Courtesy USC Sports Information
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — Brett Masi, a former USC assistant coach on a Trojan national championship team who over the past 10 years guided the Texas Tech and San Diego men’s tennis teams to eight NCAA Tournament appearances as head coach at those schools, has been named the head coach of the USC men’s tennis program, Trojan athletic director Lynn Swann announced today (Aug. 15).
“We are delighted to welcome Brett back to the Trojan Family,” said Swann. “Our men’s tennis program has the most successful tradition in the country and Brett was part of that championship heritage as an assistant coach here, so he understands the expectations of our program. He comes back to USC having gained some excellent head coaching experience that will help him keep our program in contention for championships.”
Said Masi: “I am very excited to come back to USC, a place that feels like home for me and my family. I have always had a strong love for this university and for the Trojan Family. I thank Lynn Swann and (senior associate athletic director) Steve Lopes for giving me this opportunity to carry on the legacy of all the great coaches who been here before me.”
Masi, 40, succeeds Peter Smith, who last month announced his resignation from USC to pursue opportunities outside of college coaching. In his 17 seasons as Troy’s head coach, Smith led the Trojans to five NCAA titles, including his first in 2009 when Masi served as his assistant.
Masi has a 183-92 (.666) career record. He won conference championships in both the Big 12 and West Coast Conferences and was named Coach of the Year in both leagues.
Masi spent the past four seasons (2016-19) as Texas Tech’s head coach, leading the Red Raiders to a 75-44 overall mark (.630) and three NCAA Tournament berths. His teams posted 18 wins over ITA Top 25 teams, including seven over Top 10 opponents.
He was the Big 12 Co-Coach of the Year in his 2016 debut, as Tech went 28-6 (a school record for victories), won a share of the Big 12 regular season title (the program’s first ever), advanced to the NCAA second round and finished with a program-best No. 11 ITA ranking. He was just the fourth rookie Tech coach in any sport to win a conference championship. That season, the All-American doubles team of Felipe Soares and Hugo Dojas won the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championship (Soares also made All-Big 12 first team). After a 13-15 showing in 2017 when the Red Raiders were runners-up in the Big 12 Tournament for the second consecutive year, Tech was 19-11 in 2018 and 15-12 in 2019, with NCAA first round trips each season.
Before Texas Tech, Masi was San Diego’s head coach for six seasons (2010-15), going 108-47 (.697). The Toreros went to five straight NCAA tourneys (2011-15), won three WCC regular season (2011, 2014-15) and two WCC Tournament (2014-15) championships. He twice was the WCC Coach of the Year (2011, 2015) and three times was the ITA Southwest Region Coach of the Year (2011, 2013, 2015). He produced two WCC Players of the Year (Dean Jackson in 2011 and Uros Petronijevic in 2015), two WCC Freshmen of the Year, 24 All-WCC selections, three WCC All-Academic picks and an ITA Scholar-Athlete.
Masi spent five seasons (2005-2009) as Smith’s assistant at USC, the first as a volunteer. The Trojans advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2007 and 2008 before winning the 2009 NCAA crown. He was named the 2007 and 2008 ITA West Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
Masi began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant for the men’s and women’s programs at Santa Clara in 2003 and 2004.
He also spent time working at the Peter Smith Tennis Academy (2004-09), Martin Luther King High in Riverside, Calif. (2001-02), Cal Poly (2000-01) and IMG Academy-Los Angeles (2000).
Masi was a four-year (1997-2000) letterwinner at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he remains one of the program’s all-time winningest players. He concluded his career with a 60-29 singles record and played among the top three spots of the lineup throughout his career. He climbed as high as No. 38 in the ITA singles rankings in 2000 and notched All-Big West first team honors as a senior.
He was a four-time Ivy League singles and doubles champion at Riverside (Calif.) Poly High School.
Masi graduated from Cal Poly in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in recreation administration. He earned his master’s degree in physical education from Azusa Pacific in 2002.
He was born Nov. 2, 1978. He and his wife, Desiree, have two children: son, Jaxson, 13, and daughter, Devyn, 11.
In its history, the USC men’s tennis program has produced 21 NCAA team champions (most in the country), 15 NCAA singles champions (second in the nation) and 21 NCAA doubles champs (more than any school), along with 184 All-Americans (including such players as Stan Smith, Bob Lutz, Raul Ramirez, Dennis Ralston, Rafael Osuna, Alex Olmedo, Robert Van’t Hof, Rick Leach, Byron and Wayne Black and Steve Johnson). The 2019 team went 22-8 overall, won the Pac-12 Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Round of 16.
