William & Mary Athletics

Jeff Kader enters his ninth season at the helm of the Tribe program after returning to his alma mater in 2015. He made an immediate impact, leading the Tribe to the CAA Championship match on three occasions and a spot in the national rankings in three of the last six seasons. 

Over his career, nine of Kader's 13 teams have posted winning records, including five winning seasons with the Tribe. In total, athletes have garnered 43 all-conference awards, including 21 first-team accolades. In six of Kader’s 13 seasons, his teams earned ITA National Rankings.

The Green and Gold owns 20 All-CAA awards (six doubles and 14 singles), including 12 first-team nods (eight singles and four doubles). In 2017, under Kader's direction, Aidan Talcott became the first Tribe player since 1999 and sixth overall to earn CAA Player of the Year honors. Talcott, like his coach, was also named the Most Outstanding Performer of the CAA Championship. Christian Cargill joined Kader as one of only three W&M players to earn three All-CAA First Team honors in singles during his senior campaign in 2018. 

Each of the last seven seasons the Tribe earned the ITA All-Academic Team award, posting a better than 3.2 team grade point average. The Green and Gold also placed 31 players on the ITA Scholar-Athlete list, honoring athletes with at least a 3.5 GPA, over the last six years.
 
In 2021, the Tribe finished the year ranked No. 59 nationally, its best national ranking since 2007. Kader led the Tribe to wins in seven of its final nine matches, advanced to the CAA Championship match and ending the year at 9-6 overall. W&M totaled three wins over top-70 competition and finished the year ranked No. 7 in the Atlantic Region. 

In his first season, Kader led the Green and Gold to a 15-9 overall record and the program’s first national ranking since 2010. The Tribe won six-straight matches from late January to early February, including a triumph over nationally-ranked Penn. W&M moved into the national rankings for the first time at No. 60 on March 1, its highest ranking since 2010. The Tribe spent six-straight weeks in the ITA National Rankings. Highlighting the run, the Green and Gold knocked off No. 44 Drake, 4-2, at the Rice Invitational, its highest nationally-ranked win since 2008.

In 2018, W&M compiled a 13-11 record and finished the year ranked No. 73 nationally. It was the Tribe highest end of the year ranking since 2008. The Green and Gold was the top seed in the CAA Tournament for just the second time since 1998 and advanced to the championship  match for the second-straight year. The Green and Gold opened the 2018 dual-match season with five-straight wins, its longest season-opening streak since 1950. Included in the early season win streak was a 4-3 upset of then-No. 25 South Carolina for its highest-ranked win since 2007. The Tribe earned its highest national ranking since 2008 at No. 45 on Feb. 20 and was the only CAA program to appear in the top 50 this season.

Kader was named the 17th William & Mary head men's tennis coach on Aug. 27, 2015, returning to his alma mater after five seasons as the head coach at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). The 2005 W&M graduate and 2015 Conference USA Coach of the Year takes over for his former head coach, Peter Daub, who retired from the post after 22 years at the helm, including a Colonial Athletic Association Championship in 2015.

During his five seasons in San Antonio, Kader led the Roadrunners to 63 dual-match victories, a pair of conference championships and just the third and fourth NCAA Tournament appearances in school history. He guided UTSA to its first national ITA ranking in 2012 and the program finished the 2015 season at No. 62 in the country, after being ranking as high as No. 58. His tenure  at UTSA culminated in a Conference USA Championship in just the program's season as a member of the league.

Along with the C-USA title in 2015, Kader led the Roadrunners to a school-record 17 wins, including five victories against nationally-ranked competition. UTSA upended No. 58 Old Dominion and No. 54 Rice in the semifinals and championship to claim the league crown. The Roadrunners swept the C-USA major awards as Kader was named league’s coach of the year, while senior Tomas Stillman was selected as the C-USA Player of the Year. For the second straight season, a UTSA player was named the C-USA Newcomer of the Year in 2015. UTSA also took home both the Most Outstanding Singles Player and Doubles Team at the C-USA Championship. Along with being the league player of the year, Stillman became the first UTSA player to compete in the NCAA Singles Championship and finished the 2015 campaign at No. 64 nationally after ranking as high as No. 42.

Kader won his first conference championship at UTSA in 2012 when the Roadrunners were a member of the Southland Conference and knocked off the top two seeds en route to winning the conference tournament. During the regular season, UTSA earned the first national ranking in school history at No. 72 on Feb. 22, 2012. Kader produced a league-high eight players who earned All-Southland honors, and a conference-best four all-academic team selections. Along with the success on the court, the Roadrunners posted a 3.1 team grade point average.

During his five-year tenure at UTSA, Kader coached Roadrunner players to 22 all-conference honors, including nine first-team selections, 14 academic all-conference certificates and a Southland Student-Athlete of the Year in 2011. In UTSA’s first two years in C-USA, Kader had 10 players named to the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and his athletes earned five all-league honors. The Roadrunner men’s tennis program was also involved in a number of volunteer events during Kader’s time, including Habitat for Humanity, Rowdy Readers and For the Kids.

Kader’s name adorns many areas of the Tribe record book as one of the top players in program history. He was a four-time All-CAA selection in singles, including first team honors in 2003, 2004 and 2005. During his time at W&M, the Tribe won 55 dual matches and finished each season in the national team rankings. The Tribe was ranked No. 53 in 2002, No. 51 in 2003, No. 44 in 2004 and No. 62 in 2005.

The Geneva, Ohio, native led W&M to a CAA Championship as a senior in 2005, upending a pair national top-35 opponents at No. 1 singles from Old Dominion and VCU in the league semifinals and championship, respectively. He was named the CAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Performer for his efforts, a first in program history. Kader finished both 2004 (60th) and 2005 (52nd) in the national top-60 in singles. As a result, he earned a spot in the NCAA Singles Championship during his final two seasons. Kader was also selected as the winner of the Blue-Gray Classic Sportsmanship Award in 2005.

In 2010, Kader was one of 25 players across all league schools and one of eight Tribe players named to the CAA Silver Anniversary Team for men’s tennis. He still ranks among the top winners in program lore, coming in fourth on the Tribe’s career singles wins list (85) and seventh on its doubles wins chart (84). Kader graduated from William & Mary with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology. Following his career with the Tribe, he played professionally in France.

Kader earned his start in collegiate coaching at North Carolina State where he was an assistant coach for four seasons. He helped guide the Wolfpack to 60 wins and national ITA rankings during all four seasons, including a top-20 showing in 2007.

During Kader’s tenure at Raleigh, the Wolfpack advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2007, finshing the year at 23-10 overall with 13 wins against nationally ranked opponents and a final national ranking of No. 19. Kader helped in the development of All-American Jay Weinacker, who ended 2009 ranked No. 33 nationally, while also helping coach the doubles team of William Noblitt and Nick Cavady to a national pairs ranking as high as No. 6 in 2008. He also trained James McGee, who earned a career-high ATP World Ranking of 146 in 2015.

Prior to his stint at N.C. State, Kader spent one year working for the legendary Stan Smith at the Smith Stearns Tennis Academy in Hilton Head Island, S.C. He served as a teaching professional and traveling coach with elite junior players.
 

Jeff and his wife, Morgan, have two sons, Harrison Alexander and Davis Henry.

The Kader File
Hometown: Geneva, Ohio
Alma mater: William & Mary, 2005
 

Tennis Career

2002-05	William & Mary as a student-athlete
2006-10	N.C. State Assistant Coach
2010-15	University of Texas at San Antonio Head Coach
2015-	William & Mary Head Coach

Kader's Career Record

at WILLIAM & MARY
Year	Record	Pct.	Post Season
2016	15-9	.625	CAA Semifinals
2017	11-12	.478	CAA Championship Match
2018	13-11	.542	CAA Championship Match / Final National Ranking of No. 73
2019	4-16	.200	CAA Semifinals
2020	7-4	.636
2021	9-6	.600	CAA Championship Match / Final National Ranking No. 59
2022	10-8	.556	CAA Semifinals
2023	9-11	.450
Totals	78-77	.503
at UTSA
Year	Record	Pct.	Post Season
2011	11-10	.524	Southland Conference Championship Match
2012	13-11	.542	Southland Conference Champions NCAA Appearances
2013	13-11	.542	WAC Semifinals
2014	9-17	.346
2015	17-9	.654	C-USA Champions NCAA Tournament Appearance
Totals	63-58	.521	Two Conference Championships Two NCAA Berths
Career	125-125	.500	Two Conference Championships Two NCAA Berths