In July 2016, Baker was hired as head coach at Methodist after serving as the director of tennis for four years at Coastal Georgia, coaching both the men's and women's tennis teams.
Baker has compiled a record of 62-59 at Methodist, with a league mark of 27-13. He has led Methodist to four appearances in the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament Championship match while coaching a total of 14 Monarchs to USA South All-Conference/All-Division honors from 2017 to 2022.
Aside from the team's accomplishments, in 2021, Baker coached his first ever team individual, Jordan Theron, to USA South Player & Rookie of the Year honors, while also being named as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division-III National Rookie of the Year, ITA D-III Atlantic South Region Rookie of the Year, and made the ITA D-III First-Team All-American (singles) selection. Theron finished the season ranked No. 7 in ITA D-III men's singles rankings, as well as No. 2 in ITA Atlantic South Region and was selected to play in the NCAA D-III Men's Singles Tournament.
During the 2021-22 season, the Monarchs finished with an overall record of 11-10 and a 4-3 mark in conference. After the regular season, the team moved on as the No. 4 seed in the east to the USA South Conference Championships in Rome, Georgia. There the team defeated No. 1 seed of the west, Covenant College, 5-4 to move on to the semifinals. After making it to the semifinals, the team came up short in the match against No. 2 seed of the east, Averett, 1-5 to end the season.
The season returned to some normalcy in 2020-21, as the team produced an overall record of 8-13 with a conference record of 3-2. This was Baker's first season not making it to the USA South Conference Championships. The highlight of the season was coaching Theron at the NCAA Division III Men's Sinlges Tournament.
The 2019-20 season was cut short due to the Covid-19 global pandemic. At the time of the hault, the team had an overall record of 1-12 and did not make it to any conference matches.
In 2018-19, he led Methodist to an appearance in the USA South Conference Tournament Championship match as a two-seed in the East Division after a 14-12 overall record and 6-2 conference mark. After 5-0 sweeps of Covenant and Piedmont in the first and semifinals round, the Monarchs were downed by nationally ranked N.C. Wesleyan in the finals. Baker coached four players to either All-Conference or All-Division nods.
In the 2017-18 season, the Monarchs finished with a 15-8 overall record and a 7-3 mark in league play to grab the second seed in the East in the USA South Tournament and advance to the finals. R.J. Clement led a trio of players earning all-conference honors as he picked up his fourth First Team All-USA South selection. Baker coached a pair of freshmen to honorable mention all-conference laurels in Coleman Baker and Trent Harner.
Baker's first season at MU saw the Monarchs finish with a 13-4 overall record and a 7-3 mark in conference play as MU earned the conference tournament's No. 3 seed. He coached a pair of all-conference players, including first team selection R.J. Clement, who finished his junior season ranked 46th nationally in singles play as the Monarchs ended the year ranked 16th regionally as a team.
A native of Richmond, Va., Baker is a 1997 graduate of the University of Mississippi. He attended graduate school at Samford University, where he played two years for the men’s tennis program before becoming an assistant coach with the Bulldogs men’s and women’s teams in 1999.
In 2002, Baker was promoted to head coach for the men’s team and spent nine years with the Bulldogs, leading the team to three conference championships and two NCAA tournament berths.
Baker’s 2005 and 2006 teams finished second in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. The 2005 team was the OVC team champion after going 8-0 in conference play and Baker was named conference coach of the year following the season.
In 2007 and 2008, Baker brought two Top 25 Mid-Major recruiting classes to Samford, according to TennisRecruiting.net, and in 2008, he led the Bulldogs to the OVC tournament championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. The 2008 team finished the season 15-9 overall and posted an 11-1 mark in conference play.
Baker led his last Samford team in 2011 to the Southern Conference championship and an NCAA tournament appearance. The Bulldogs were 19-7 overall and 6-4 in conference that season, finishing sixth in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s final regional rankings.
Baker became the head coach at The Citadel prior to the 2012 season and led the Bulldogs to a 5-18 record in his only campaign with the team.
At Coastal Georgia, Baker compiled a combined record of 77-62 while coaching 29 all-conference players, five NAIA all-americans, and 16 ITA All-Academic selections.
During his time at Samford, Baker served as president of Bulldog Tennis Camps Inc., which hosted summer camps that attracted roughly 400 junior tennis players each year. He also directed Nike Tennis Camps while at Samford.
Baker has served on the ITA Southern Region Division I Ranking Committee and was a 2010 NCAA Site Representative for the first and second rounds in Waco, Texas. He is a certified professional of the Professional Tennis Registry, a member of the ITA, member of the Advisory Staff and Competition Team for Babolat USA and a registered Player Coach with WTA.
Baker's Record at Methodist…
| Season |
Record (Overall) |
Record (Conference) |
Season Notes… |
| 2016-17 |
13-4 |
7-3 |
USA South Tournament semifinalist |
| 2017-18 |
15-8 |
7-3 |
USA South Tournament finalist |
| 2018-19 |
14-12 |
6-2 |
USA South Tournament finalist |
| 2019-20* |
1-12 |
0-0 |
*Season canceled on 3/16/20 due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2020-21 |
8-13 |
3-2 |
|
| 2021-22 |
11-10 |
4-3 |
USA South Tournament semifinalist |
| TOTALS |
62-59 |
27-13 |
|
