Mike Fried '91 - Men's Tennis Coach - Brown University Athletics

Mike Fried '91

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
mike_fried@brown.edu

Brown University's Samuel M. Mencoff '78 Vice President for Athletics and Recreation M. Grace Calhoun '92, Ph.D., announced the appointment of Mike Fried '91 as the new head coach of the men's tennis program on June 26, 2025. Fried is the 14th head coach in program history. Fried returns to Brown after 13 seasons as head coach of men’s and women’s tennis at Wesleyan University.

"I couldn't be more thrilled to welcome Mike Fried back to College Hill! With the continued strength of the Ivy League in men's tennis, Mike is the perfect fit for our program at this moment," Calhoun said. "He is a proven winner who understands our campus, loves Brown, and will create a unique experience here in an ultra-competitive conference."

“I’m excited to return to Brown and the Bears Men’s Tennis program,” Fried said. “The university and the team have had an extraordinary impact on my life. I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be back at my alma mater and impact the lives of the next generation of Brown student-athletes.”

During his playing career on College Hill, Fried was a four-year starter, a two-time captain, and a No. 1 singles and doubles player. Before his collegiate playing career, Fried was a national high school All-American and attained the No. 1 ranking in the Eastern Tennis Association men's open division. Fried posted wins over three eventual Grand Slam winners and competed against future professionals Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, and Michael Chang.

Fried served a two-year term on the ITA Board of Directors from 2022 to 2024. He was one of six head coaches across all NCAA Divisions on the board.

Fried led the Wesleyan men's and women's tennis programs to unprecedented success. This included the university's first women's NCAA Championship in 2019 and national runner-up finishes for the women's program in 2021 and 2024. In 2025, the Wesleyan women's team advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.

Fried departs Wesleyan as the winningest coach in Wesleyan women's tennis history with 179 wins and the second-most wins in Wesleyan men's tennis history with 109. Fried led the women's team to four 20-win seasons, the only 20-win seasons in program history.

In 2019, he became one of only two coaches to be named the ITA Coach of the Year for both the men's (2017) and women's (2019) teams.

Fried delivered nine recruiting classes that ranked in the top 10 nationally over the past 10 years, including the nation's second-best men's tennis class (2018) and the top recruiting class in the country for women (2019). He coached 71 All-NESCAC performers and 48 All-Americans during his 13-year tenure at Wesleyan.

Fried led the women's program to its first-ever NESCAC Semifinals (2015-16), second-ever NCAA Tournament (2015-16), first-ever Elite Eight (2016-17), first-ever National Championship (2019), and five straight NESCAC titles (2019-2024). Individually, he helped Eudice Chong to four consecutive NCAA singles titles, becoming the first-ever Division III player to do so.

He has been named the Northeast Region Coach of the Year twice (2018-19, 2021-22) for women's tennis and the NESCAC Coach of the Year four times (men's tennis in 2012-13, women's tennis in 2018-19, 2021-22, and 2022-23).

On the men's side, Fried led Wesleyan to its first-ever national ranking during his first season in 2013-14, finishing at No. 32. He was named NESCAC Co-Coach of the Year after his first season with the Cardinals. He coached the first two men's All-Americans since 1994, Steven Chen and Michael Liu. Chen and Liu were just the second and third All-Americans in program history. In 2015-16, Wesleyan finished No. 10 while advancing to the NESCAC Semifinal. Wesleyan finished the 2016-17 season ranked No. 5 nationally, its highest finish ever, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, where they advanced to the Elite 8. Wesleyan's 15 wins were the most in a season in program history; its 8-1 NESCAC mark earned them their first-ever regular-season title. Wesleyan finished the 2018-19 campaign ranked 11th, and Chen and Andrew Finkelman qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

In 2018-19, Fried led Wesleyan to its second-ever Elite Eight, earning 16 wins —the most in program history, following 15 wins in 2017-18. Individually, Wesleyan qualified a program-best three individual selections for the NCAA Championships. The doubles duo of Noah Lilienthal and Adrian Roji advanced to the NCAA Doubles Championship, marking the first appearance of any tandem in the men's program's history. Lilienthal was named the ITA Rookie of the Year in 2018-19.