Piedmont University Athletics

Matt Williams enters his fifth season as Head Men’s Tennis Coach in the fall of 2025 after being named head coach in the summer of 2021. Over his tenure, Williams has steadily elevated the program’s profile and success.

The 2025 season marked the Lions’ fourth consecutive winning campaign, highlighted by a third straight appearance in the CCS Tournament Final. Under Williams’ guidance, the team saw three players earn All-Conference honors while four received CSC Academic All-District recognition, demonstrating the program’s commitment to excellence both on the court and in the classroom.

In 2024, Williams led the Lions to new heights, setting a program record with 19 wins in a season. The team secured an undefeated CCS regular season and claimed the regular season championship, highlighted by a thrilling home victory over Covenant. That year, Charles Parnell earned CCS Rookie of the Year honors, and six players were named All-Conference leading to Williams being named CCS Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

The 2023 squad also posted a strong 15-6 record, losing only once in conference play. Piedmont advanced to the inaugural CCS Tournament Final, with Williams earning CCS Coach of the Year honors as voted by the league’s coaches. Four athletes earned All-CCS recognition, while three players were named CSC Academic All-District.

Williams’ first season at Piedmont saw the team achieve a program-record 16 wins, including a significant non-conference victory over Berry, the program’s first over the Vikings since 2016. The Lions dominated conference play, losing just once. On an individual level, Williams guided a program-record five players to All-USA South honors, while Alberto Nunez and Ryan Raugh collectively earned five USA South Rookie of the Week awards.

Prior to Piedmont, Williams gained coaching experience across the North Georgia region. He began his career at Southern Wesleyan University as Assistant Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach, where he helped lead the men’s team to the 2014 Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament during the program’s inaugural league season.

Williams then returned to Georgia, serving as a graduate manager and volunteer assistant for the University of Georgia women’s tennis program, eventually becoming the interim assistant coach and program specialist from 2016-2018. In this role, he managed video analysis, tennis analytics, budgeting, scheduling, and recruiting coordination.

He spent the 2018-19 season as Assistant Women’s Tennis Coach at the University of Delaware, contributing to recruiting the highest-ranked prospect in school history and working with an ITA Ann Lebedeff Leadership Award Finalist. Williams then served as Assistant Men’s Tennis Coach at Georgia State for the 2019-20 season before joining Piedmont.

Williams also has extensive experience coaching at notable tennis camps, including the Jeff Wallace Bulldog Tennis Camp and Manny Diaz Bulldog Tennis Camp at UGA, the Nancy Harris Tiger Tennis Camp at Clemson, and the UCLA Billy Martin Tennis Camp.

In addition to his coaching, Williams has been involved in international tennis development efforts. He volunteered with Mercer on Mission in Mozambique and partnered with the Oyebog Tennis Academy in Cameroon to collect tennis equipment and support youth development.

A 2012 graduate of Mercer University with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, Williams earned a Master’s degree in Kinesiology from the University of Georgia in 2016.