Kemper Baker is in the midst of his ninth season as the head men's tennis coach at Samford University. During his productive tenure, he has guided the Bulldogs to an NCAA Tournament appearance and was named the Ohio Valley Conference's Coach of the Year in 2005.
In 2008, Baker led the Bulldogs to the OVC Tournament Championship title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Samford finished the season with a 15-9 overall record, including a remarkable 11-1 mark in conference play.
In the opening round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs squared off against the Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee, Fla.
Baker was named Samford's head men's tennis coach in 2002 after he spent two of the previous three seasons serving as the University's assistant coach. As the Bulldogs' assistant coach in 1998-99 and 2000-01, Baker helped lead Samford to the Trans-America Athletic Conference title match as well as a top-15 ranking in the ITA's talent-laden South Region.
Already in his time at Samford, Baker has brought the Bulldogs' program to a national level of success and he continually stresses three key elements in his effort to ever improve the team's ranking.
"Recruiting, scholarship and fitness are the top priorities in our tennis program," Baker said. "We only recruit the highest quality student-athletes to join our team here at Samford. We have and will continue to sign players who will represent Samford with their character as well as athletic and academic achievements."
Baker immediately improved Samford's program even further since being named head coach. In only three short seasons, he took the Bulldogs from a 6-13 record to a 14-9 overall mark in 2006.
Baker's 2005 team posted an undefeated 8-0 record in conference play and placed second in the OVC Tournament in both 2005 and 2006. He was named the OVC's Coach of the Year in 2005, and has since brought national prominence to Samford by signing some of the nation's top talent.
Samford's 2008 recruiting class was ranked No. 16 among mid-majors by www.TennisRecruiting.net.
Baker, a native of Richmond, Va., also serves as a player development coach for the Academy at Lakeshore, where he trains some of the best young junior players in Alabama.
Baker and other USTA coaches, conduct area training centers for the junior players. The centers serve the dual purpose of exposing players to a high level of coaching in a competitive atmosphere and allowing the USTA to identify and develop the American tennis stars of the future.
As a player, Baker competed at an elite national level as a junior, collegian and professional. He has held world rankings in both singles and doubles, and he currently competes on the USTA Professional Circuit as well as the ITF Futures and ATP tours.
Baker is a 1999 graduate of the University of Mississippi, where he played for the Ole Miss Rebels tennis team that was ranked as high as fifth nationally. He graduated from Ole Miss with a Bachelor of Arts degree and is married to the former Virginia Miller of Columbus, Ga.
