MGCCC hires Blackburn as tennis coach

PERKINSTON — Sam Blackburn has returned to his alma mater and is ready to take over the program he starred in as a player.

Mississippi Gulf Coast has hired the former MACCC champion as the school's new men's and women's tennis coach. He will now have represented the Bulldogs as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

"When I made my first visit to Gulf Coast at 17, I felt drawn to it. I knew that it was the place for me to be," Blackburn said. "I had a great two years playing there, and later had the opportunity to return as an assistant coach. Returning to the program as the head is a dream come true. I've always felt so attached to the school, the campus and the tennis program. The opportunity to lead it and take it to high levels is so exciting to me."

Blackburn will be moving back to the area after spending the fall semester as an assistant coach at Clemson University.

"I am proud to have Sam return to the Gulf Coast family," Gulf Coast athletic director Steven Campbell said. "Sam excelled as both a student-athlete and assistant coach while here and I am confident that he will excel in his new role as the leader of our tennis program."

Blackburn won state singles and doubles championships as a freshman at Gulf Coast in 2015 and won the backdraw championship at the NJCAA Division I Championship as a sophomore in 2016.

Blackburn, who is originally from Enterprise, Ala., went on to play at Point University in West Point, Ga. He graduated there with a bachelor's in psychology and a minor in biblical studies, while winning ITA All-Academic honors. He was team captain at both his collegiate stops and earned conference All-Academic honors at Gulf Coast.

"I'm going to instill in our players that we're going to be excellent in everything that we do, from our workouts in the morning to the last ball we hit at practice," Blackburn said. "We're going to be excellent in every part of our day, as well as our schoolwork, to help us advance to the next level. If we do the little things right, that's going to help us do the big things even better." 

He also worked as a professional tennis instructor at The Meadow Club in Southampton, N.Y., where he taught private lessons and clinics and acted as tournament director. He has his Professional Tennis Registry certification and completed his master's in athletic administration at William Carey in 2020.

Blackburn was assistant coach at Gulf Coast in the 2019-20 season before leaving to be an assistant at Clemson this season. He couldn't turn down the opportunity to return to his alma mater. 

"I've coached players at all different levels," he said. "Being at Gulf Coast, I got to experience everything the school has to offer. We offer so much academically, that it's a great place to recruit to and it's a place people want to come to. Being at Clemson has exposed me to a very high level of tennis that will help me coach these players. It's going to help me get their game to their highest potential, and help them move on to the next level."

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