Former LSU All-American Danny Bryan has reinvigorated the Wichita State men’s tennis program while guiding it into a new era in the American Athletic Conference.
The Shockers have made steady improvement in each of Bryan’s first five years, climbing as high as No. 29 in the Oracle/ITA Division I Rankings.
Bryan was named ITA Central Region Coach of the Year in 2021 after guiding the school to its first NCAA at-large berth in a quarter-century and its highest final ranking (37th) since the 1983 season.
Individuals have also thrived under Bryan’s teaching with four different players spending time in the national singles rankings.
Murkel Dellien and Marius Frosa were 2019 doubles All-Americans (WSU’s first such tandem in 36 years), and Dellien earned American Athletic Conference Player of the Year status in 2021, along with a top-50 singles ranking and a coveted spot in the NCAA Outdoor Singles Championship.
Since Bryan’s arrival in the summer of 2016, WSU has compiled a 70-47 dual record while regularly facing some of the nation’s toughest teams.
During his tenure, WSU has posted 10 wins over nationally-ranked foes (five of them in 2021) including three against ITA top-30 squads. The Shockers’ 5-1 home victory over No. 22 Memphis on Mar. 5, 2021 was the program’s first against a top-25 opponent since March of 1985.
The Shockers have been especially good in Wichita, where they’ve won 19 of their last 20 duals since the start of the 2018-19 season. An active run of 11-straight home victories includes five wins over nationally-ranked foes.
WSU finished 15-9 in 2020-21 while playing some of its best tennis down the stretch. The Shockers cracked the national rankings for the first time in early March and climbed as high as 29th over the next few weeks en route to their first NCAA tournament bid of the Bryan Era.
Dellien emerged in similar fashion, going from unranked to 35th in less than a month, after posting 13-consecutive wins (eight of them against nationally-ranked players). Dellien went on to win conference co-player of the year and Central Regional Senior of the Year honors. He was selected for the NCAA Singles Championship and finished the season and his final ITA singles ranking (No. 48) was the highest by a Shocker in 38 years.
The Shockers downed five nationally-ranked teams during the year, winning at home against Memphis (22), Denver (45), SMU (48), Pepperdine (28). The last came at the American Championship, where they took down Memphis (32) for a second time to reach their second straight conference semifinal.
In a first-round NCAA tournament match in Fort Worth, the Shockers came within a few bounces of their first-ever postseason win, falling to 20th-ranked Arizona State by a narrow 4-3 margin.
The super-senior duo of Dellien and Marius Frosa became just the fifth tandem in WSU history to win 50 career matches together (51-22). While they narrowly missed out on a second NCAA tournament appearance in 2021, they still finished with in the national rankings for a third-consecutive year (36th).
Dellien and Frosa, from Bolivia and Romania respectively, formed the backbone of a promising 2019-20 Shocker team. The All-American duo opened the fall at No. 5 in the ITA Fall preseason rankings and won the Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge, but the COVID-19 pandemic put an early end to their season.
The Shockers were out to 12-5 start with a win over regional rival Arkansas and a near upset of 14th-ranked Tennessee when the NCAA pulled the plug on spring sports.
Bryan led the Shockers to a 16-10 record in his third year (2018-19), highlighted by a signature win over No. 28 Dartmouth on Feb. 23.
Juniors Dellien and Frosa became just the second doubles tandem in school history to earn All-American status by advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Outdoor Championship. They went 11-2 at No. 1 doubles with wins over five ranked opponents and finished up at No. 20 on the final ITA doubles chart. Early in the season they strung together four-consecutive wins to reach the semifinals of the ITA Central Region Championship, marking the deepest run by a Shocker tandem in that event in 23 years.
WSU men’s tennis players also thrived in the classroom, posting a 3.44 team GPA.
Under Bryan's guidance, the Shockers entered the ITA/Oracle Team Rankings in four different weeks throughout the spring, reaching as high as No. 39 on March 5. The ranking marked just the second time in 30 years that a Shocker team had cracked the top-40. In just its second year as a member of the conference, WSU reached the semifinals of the American Championship after beating Tulsa at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
The 2017-18 Shockers posted a 14-10 dual match record while transitioning into the rugged American Athletic Conference. Led by a core junior class, WSU captured the Pacific Invite title for the second-straight season, with wins over No. 46 New Mexico, San Francisco, and Grand Canyon. The Shockers also claimed the 60th annual Rice Invitational crown in March, ending the hosts’ streak of 10-straight titles.
Rising junior Haru Inoue opened the year at No. 58 ITA/Oracle Fall Rankings, and the doubles tandem of Frosa and Dellien earned an at-large bid to the main draw of the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, making them the first in program history to bypass qualifying. They won their first-round match but fell in the round of 16 to the eventual champions from Florida in a super tiebreaker. In addition, Frosa became the first Shocker to reach the main singles draw via qualifying.
In Bryan's first season at the controls, a young Shocker lineup went 13-13 in dual matches and finished up at No. 8 in the ITA's Central Region Rankings. In March, WSU defeated No. 39 Cal Poly, along with Fresno State and UT-Arlington to win the 2017 Pacific Invite.
Sophomores Haru Inoue and Marius Frosa earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors.
Inoue (23-11) enjoyed one of the best seasons ever by a Shocker underclassman, landing at No. 98 in the final Oracle/ITA Division I Rankings. It was the first time in 35 years that a WSU freshman or sophomore had finished on the national singles chart. In addition, Inoue's 11 dual wins at No. 1 singles were the most by a Shocker underclassman since 1995.
Bryan took charge of the Shocker men's tennis program on June 24, 2016 after 13 seasons at LSU -- four of them as a player (2003-07), one as a student-assistant (2007-08), and eight as the Tigers’ full-time assistant coach (2008-16) under former LSU head coach, Jeff Brown.
“The more we learned about Danny, the more excited we became,” Boatright said of the hire. “He’s a natural leader, motivator and teacher who has thrived in a number of roles. He comes from a long line of tennis coaches, and his experience, character, vision, and goals made him an easy choice to lead our men’s tennis program.”
In eight seasons on the LSU staff, Bryan – the 2013 Southern Region Assistant Coach of the Year -- worked with 10 ITA All-Americans, 14 All-SEC performers, and one SEC Player of the Year. The Tigers won at least one NCAA Tournament dual in six of his seasons and posted four top-30 finishes.
In addition, LSU student-athletes performed well in the classroom, with 13 earning Academic All-America status and two earning post-graduate scholarships. Bryan was also a tireless promoter of LSU tennis, helping the program crack the top-10 in the national attendance charts in back-to-back years (2014 and 2015).
“I would like to thank Darron Boatright and Brad Pittman for giving me this amazing opportunity,” Bryan said. “I am extremely excited to start working with the team to build on their past successes. My family and I are looking forward to joining the Wichita community and Shocker Nation.”
On the court, Bryan ranks among LSU’s all-time wins leaders, amassing nearly 200 singles and doubles victories, while leading the team to three top-15 finishes. Bryan was twice voted team captain and - as a senior - climbed as high as No. 3 in the national doubles rankings and No. 32 on the singles chart on his way to All-American status.
Bryan’s relentless work ethic extended beyond tennis and into the community, helping earn him a long list of honors, including the 2007 National Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership & Sportsmanship Award and the 2007 LSU Male Volunteer of the Year Award. That drive also made him a natural choice to join the LSU staff once his playing days were finished.
Following a summer on the ATP tour and a semester as a student-assistant, Bryan was elevated to full-time assistant status for the 2008-09 season and quickly developed a reputation for one-on-one mentorship. In one of his first tournaments, he coached standout Michael Venus to a championship round victory at the ITA All-American Championships.
Most recently, Venus competed in the 2018 Wimbledon doubles final alongside Raven Klassen. Venus won the French Open doubles title in 2017 and has been ranked as high as No. 8 in the world. Another of Bryan's former pupils, Neal Skupski, reached the 2019 U.S. Open semifinals while playing alongside Jamie Murray and has ranked as high as 16th on the world doubles chart.
Tennis runs through his veins, passed down through his father and three uncles that played collegiate tennis, as well as a grandfather that played on the pro circuit.
Bryan earned his bachelor’s in General Studies from LSU in May of 2008, with a concentration in Business, Psychology and Communications. He married former LSU gymnast Jade Jenkins on Jan. 2, 2010, and the couple have two children, Parker and Brooklyn.
The Bryan File:
Birthdate: Dec. 15, 1985
Birthplace: Lafayette, La.
Alma Mater: LSU ‘08
Coaching Experience:
2016-Pr. – Head Coach, Wichita State
2008-16 – Assistant Coach, LSU
2007-08 – Student Assistant, LSU
Coaching Record:
2016-17: 13-13
2017-18: 14-10
2018-19: 16-10; ITA Rank: 56
2019-20: 12-5
2020-21: 15-9 (NCAA Rd. of 64); ITA Rank: 37; Central Region Coach of the Year
Playing Experience:
2008 – ATP (Professional)
2003-07 – LSU
2x -- Team Captain – 2006, 07
4x -- Varsity Letterman – 2004, 05, 06, 07
1x -- ITA Doubles All-American – 2007
2x -- All-SEC – 2006 (2nd Team), 2007 (1st Team)
1x -- SEC Indoor Champion – 2007 (Doubles)
3x -- ITA First-Team All-Louisiana – 2005, 06, 07
1x -- NCAA Quarterfinalist -- 2007 (Doubles)
1x -- ITA National Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership & Sportsmanship Award
1x -- LSU Male Volunteer of the Year – 2007
3x -- SEC Community Service Team – 2005, 06, 07
