MEN'S TENNIS
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- MBROTHE1@depaul.edu
- Phone:
- (773) 325-1450
Matt Brothers enters his 19th season as head coach of the DePaul men’s tennis team in 2025-26, after first joining the Blue Demons in August of 2007.
A three-time BIG EAST Champion, Brothers has compiled a 228-219 record in 18 seasons, including 46 BIG EAST Conference wins during his historic tenure. “The Architect” of the DePaul men’s tennis dynasty, he guided the Blue Demons to their first-ever BIG EAST Tournament title in 2021; kickstarting a dominant stretch that included three championships in four seasons. One of the winningest coaches in program history, Brothers ranks second in tenure behind the legendary George Lott, who led the program for 22 seasons.
Over nearly two decades, Brothers has elevated the program to national prominence, guiding DePaul to 10 top-four finishes at the BIG EAST Tournament—including titles in 2021, 2022, and 2024—and runner-up results in 2009, 2014, and 2018. DePaul earned the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Championship for the first time in 2016 and repeated that feat in 2018 and 2021.
Throughout his career, Brothers has coached two BIG EAST Players of the Year—Filip Dzanko in 2014 and Vito Tonejc in both 2021 and 2022—while producing 17 All-BIG EAST First Team honorees, five Second Team selections, and 39 total All-BIG EAST team members. He has mentored five BIG EAST Freshmen of the Year, including Alex Galoustian (2015), Vito Tonejc (2020), Marino Jakic (2022), Aleksa Krivokapic (2023), and Andy Hadziabdic (2025).
Under Brothers' leadership, three student-athletes have been named BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player: Luuk Wassenaar in 2021, Jakic in 2022, and Matteo Iaquinto in 2024. He has also coached two Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award winners, two Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award recipients, and four BIG EAST Sport Excellence Award winners—Vito Tonejc in 2021 and 2022, and Leon Huck in both 2023 and 2024. Brothers and his staff were named BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year in 2021, 2022, and 2024.
Off the court, Brothers has instilled a commitment to academics and service. DePaul has earned the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Team Academic Award in 16 of the last 17 years for maintaining a team GPA above 3.2. The team’s 3.89 GPA in 2019-20 ranked among the best in the country. Over the course of his tenure, 84 Blue Demons have earned BIG EAST All-Academic Team recognition, and numerous individuals have garnered ITA Scholar-Athlete honors for posting GPAs above 3.5. In 2020-21, all nine student-athletes earned the individual Scholar-Athlete honor. DePaul also received the ITA Community Service Award for three straight years from 2020 through 2022.
In 2025, DePaul re-entered the ITA national rankings for the first time since 2015, appearing at No. 61 on Feb. 20 and No. 72 on Feb. 25. It marked the program’s first back-to-back weeks in the rankings since March 2012 and continued a proud tradition that began with DePaul’s first-ever national ranking at No. 61 in 2000. Iaquinto and Hadziabdic both earned All-BIG EAST Honors, with Hadziabdic also becoming DePaul's fifth BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, the most by a single program since the award's inception in 2009.
The 2024 season saw the Blue Demons reclaim the BIG EAST Championship for the third time under Brothers and return to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years. Matteo Iaquinto earned BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors after clinching the title at No. 3 singles, and both Pablo Torres Almeida and Leon Huck were named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, with Huck also repeating as BIG EAST Sport Excellence Award winner.
In 2023, DePaul posted an 11-15 record and notched several gritty road wins, including a 5-2 victory at Xavier and a 5-2 upset at Purdue. The Blue Demons also defeated Princeton, Davidson, and Army while competing in a rigorous schedule that featured 11 away matches and four three-match weekends. Freshman Aleksa Krivokapic made an immediate impact, earning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors and a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
In 2022, DePaul became just the second team since the conference restructured in 2013 to win back-to-back titles. The Blue Demons finished a perfect 5-0 in BIG EAST play—the most wins in an undefeated conference slate—and completed their third straight undefeated season at home, going 4-0 in 2020, 6-0 in 2021, and 6-0 in 2022. Marino Jakic was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Vito Tonejc repeated as BIG EAST Player of the Year and earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors alongside Boris Spanjaard. Brothers and his staff were again honored as BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
DePaul’s breakthrough season came in 2021, as Brothers led the Blue Demons to their first-ever BIG EAST Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. The team finished 15-7, closing the year on a six-match win streak before falling to No. 6/17 Illinois in the NCAA opener. Luuk Wassenaar earned Most Outstanding Player honors after saving four match points to clinch the 4-3 title match victory over St. John’s. Vito Tonejc was named BIG EAST Player of the Year and earned First Team honors, while Boris Spanjaard joined him on the First Team and Wassenaar made the Second Team.
In 2019-20, Vito Tonejc went 20-12 overall in his debut season, leading the team at No. 1 singles. Fran Tonejc went 19-17 in singles, while Boris Spanjaard went 17-13 and Chris Casati finished 16-14. Conor O'Meara and Luke Wassenaar led doubles with a 13-6 record. The Blue Demons were 8-9 when the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2018-19 season saw DePaul return to the BIG EAST semifinals for the fourth straight year, finishing 11-14 with a 4-3 conference record and 6-2 mark at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness. In 2017-18, the Blue Demons reached the BIG EAST title match and posted a 17-10 overall record. Spanjaard, Alex Galoustian, and Casati earned All-BIG EAST honors, and Galoustian received the BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award.
DePaul went 16-10 overall and 3-0 in league play in 2016-17, earning its first No. 1 tournament seed. Galoustian and Nathan de Veer earned All-BIG EAST recognition. The 2015-16 squad went 10-15 and 4-1 in BIG EAST play, with seniors Sten Leusink and Jan Willem-Feilzer earning All-BIG EAST honors.
The 2014-15 team earned a 5-2 win over No. 51 Purdue and finished .500. Freshman Alex Galoustian was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and joined Nathan de Veer on the All-BIG EAST Team. The 2013-14 team finished as BIG EAST runner-up behind All-Conference selections Filip Dzanko, Sten Leusink, and David Vieyra. Dzanko was later named the 2014 BIG EAST Player of the Year.
From 2011 to 2013, DePaul reached as high as No. 47 nationally and stayed ranked for 14 straight weeks in 2011. That squad finished fifth at the BIG EAST Championship, and Sven Kasper became the first Blue Demon to earn BIG EAST Player of the Week honors. The 2011-12 Blue Demons played 12 ranked teams and finished with 119 singles victories.
Between 2009 and 2010, the Blue Demons made back-to-back semifinal appearances, highlighted by a win over No. 23 Louisville in 2009 and a program-best No. 50 ranking. The 2009-10 season featured 12 matches against ranked opponents and included a pair of victories over Marquette, including in the BIG EAST Championship opener. Vanja Grgec earned All-BIG EAST honors. DePaul reached the BIG EAST final for the first time in 2008-09, upsetting No. 23 Louisville and No. 43 SMU along the way. The team reached No. 50 in the ITA rankings and finished the year at No. 74 nationally and No. 11 in the Midwest Region. Jose Moncada was a unanimous All-Conference selection, and Austin Doerner and Ben Hartman reached No. 38 in the national doubles rankings.
In his debut season in 2007-08, Brothers led the Blue Demons to a 16-10 record and a third-place BIG EAST finish, upsetting No. 38 Louisville in the process. Jose Moncada and Alasdair Graetz were named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team.
Brothers came to DePaul after spending five seasons as the assistant coach of the Iowa men's tennis program from 2002 to 2007. He made an immediate impact with the Hawkeyes, helping them achieve both individual and team national rankings four out of five years. Brothers also helped mentor three-time Big Ten Conference standout Stuart Waters in his transition to professional tennis, where he earned ATP rankings in both singles and doubles. While at Iowa, Brothers also gained invaluable experience under head coach and 27-year veteran of the Big Ten, Steve Houghton.
Prior to coaching at Iowa, Brothers traveled throughout the United States and Europe for four years, competing in professional futures, satellites, and challengers. It was during this time that he learned the discipline and intensity necessary to compete at the highest levels of the game.
Brothers got his first taste of collegiate coaching while at Marquette, where he served as a graduate assistant while finishing his degree in 1997. As a collegiate player, Brothers was a team leader both on and off the court. While playing No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles for Marquette, he served as team captain, helped his team earn a top-10 ITA regional ranking and was honored with the Senior Leadership Award. Before transferring to Marquette in his junior year, Brothers played No. 1 singles and doubles at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where, as a freshman, he was awarded the Mid Continent Conference Rookie of the Year award and was picked first team all-conference both freshman and sophomore years.
Matt resides in Chicago with his wife Jennifer, their daughter Grace, and son Charlie.
Coaching Career
| Year | Team | Record | Pct. | Conf. Record | Conf. Pct. |
Conf. Finish |
Postseason | Awards |
| 2007-08 | DePaul | 16-10 | .615 | 4-2 | .666 | 3rd | ||
| 2008-09 | DePaul | 17-10 | .629 | 2-1 | .666 | 2nd | BIG EAST Runner-Up | Program-best 2nd place |
| 2009-10 | DePaul | 9-17 | .346 | 1-1 | .500 | 3rd | ||
| 2010-11 | DePaul | 18-9 | .666 | 1-1 | .500 | 5th | ||
| 2011-12 | DePaul | 11-15 | .423 | 0-2 | .000 | 5th | ||
| 2012-13 | DePaul | 6-18 | .250 | 0-1 | .000 | 6th | ||
| 2013-14 | DePaul | 11-14 | .440 | 2-2 | .500 | 2nd | BIG EAST Runner-Up | |
| 2014-15 | DePaul | 12-12 | .500 | 3-2 | .600 | 5th | ||
| 2015-16 | DePaul | 10-15 | .400 | 4-1 | .800 | 4th | ||
| 2016-17 | DePaul | 16-10 | .615 | 3-0 | 1.000 | 3rd | ||
| 2017-18 | DePaul | 17-10 | .629 | 3-1 | .750 | 2nd | BIG EAST Runner-Up | |
| 2018-19 | DePaul | 11-14 | .440 | 4-3 | .571 | 4th | ||
| 2019-20 | DePaul | 8-9 | .470 | 1-0 | 1.000 | N/A | ||
| 2020-21 | DePaul | 15-7 | .681 | 3-1 | .750 | 1st | BIG EAST Champions | Coaching Staff OTY |
| 2021-22 | DePaul | 13-13 | .500 | 5-0 | 1.000 | 1st | BIG EAST Champions | Coaching Staff OTY |
| 2022-23 | DePaul | 11-15 | .423 | 2-4 | .333 | 5th | ||
| 2023-24 | DePaul | 14-10 | .583 | 4-1 | .800 | 1st | BIG EAST Champions | Co-Coaching Staff OTY |
| 2024-25 | DePaul | 13-11 | .541 | 4-2 | .666 | 4th | ||
| TOTAL | 18 Seasons | 228-219 | .510 | 46-25 | .647 | 3x Champs | 3x Coaching Staff OTY |
