Architect of two national powerhouses at the Division II level, Tusculum men’s and women’s tennis head coach Adam Jackson was named Longwood's director of tennis in July of 2021.
In Jackson's first year in charge, both the men's and women's programs improved their win totals by eight combined wins. The women's team also had their first doubles All-Conference pair in over three seasons.
With a coaching resume defined by championship success at the national and conference level, Jackson was a two-time South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year and four-time SAC champion at Tusculum, and won a combined three NAIA National Championships in both men’s and women’s tennis as an assistant coach at Georgia Gwinnett.
A 2007 graduate of Appalachian State who also holds a master’s degree in secondary education from Piedmont College, Jackson amassed a 177-55 overall record in his six years coaching Tusculum’s men’s and women’s programs. His men went 83-37 and won SAC Championships in 2016 and 2021, while his women’s teams went 94-30 with SAC titles in 2017 and 2019, three consecutive NCAA Tournament berths, and four top-two finishes in the SAC standings.
The Pioneers experienced historic success on both an individual level as well under Jackson, including the program’s first-ever female All-Americans in twin sisters Annie and Caitlin McCullough, two ITA Cup National Championship runners-up, and two SAC Players of the Year, one male and one female.
During Jackson’s tenure, Tusculum’s success went beyond the SAC conference to the national level with his women’s team achieving the program’s highest-ever ranking at No. 14 in 2018, and the men doing the same at No. 24 in 2021. Tusculum’s highest-ever top-25 wins also came under his direction, with the women knocking off No. 11 Wingate in 2019 and the men toppling No. 16 Queens in 2018.
That success followed a breakthrough start in the college coaching world, which Jackson began as an assistant coach at NAIA national powerhouse Georgia Gwinnett in 2013. In his two seasons with the Grizzlies, Jackson helped head coach Chase Hodges capture back-to-back NAIA National Championships in men’s tennis in 2014 and 2015, as well as a women’s national title in 2014 and a runner-up finish in 2015. The Grizzly men went a combined 37-2 during his tenure, while the women went 29-11.
Along with his experience at the collegiate level, Jackson was also a high school boys’ coach at Grayson High School in Loganville, Va., and a teaching professional at both the Jennings Mill Country Club in Bogart, Ga., from 2001-09, and The Georgia Club in Statham, Ga., from 2012-15.
A decorated student-athlete at Wingate from 2001-03, Jackson helped the Bulldogs to a national ranking and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in more than a decade in 2002. He also won a Georgia High School State Championship in 1999 and was the state’s Region 8AAA singles champ as a senior in 2001.
Jackson has also been involved with college tennis administration and professional development at the national level, serving on the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee since 2019.
A native of Watkinsville, Ga., Jackson and his wife, Dana, have two sons, Gus and Jake.
