Taylor Braziel begins his first season with the Wisconsin women's team in 2014-15 after serving a two-year stint as a volunteer assistant coach at Florida State. Braziel also spent three years as a teaching professional at the prestigious Rick Macci Tennis Academy.
“I’m really excited to join Coach Samara and the UW tennis program,” Braziel said. “The University of Wisconsin provides a lot of resources and opportunities for coaches to develop all-around student-athletes and turn them into professional players. I’m looking forward to developing our players and helping put our players and the team in a position where it’s succeeding amongst some of the best in the country.”
Braziel joins the Badgers after spending the 2014 and 2015 seasons at Florida State under head coach Dwayne Hultquist. With the Seminoles, Braziel introduced technological advances including the use of heart rate monitors in practice to improve conditioning. He also implements player video and analytics to improve on-court decision making.
Prior to his tenure at FSU, Braziel worked as a teaching professional at the Rick Macci Tennis Academy, coaching the top-ranked junior tennis players from 2011-13. Macci has coached five former No. 1 tennis players in the world: Americans Andy Roddick, Jennifer Capriati, and Venus & Serena Williams; and Russian Maria Sharapova.
“Taylor is a great addition to our program and I’m really excited for what he brings to Wisconsin women’s tennis,” Samara said. “During his coaching career, he has surrounded himself with really high-level coaches who have developed some of the best players in the world. I’m looking forward to tapping into the knowledge and experience that he has learned along the way.
“Everyone I spoke to about Taylor was extremely positive. I was told many times about how well he can read players and adapt to their needs. He brings a very selfless style of coaching and it’s reassuring to me to know that when we get on the court he is all about the player and their development.”
Braziel is a teaching professional certified by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA). He also worked as a teaching assistant at DB Racquet Club in Gainesville, Florida under Dave Blair, who is a former NCAA doubles champion. Among others, Braziel has served as a hitting partner for Jan Abaza who reached a career-high ranking of 374 by the Women’s Tennis Association, Georgia Tech standout Cole Fiegel, as well as former Florida All-American Alexis Gordon.
A native of Niceville, Florida, Braziel received an AA in Exercise and Sport Science at Santa Fe Community College and earned his bachelor’s degree from Florida State in 2015.
