Kalamazoo College Athletics

Mark Riley was named Kalamazoo College’s head men’s tennis coach and assistant director of the USTA Boys’ 18 & 16 National Championships on June 29, 2007. Mark assisted at the 2007 tournament and began directing it in 2008.

Riley was named Wilson/ITA Central Region Coach of the Year in 2017 after leading the Hornets to an 18-2 record. He earned his 400th career victory in a 9-0 win over Alma College on April 6, 2022.

Riley's 2010 and 2019 Kalamazoo College teams advanced to NCAA III Regional Championship matches. In 2010, the Hornets' sent two players (Pat Boyd/Cyrus Jadun) to the NCAA III Doubles Championships where they earned All-American honors. Branden Metzler competed in the NCAA III Singles Championships in 2016  and 2017, earning All-American honors both years. He advanced to the finals in 2016 and finished the season ranked No. 3 in the nation. He advanced to the semifinals in 2017 and finished the season ranked No. 4. Riley coached Ian Yi to a No. 17 national ranking at the end of 2019. 

Riley, a 1982 graduate of Kalamazoo College, was head men’s tennis coach at the University of Pennsylvania for seven seasons before returning to Kalamazoo. He led the Quakers to Ivy League championships in 2006 and 2007 and Eastern College Athletic Conference championships in 2005 and 2006. At Pennsylvania, Riley coached eight First Team All-Ivy selections, two Ivy League Rookies of the Year and an Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northeast Rookie of the Year. In 2006, Riley was named Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast Region Coach of the Year, United States Tennis Association-Middle States Tennis Association Section Coach of the Year, and Philadelphia Area Tennis District Collegiate Coach of the Year. In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Riley was Tournament Director for the ITA East Region Championships in 2002 and 2006. He was inducted into the Penn Tennis Hall of Fame on Nov. 4, 2017.

Prior to arriving at Penn., Riley served as head coach at the University of Kansas for four seasons (1997-2000). He led the Jayhawks to a school-best #9 national ranking, was a Big 12 runner-up and a three-time NCAA Region V Tournament qualifier.

His first head coaching position was at Drake University from 1994-1996, where he led the Bulldogs to runner-up finishes in the Missouri Valley Conference and at the NCAA Region V Tournament. He gained assistant coaching experience at Pennsylvania (1992-93) and Kansas (1993-94). In addition to his collegiate coaching positions, he has worked numerous camps, including the Levy Tennis Camp at the University of Pennsylvania and the Jayhawk Tennis Camp in Kansas. He was camp director for Team Riley in Philadelphia.

Riley began his collegiate playing career at the University of Pittsburgh, but transferred to Kalamazoo College after his freshman season. He was a Division III All-American and two-time captain at Kalamazoo College, where he played tennis for two years under coach George Acker. He played two singles and one doubles, and earned Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association most valuable player honors his senior season. In NCAA Division III singles competition, Riley was ranked #16 in 1981 and #10 in 1982. He was seeded fifth in the 1981 doubles and seventh in 1982. From 1984 to 1988, Riley was a world-ranked tennis player by the Association of Tennis Professionals. In 1985 he was the American Tennis Association Doubles Champion.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Kalamazoo College in 1982. He studied abroad in Spain, and completed a senior individualized project on the feasibility of ownership, construction and operation of an indoor racquet club. He was awarded the College’s Department of Education Prize for excellence in education courses following his junior year. Riley is a member of the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association and the United States Professional Teacher’s Association.

In addition to his responsibilities at Kalamazoo College, Riley served as vice-chair of the USTA Collegiate Varsity Committee (2009-2011), on the ITA Board of Directors (2007-2012), the Western Michigan Tennis Association Junior Committee (2008-2010), the YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo Board of Directors (2007-2009), and the USTA Junior Competition/Sportsmanship Committee (2012-2014). 

Riley presently serves on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III Central Region Awards Committee-Chair (2018-present), the NCAA Division III Tennis Committee (2019-present), and the NCAA Division III Rules Subcommittee (2020-present).

Mark Riley's Career Coaching Record

Overall Winning Percentage: .622
Ivy League Championships: 2
Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships: 2