Kelcy McKenna enters her second season (2026-27) as head coach of the SMU women's tennis program. McKenna arrived on the Hilltop and was named head coach on Aug. 11, 2025, after nine seasons as the head coach at Wisconsin.
SMU made the NCAA Championships, advancing to the second round with a 4-1 win over Wichita State in round one, in her first year on the Hilltop. McKenna led the Mustangs to a 16-8 overall record and a 7-5 mark in ACC play.
McKenna coached the program's first All-ACC performers in freshman Amelie Van Impe and junior Caroline McGinley. Van Impe was named ACC Freshman of the Year and to the All-ACC Singles First Team, while she and McGinley made the All-ACC Doubles Second Team.
With seven new athletes on the roster in 2025-26, the Mustangs still managed to have a historic season, ending the year ranked No. 24 in the country by the ITA, the program's highest final ranking since 2009.
Individually, Van Impe and Sophie Llewellyn finished the year ranked in singles at No. 28 and No. 75, respectively. In doubles, McGinley and Van Impe finished the year ranked No. 16, the highest doubles end-of-year ranking for SMU women's tennis since 1989.
Under McKenna, Llewellyn also qualified for the NCAA Singles Championships in the fall of 2025, becoming the first Mustang to qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships since Marta Lesniak did so in 2011. Llewellyn advanced to the second round of the tournament by defeating Texas A&M's Violeta Martinez 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in Orlando.
Prior to SMU, McKenna transformed the Wisconsin women's tennis program into a perennial NCAA tournament team.
McKenna's tenure at Wisconsin was defined by a dramatic turnaround in the program. When she arrived in 2016, the Badgers were coming off a 4–16 season and a winless Big Ten campaign. In her second year, Wisconsin began to show progress, and by her third season in 2018–19, the team posted an 18–6 record, finished second in the Big Ten at 9–2, and earned its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2005. By 2023, the Badgers had achieved one of the best seasons in school history: 20 victories (first in 25 years), a No. 11 national ranking at their peak (highest since 1996), and a season-ending No. 22 ITA ranking, along with the program's first NCAA Tournament win since 2002. Under McKenna's leadership, Wisconsin evolved from the bottom of the Big Ten into a nationally respected contender, consistently competing against and defeating top-25 programs.
Over the last three seasons, McKenna has led the Badgers to a record of 58-21, including three straight NCAA Round of 32 appearances. Last season, McKenna coached Maria Sholokhova to the 2024 Women's ITA All-American Singles Championship, making Sholokhova the program's first All-American since 1998 in 2025. McKenna and Sholokhova became the first coach-player duo, men's or women's, to win the ITA All-American Singles Championship.
"Simply put, Kelcy McKenna is one of the best women's tennis coaches in the country," said Damon Evans, Director of Athletics. "Recruiting a head coach of the caliber of Kelcy is a testament to the incredible program we are building here at SMU. High expectations attract incredible people, and Kelcy is embracing the goal to build a championship-level program here in Dallas."
"From my first conversation with Damon, it was clear his vision for SMU Athletics is bold, ambitious, and championship-driven," McKenna said. "That vision, combined with the campus energy and world-class facilities, makes this an opportunity I'm eager to embrace. I'm profoundly grateful to Damon and the SMU Athletics Executive Leadership Team for entrusting me to build something special here on the Hilltop."
"My husband and I are thrilled to join the SMU family and become part of the vibrant Mustang community," McKenna added.
Prior to her coaching career, McKenna was an All-American student-athlete at Arizona State in both singles and doubles, ranking as high as No. 3 in the country in singles and No. 11 in doubles. McKenna won multiple prestigious national tournaments, including the 2009 ITA Riviera All-American Tournament, the 2010 Thunderbird and the 2010 Cal Nike Invitational.
A native of North Bend, Oregon, McKenna graduated from ASU in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education and a master's degree in educational leadership from Concordia University in 2014. She is married to Matt Given and the couple has two dogs: Jordy and Aspen.
