St. John’s University announced on Tuesday that former four-time All-American, ITA National Player of the Year, and 2012 NCAA Singles Champion Dillon Pottish has been named as the newest head coach for the men’s tennis program.
“I am extremely excited to be at St. John’s, and the potential for the program is very high,” said Pottish. “As a native New Yorker, I’ve always been a fan of St. John’s so to be named men’s tennis coach is something I’m very proud of.”
A success wherever he has been, Pottish hopes to continue the winning tradition that St. John’s has established in the BIG EAST Conference, as well as the national level.
“I came here to win BIG EAST titles, make runs in the NCAA Tournament, and help these young men grow on-and-off the court,” stressed Pottish. “I want to thank Kathleen Meehan and Lauren Leo for giving me the opportunity and having the trust in me to lead this program.”
Pottish joins St. John’s following a stint in Morningside Heights, where he served as the assistant coach for the Columbia women’s tennis team. With the Lions, Pottish assembled the third ranked recruiting class in the country, the best in program history, and helped the squad improve its win total by seven wins in 2018.
Prior to Columbia, Pottish held a similar title at Georgetown where the Long Island native assisted both the men’s and women’s programs for the Hoyas in 2016-17. Pottish helped assemble Georgetown's 2017 men's recruiting class, which was one of the best groups in school history and voted as the nation's No. 22 ranked recruiting class by tennisrecruiting.net. He also helped lead the Hoyas women's program to a 13-6 record. Pottish also served as hitting partner for Anna Taishvili, who ranked No. 50 in the WTA world rankings and advanced to the fourth round of the U.S. Open.
Before heading to the nation’s capital, Pottish served as the graduate assistant coach for the men's and women's program at NCAA Division III Emory University in Atlanta for two years from 2013-15. With his assistance, the Eagles advanced to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals in both seasons and he also had players appear in the NCAA Division III Singles Championship.
An accomplished player, Pottish won the NCAA Division III Singles National Championship in 2012 and finished as the national runner-up in 2011. In 2012, he led Emory to its third NCAA Division III Team National Championship in school history with an undefeated 25-0 record. During his career from 2008-12, Pottish was ranked No. 1 in the country as a sophomore, junior, and senior. He was named the ITA National Player of the Year in 2012 and compiled a school-record .874 career winning percentage (97-14).
Following his intercollegiate career, Pottish competed on the ATP World Tour for two years as well as playing club tennis in Germany and Switzerland.
Pottish earned his master’s degree in sports administration from Georgia State University in Atlanta with a perfect 4.0 GPA after completing his undergraduate degree from Emory.
