Missouri Western State University Director of Athletics Kurt McGuffin has announced the hiring of Chris Canady as Head Women’s Tennis Coach at MWSU.
“I am excited to welcome Chris to our department and family,” McGuffin said. “He is from Missouri and played and coached at MIAA foe Southwest Baptist. He brings a pedigree of having been in successful programs and it is my belief he will build a tradition of excellence both on and off the court with our tennis team.”
Canady replaces Tom Smith, who took over the program in 2013 after a 25 year run as the head men’s basketball coach at Missouri Western. Canady will officially take over the program in October. He becomes Missouri Western’s first full-time women’s tennis coach.
“I want to thank Coach Smith for everything he has done the last few months as tennis coach. He stepped up and did our department a huge service and has done everything I asked him to do, and more, when he agreed to take this position,” McGuffin said.
Most recently, Canady has been the director of high performance for Upper St. Clair Tennis Development in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Canady is familiar with the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association, having played and coached at Southwest Baptist University.
Since joining USC Tennis Development Program in 2011, Canady worked tirelessly developing a culture that helped produce numerous nationally and sectionally ranked players. Players Canady has worked with in the program have attended some of the top tennis programs in the country.
“Having both competed and coached in the MIAA, I have a clear understanding of what it takes to be successful at this level,” Canady said. “Combining that with all the experience I have gained over the last six years coaching at the Division I level and developing high performance junior players, I am confident we can have MWSU competing for MIAA championships in relatively short order.”
After graduating with a B.S. in recreation from SBU in 2007, Canady worked as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, helping both the men’s and women’s tennis programs claim MIAA championships in 2008. Canady then moved on to Stony Brook University where he assisted both the men’s and women’s tennis programs for two seasons (2008-2010), focusing on player development and domestic recruiting. Since then, Canady has been a volunteer assistant with the California University of Pennsylvania women’s team, primarily working on international recruitment.
— MWSU Sports Information —