KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A decorated former college tennis standout and experienced coach at the collegiate and professional levels, Jaime Barajas (pronounced: HIGH-may Buh-RAH-hoss) was announced as the next assistant coach for the Tennessee men’s tennis program by head coach Chris Woodruff Friday.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Jaime to Tennessee,” associate head coach James McKie said. “The experience he will bring to our program is invaluable and we look forward to how he will help our program continue to succeed.”
Most recently, prior to arriving in Knoxville, Barajas served as an independent contractor with the United States Tennis Association from 2019-22, working with some of the top junior tennis players in the country, along with transitional professionals.
His primary roles included on-court coaching, analyzing scouting reports, serving as a hitting partner and overseeing strength and conditioning workouts as needed.
Barajas coached ATP professional Brandon Nakashima, who achieved a career-high ATP world singles ranking of No. 43 in October of 2022. Under Barajas’ guidance at the 2022 San Diego Open, Nakashima won the title at the ATP 250 event in his hometown by defeating Marcos Giron (ATP 49) for the 21-year-old’s first career title. Nakashima rose from just outside the top 200 in the ATP rankings to as high as No. 43 while being coached by Barajas.
During the 2021-22 season, he served as the assistant coach for the University of the Pacific men’s tennis program.
“I would like to thank Chris (Woodruff) and James for trusting me and giving me this opportunity,” Barajas said. “I am beyond grateful to be joining such an experienced and well-coached team. I can’t wait to get to Rocky Top and begin this new journey.”
Barajas played at Utah State for four years, from 2014-18. He capped his collegiate playing career with 46 total victories in his senior season with Utah State and his efforts were duly rewarded with All-Mountain West honors in both singles and doubles.
After going 25-11 in singles and 21-12 in doubles play as a senior during the 2017-18 season, he finished his career with the Aggies as the winningest player in program history, tallying 152 combined singles (89) and doubles (63) wins.
He went undefeated in conference play at the No. 1 singles spot as a senior (6-0), recording four victories over nationally-ranked opponents to help push the Aggies to Mountain West regular season and…
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Jaime to Tennessee,” associate head coach James McKie said. “The experience he will bring to our program is invaluable and we look forward to how he will help our program continue to succeed.”
Most recently, prior to arriving in Knoxville, Barajas served as an independent contractor with the United States Tennis Association from 2019-22, working with some of the top junior tennis players in the country, along with transitional professionals.
His primary roles included on-court coaching, analyzing scouting reports, serving as a hitting partner and overseeing strength and conditioning workouts as needed.
Barajas coached ATP professional Brandon Nakashima, who achieved a career-high ATP world singles ranking of No. 43 in October of 2022. Under Barajas’ guidance at the 2022 San Diego Open, Nakashima won the title at the ATP 250 event in his hometown by defeating Marcos Giron (ATP 49) for the 21-year-old’s first career title. Nakashima rose from just outside the top 200 in the ATP rankings to as high as No. 43 while being coached by Barajas.
During the 2021-22 season, he served as the assistant coach for the University of the Pacific men’s tennis program.
“I would like to thank Chris (Woodruff) and James for trusting me and giving me this opportunity,” Barajas said. “I am beyond grateful to be joining such an experienced and well-coached team. I can’t wait to get to Rocky Top and begin this new journey.”
Barajas played at Utah State for four years, from 2014-18. He capped his collegiate playing career with 46 total victories in his senior season with Utah State and his efforts were duly rewarded with All-Mountain West honors in both singles and doubles.
After going 25-11 in singles and 21-12 in doubles play as a senior during the 2017-18 season, he finished his career with the Aggies as the winningest player in program history, tallying 152 combined singles (89) and doubles (63) wins.
He went undefeated in conference play at the No. 1 singles spot as a senior (6-0), recording four victories over nationally-ranked opponents to help push the Aggies to Mountain West regular season and…
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