College Knowledge: Wesleyan University

MIDDLETOWN, CT - Since Mike Fried signed on as head coach of the Wesleyan University men’s and women’s tennis teams in 2012, he has elevated both squads to greatness. The Cardinals have been one of the most dominant programs in New England during that span, consistently finishing with a national ranking and seeing multiple players earn regular and postseason awards. In 2019, Fried posted the top women’s recruiting class in the nation and capped off the season with the team’s first DIII National Championship.  

He is one of only two coaches in DIII history to earn both the Men’s and Women’s ITA National Coach of the Year award. 

Mike answers some questions on his recruiting successes and the importance of having former New England juniors in his program. 

What type of athlete do you generally look to bring to Wesleyan?

We're looking to bring in driven, passionate, and committed student-athletes - recruits who can balance their academics and tennis and are excited to be part of a team and a family and to put in the work necessary to reach their full potential and compete for NCAA championships.

What personal characteristics do you look for in a recruit?

A genuine love of tennis; a fire to be part of a team; a desire to grow; passion; conscientiousness; resilience; grit; optimism; kindness; competitiveness.

You've had incredible success recruiting in your nine seasons at Wesleyan. What are some of your keys to success?  

It certainly helps to have the academic opportunity of one of the best schools in the country as our starting point! On top of that, we've been fortunate enough, through the recruiting process every year, to build relationships with recruits and their families that are excited about what we're doing as a tennis program and the culture of support and camaraderie that we've built. We feel like it's something really special, and we've been very lucky to be able to successfully get the word out over the past several years.

How do you ensure an athlete continues to improve once they reach the collegiate level?

To the point above, a huge part of that is related to recruiting the type of people who have a tremendous passion for tennis and for the team. With those types of kids on our roster, our commitment as coaches is to make sure that we're providing them the resources, coaching, comprehensive training, and supportive environment they need to reach their potential and be successful at the highest level.

How has COVID-19 affected the Wesleyan recruiting process?

Actually, the early part of the process - initial emails/texts/calls has remained largely the same; it's the next and later stages that have completely changed. In normal circumstances we'd be out at tournaments and showcases watching kids play in person - and inviting our top recruits to campus for visits. Everyone's making the best of it, but I think we're all excited to get back to face-to-face interactions!