Wisconsin Badgers

Kelcy McKenna enters her eighth season as head coach of the Wisconsin women's tennis team in 2023-24.

The Badgers had one of their best seasons in program history last year, winning an NCAA Tournament match for the first time since 2002, and reached as high as No. 11 in the ITA rankings, their highest team ranking since 1996, and finished the season ranked No. 22. Wisconsin was a force at the national level all season as it was ranked in the top-25 for 14 weeks. The Badgers recorded a 20-win season for the first time since 1996-97 and went 8-3 in Big Ten matches for the second straight season. Ava Markham and Maria Sholokhova were selected to the All-Big Ten team, while Markham was the first Badger to qualify in singles at the NCAA Tournament since 2016.

In her sixth season in Madison, the Badgers had a standout season, posting a 17-8 overall record with an 8-3 mark in Big Ten play. Ava Markham was one of four unanimous All-Big Ten selections and finished No. 96 in the ITA national singles rankings. The Badgers checked in at No. 45 in the final national rankings, marking the third straight season where Wisconsin has been ranked in the final poll.

The 2020-21 season brought unprecedented challenges due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, but the leadership of McKenna and her staff helped guide the Badgers to an 8-11 overall record (7-9 Big Ten). Wisconsin hosted the 2021 Big Ten Women's Tennis Tournament at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison. Ava Markham earned All-Big Ten honors, while eight Badgers earned ITA Scholar-Athlete honors for their work in the classroom. UW also saw five Badgers earn Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award recognition.

In 2019-20, McKenna and the Badgers got off to an 8-2 start overall before unfortunately seeing their season cut short and canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2018-19 season marked a banner year for the Wisconsin program, as the Badgers appeared in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005. Wisconsin finished second in the competitive Big Ten Conference with a 9-2 record, its best league finish and its most conference triumphs since 2002. In addition, Wisconsin's 18 wins marked its most since the 1997 campaign, and UW finished the season ranked No. 39 in the country. Sara Castellano earned first-team All-Big Ten accolades after earning seven wins against ranked opponents and finished runner-up in the 2018 ITA Women's All-American Tournament back draw. 

Wisconsin increased its win total by five in McKenna's second season in Madison, compiling a mark of 9-14 in 2017-18. That included a run of six consecutive wins to open the year. McKenna also oversaw the impressive debut season of freshman Lexi Keberle, who earned 2018 first-team all-Big Ten honors. Keberle became just the seventh Wisconsin freshman to merit first-team All-Big Ten honors and the first to do so since Barbara Urbanska in 1996.

 

The McKenna File

Hometown

North Bend, Ore.

Education

B.A., Elementary Eductation, Arizona State, 2010

M.S.E., Educational Leadership, Concordia, 2014

Coaching Experience

Head Coach, Wisconsin (2016-present)

Head Coach, New Mexico (2015-2016)

Assistant Coach, New Mexico (2013-2015)

Assistant Coach, Marshall (2012-2013)

 
McKenna's first season in Madison was a rebuilding effort, taking over a roster with only three returning players from the year before. The Badgers would begin the season 3-1, before finishing the year with a mark of 4-16.

"We are excited to welcome Kelcy to the Wisconsin family," former Wisconsin Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez said. "The thing that first struck me was her passion for her student-athletes. It was immediately clear how much she cares about them and that falls directly in line with our mission of the student-athlete experience here at Wisconsin. Kelcy was a tremendous tennis player and will bring a really strong work ethic to our team. When people talk about her, they always mention how she is a teacher and continually looking for new ways to improve her athletes. We think she'll be a perfect fit for our department."

Prior to joining Wisconsin, McKenna spent four seasons at the University of New Mexico. The head women's tennis coach at New Mexico during the 2015-16 season, McKenna also spent two and half seasons as the program's associate head coach before taking over the reins as the interim head coach for the final two months of the 2014-15 season. In her season as head coach, the Lobos went 15-7 and won the Mountain West Conference while climbing as high as No. 48 in the ITA national rankings. New Mexico boasted a trio of first-team all-conference players and four ITA Scholar Athletes that season.
 
The 2014 Mountain West Assistant Coach of the Year, McKenna was instrumental in the turnaround at New Mexico, inheriting a team that went just 7-13 in her first season, but would go 48-24 over the next three seasons and qualify for the 2015 NCAA Tournament, the school's first since 2006.
 
Prior to her stint at New Mexico, McKenna spent one season as an assistant coach at Marshall University.
 
The United States Tennis Association tabbed McKenna to lead the 2016 USTA Collegiate Division, which provides opportunities for top female collegiate players in the country to travel as a team to compete in professional summer tournaments while maintaining amateur status.

An All-American player at Arizona State in both singles and doubles, McKenna was ranked as high as No. 3 in the country in singles and No. 11 in doubles while at ASU. McKenna won multiple prestigious national tournaments including the 2009 ITA Riviera All-American Tournament, the 2010 Thunderbird and the 2010 Cal Nike Invitational.
 
McKenna was also a frequent NCAA participant as a Sun Devil, having qualified four times as a team participant, three times as a singles participant and twice as a doubles participant.  While at ASU, McKenna was a two-time Pac-10 All-Conference first-team selection. She also excelled off the court where she was a three-time ITA Scholar Athlete and the 2011 State Farm Good Neighbor Award winner.
 
In May 2013, McKenna won the US Open National Playoff Southwest Section Qualifying Tournament and earned a spot to compete in the US Open National Playoffs. She competed in singles and doubles. 
 
The North Bend, Oregon, native graduated from ASU in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and a master's degree in Educational Leadership from Concordia University in 2014. She is married to Matt Given.
 

Kelcy McKenna  |  Career Head Coaching Record
Year	University	Record	Pct.	Conference	Record	Finish	Postseason
2015-16	New Mexico	15-7	.682	Mountain West	5-0	1st	--
2016-17	Wisconsin	4-16	.200	Big Ten	0-11	14th	--
2017-18	Wisconsin	9-14	.391	Big Ten	3-8	11th	--
2018-19	Wisconsin	18-6	.750	Big Ten	9-2	2nd	NCAA First Round
2019-20	Wisconsin	8-2*	.800*	Big Ten	0-1*	--	--
2020-21	Wisconsin	8-11	.421	Big Ten	7-9	8th	--
2020-21	Wisconsin	8-11	.421	Big Ten	7-9	8th	--
2022-23	Wisconsin	20-7	.741	Big Ten	8-3	4th	NCAA Second Round
7-Year Career Record		99-72	.578		40-37

*season cut short/canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic