Temple, Drexel announce coaching changes ahead of the 2024-25 season
Jeff Brandes will become the director of tennis at Temple, while Steve Boyle, Drexel's interim men's lacrosse coach, was named this week as the program's seventh head coach.
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Temple and Drexel bolstered a pair of their programs with the announcement of new coaching hires this week.
Jeff Brandes will become the Owls’ new director of tennis and will be formally announced during a news conference next Wednesday. Brandes’ first order of business will be to find a replacement for coach Steve Mauro, who retired after 19 seasons, and oversee the remodeling plans of Temple’s 52,000-square-foot tennis facility.
“We are excited to have Coach Brandes join our team to lead and develop our tennis student-athletes,” Owls athletic director Arthur Johnson said in a statement. “His passion for tennis and his commitment to excellence on and off the court have been evident over his impressive coaching career. I want to thank our student-athletes through this process and the committee for bringing us great candidates to consider.”
Brandes arrives on North Broad from Fairleigh Dickinson, but he’s known for the success he built during his nine seasons as the head coach at Drew University in Madison, N.J. At Drew, Landes was named coach of the year in the Northeast division of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association in 2011 and won back-to-back coach of the year Awards in Landmark Conference during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
He also led Drew to six conference titles and five NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. He coached a seventh-ranked doubles team that qualified for nationals and was named to the ITA All-America list.
» READ MORE: Temple unveils plan for 52,000-square-foot tennis complex
At Drexel, the Dragons announced that interim coach Steve Boyle will become the seventh head coach of the men’s lacrosse program following Brian Voelker’s retirement this offseason. Voelker led Drexel’s program for 15 seasons.
Boyle will look to build off the success of Voelker, who led the Dragons to two NCAA Tournament appearances, two Coastal Athletic Association crowns, and advanced to the CAA postseason 12 times, the most of any lacrosse program in the conference.
“After a national search that included a talented group of coaches, we are excited to have Steve take the reins of the men’s lacrosse program,” Dragons athletic director Maisha Kelly said via a statement. “Steve’s professionalism, commitment, and vision for the program expressed charting a new course for pursuing success while embracing the legacy of Drexel men’s lacrosse.”
As an assistant for Voelker for 10 seasons, Boyle’s insight into the program is welcomed, considering he was part of a program that created several All-American performers, the most recent being Ryan Genord, who was named a USA Lacrosse All-American in 2021.
Boyle leads a team featuring sophomore attack Gavin Kelly, the first Drexel freshman named first-team all-CAA. They’ll continue to look to Kelly to replace the output of Jack Mulcahy, who was named CAA Offensive Player of the Year in 2022.
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Before his decade at Drexel, Boyle also served as an assistant at Brown for three seasons. This will be his first head coaching job.
“I have been so passionate about this program and this university, I cannot wait to start this new chapter leading our young men to success both on and off the field,” Boyle said. “I’m humbled and grateful to the administration, community, and all of the incredible alumni who represent Drexel lacrosse.”