving all-conference all four seasons. He also made the ASC All-Academic Team during his collegiate career. Dees received his bachelor's degree in behavioral science from Hardin-Simmons in 2012.
He was recently married on June 3, to the former Sarah Smith. She works as a school counselor, and the two reside in San Antonio with their dog, Jagger.
- UTSA -
