John Bryant is returning as the SBU tennis interim head coach for his 59th season (2024-25) as a member of the SBU tennis program. His career coaching record sits at 970-532 (.646), including a 729-405 record on the Men’s side and a 241-122 record on the women’s side. Bryant’s teams have won 21 NAIA District Championships (18 men, 3 women), 20 MIAA Championships (15 men, 6 women), and made 50 National Tournament appearances (38 men, 10 women). John has also coached 40+ All-American athletes.
Bryant has also led his teams to 7 NCAA or NAIA National Championships (4 individual, 2 doubles and 1 team title). The National Championships are highlighted by Bryant’s 1984 Men’s Tennis Team that won the NAIA team title. That team, made up of Raul Saad, Sven Groeneveld, David Smashey, Gregg Yarbrough, Ronen Graziani, and Kevin Kopp, was inducted into the SBU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009. Alvaro Jordan was the program’s first National Champion when he won the NAIA singles championship in 1983. In 1984, Kevin Kopp and Gregg Yarbrough won the program’s first doubles championship at the NAIA Tournament. In 1993, Michael Obertop was the NCAA/ITA DII Singles National Champion. In 2002, Andras Bori and Mark Eori won the NCAA/ITA DII Doubles National Championship. In 2004, Dante Cipulli was a National Champion at the NCAA/ITA DII National Tournament. He went on to play in the 2004 ITA Super Bowl, which include the National Champions from NCAA D2 and D3 levels, along with the NAIA and Junior College ranks. Cipulli was the National Champion at that tournament as well.
Along with all of his team's successes, John Bryant has helped players to a variety of individual awards as well. He has had 3 players win the Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship Award (Gary Jones, 1990; Jordan Sanchez, 1992; and Michael Obertop, 1994). He has also coached 2 NCAA National Players of the Year (Alvaro Jordan, 1983; Dante Cipulli 2004). Michael OBertop and Mark Eori each won the Ken B. Jones Award given out to one MIAA Athlete each year, based on athletic accomplishments; career academic accomplishments, yearly campus/community service, and career athletic and service achievements.
Bryant’s teams have had a great deal of academic success to go along with their athletics success. John has coached 16 ITA All-Academic Teams (7 men, 9 women) and 68 ITA Scholar Athletes (22 men, 46 women). He has also coached 5 COSIDA Academic All-Americans in Michael Obertop, Mark Eori, Domingos Carissimo, and Fanni Varga (twice). Also, Angela Panovski won the NCAA DII Elite 89 Award, which is awarded to the athlete with the highest GPA playing in the NCAA National Tournament.
During his outstanding career, John has earned many awards and accolades for his work as a teacher and coach, highlighted by his induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. He was also inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1987 and the SBU Sports Hall of Fame in 1982. John was named the NCAA/ITA DII National Coach of the Year in 1990 and the NAIA National Coach of the Year in 1983. He has also been named MIAA Coach of the Year 12 times. As a teacher, John was the Governor’s Award for Teaching recipient in 1997 and was given the Hendrix Distinguished Teacher award at SBU in 1974.
Over the years, John has served collegiate tennis in a variety of capacities. He is currently serving on the ITA Board of Directors for the second time. He was on the Board from 1989-96 and has been serving his current term since 2011. Bryant also served as the NCAA DII National Tennis Committee chair and the NCAA/ITA DII National Ranking Committee chair from 1989-96. He was also the President of the NAIA Tennis Coaches Association in 1979 and 1987. Also, under John’s leadership, SBU was an NCAA DII National Championship Host in 1989, 1994, 1997, and 1998.
Along with coaching tennis for the last five decades, he has also filled many other roles at SBU as well. He has served as an Associate Professor of Mathematics in the College of Science and Mathematics since 1966. John was the SBU Director of Athletics for six years from 1989 until 1995. He has served as the Men’s Tennis Coach for all 50 years, as well as the Women’s Tennis coach from 1980-82, 1997-99, and has filled that role since 2006. John is also the Director of the Bearcat Tennis Camp, filling that role since 1976.
Prior to coming to SBU, Bryant worked as a math teacher at Culkin Academy from 1963-65 and at Warren Central High School from 1965-66, both located in Vicksburg, Mississippi. John Bryant graduated with an Associate of Arts degree from Southwest Baptist College in 1961. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education from Mississippi College in 1963. John also earned two graduate degrees, a Master of Education in Math in 1966 from Mississippi College and a Master of Arts in Mathematics from the University of Illinois in 1970.
John Bryant currently resides in Bolivar, Missouri with his wife Judy. The couple has been married for 51 years (1964). Judy earned her Bachelor of Science from Mississippi College, her Master of Arts from Missouri State, and her Doctorate in Education from the University of Missouri. She spent 20 years teaching in Public School and 20 years teaching at SBU. She retired as SBU’s Education Department chair. John and Judy have one daughter, Jana. Jana earned her Bachelor of Science from SBU, her Master of Science from the University of Illinois, and her Doctor of Medicine from Kansas Medical School. She is married to Dr. Doug Horner. Together, the couple has two children: John Douglas and Jillian. Doug and Jana both work as radiologists at Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar. Jana is a member of the SBU Board of Trustees.
John enjoys teaching, coaching, playing the guitar, Red Sox baseball, and hanging out with his family. The family has been members at First Baptist Bolivar since 1960.
