LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV women's tennis head coach Kevin Cory – the winningest coach in school and Mountain West history – has announced he will be retiring at the end of the 2024 season, capping a record-setting 25-year career on the courts in Las Vegas.
 
"It has truly been an honor to serve as the women's tennis coach at UNLV for 25 years," said Cory. "I feel very fortunate to be able to lead this special program but it's time to end this incredible journey after the season. We have so much to be proud of, both in the classroom and on the tennis courts.
 
"I want to thank all of the amazing student-athletes who chose to come to UNLV and gave everything they had for the Scarlet & Gray. I want to thank the administration, led by our Athletics Director Erick Harper, for providing us with everything we need to be a great program. I want to thank all of the assistant coaches -- without them this would not have been possible. I want to thank all the support staff at UNLV for making my job an easy one. I also want to thank the Las Vegas community and our donors for helping us build this program. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their ongoing support and love. I'm looking forward to making one more run this spring – and then always being a grateful supporter of UNLV."
 
A four-time ITA Regional Coach of the Year, three-time conference Coach of the Year and two-time USTPA Intermountain College Coach of the Year, Cory's strong leadership of Rebel Tennis has been evident on an annual basis. After having zero to its credit before Cory's arrival -- UNLV has won an eye-popping 13 total championships (six regular-season and seven tournaments), more than any other Mountain West school.
 
Cory's 391 wins – all earned at UNLV -- rank 20th in the nation among active coaches while his career winning percentage of .684 stands 42nd all-time in the sport of women's college tennis.
 
"Kevin Cory is part of an exclusive group of UNLV head coaches whose careers spanned decades and produced sustained, high-level success," said UNLV Director of Athletics Erick Harper. "He has earned his place among legendary Rebel Hall of Fame coaches such as Jerry Tarkanian, Dwaine Knight, Jim Reitz, Shan McDonald and Fred Dallimore. He built a nationally known program on the courts and a powerhouse in the classroom and we are grateful for Coach Cory making UNLV women's tennis what it is today – the winningest program in the history of a conference that started the same season he arrived here. Kevin will always be a Rebel and truly will be missed as he moves into retirement from coaching."
 
A veteran of the elite tennis world of the Southeastern Conference, Cory was named to lead the UNLV women's program on Aug. 17, 1999. During the ensuing 25 seasons, Cory firmly entrenched his team in the national rankings and himself as one of the top coaches in all the West, leading the Lady Rebels to an impressive 125-35 league mark that represents more wins than anyone else in the MW. That record does not include a sparkling 42-15 record in the conference's annual postseason tournament, an event UNLV has either won or finished as runner-up more than half of the time.
 
Just last season, Cory's Crew reached the MW championship match for a league-record sixth consecutive time (the event was canceled in both 2020 and '21 because of the pandemic) and dominated the week in Las Vegas en route to a conference-record seventh tourney title, downing Air Force 4-1 in the final. Cory reached another milestone at the event by becoming the first men's or women's tennis coach to post 40 career victories in MW Tournament play. The 2023 Rebels also boasted the most all-conference honorees in the league with five and earned their 12th trip under Cory to the NCAA Championship field.
 
Moving from one Rebel program to another, Cory came to Las Vegas from the University of Mississippi where he had served as assistant coach since 1996. The 1998 ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year moved to Ole Miss after three years as director of tennis for the Umpqua Valley Tennis Club in Roseburg, Oregon.
 
He began his career at Courthouse Athletic Club in Salem, Oregon, after graduating from the University of Oregon in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in sports management. The four-year letterman for the Ducks played No. 1 singles and doubles as a senior and was a 1990 first team All-Pac-10 selection while finishing in the top 10 in career victories at the school.
 
A native of California, he is a 1985 graduate of Los Altos High School. A longtime resident of Henderson, Cory has one son, Spencer.
 
Cory's final match on campus is set for April 19 vs. San Diego State before the team looks to earn yet another Mountain West title at the league's championship tournament at Las Vegas' Darling Tennis Center April 24-27.
 
 
KEVIN CORY'S UNLV COACHING HISTORY

YEAR   SCHOOL   RECORD   PCT.  MW     FINISH  MW TOUR.

2024    UNLV    3-2     .600  0-0

2023    UNLV    19-4    .826   8-2    2nd     3-0/1st 

2022    UNLV    19-6    .760   7-3    4th     2-1/2nd

2021    UNLV    12-6    .666   8-2    T2nd    N/A

2020    UNLV    4-5     .444   N/A    N/A     N/A

2019#   UNLV    18-7    .720   5-0    1st     3-0/1st

2018    UNLV    16-6    .727   5-0    1st     2-1/2nd

2017    UNLV    18-8    .692   5-1    T1st    2-1/2nd

2016*   UNLV    24-2    .923   5-1    T2nd    3-0/1st

2015    UNLV    7-17    .292   1-4    N/A     0-1/T9th

2014    UNLV    11-11   .500   2-3    N/A     1-1/T3rd

2013#   UNLV    20-8    .714   6-2    T2nd    3-0/1st

2012    UNLV    16-9    .640   5-2    T2nd    1-1/T3rd

2011#   UNLV    20-6    .769   8-0    1st     1-1/T3rd

2010    UNLV    22-5    .815   7-1    2nd     1-1/T3rd

2009    UNLV    20-8    .714   8-0    1st     2-1/2nd

2008    UNLV    17-9    .654   6-2    T2nd    3-0/1st

2007    UNLV    19-8    .704   6-2    T3rd    2-1/2nd

2006    UNLV    14-7    .667   6-2    T2nd    1-1/T3rd

2005    UNLV    14-9    .609   5-2    3rd     2-1/2nd

2004    UNLV    16-7    .696   5-2    3rd     1-1/3rd

2003    UNLV    16-6    .727   6-1    1st     1-1/3rd

2002*#  UNLV    20-4    .833   6-1    2nd     3-0/1st

2001    UNLV    11-12   .478   5-2    3rd     2-1/5th

2000*   UNLV    15-9    .625   NA     NA      3-0/1st

CAREER  25 YRS  391-181 .684   125-35         42-15

*MW Coach of the Year #ITA Regional Coach of the Year