Slamstox is proud to announce the addition of Tanner Stump to our team! Tanner is a former NCAA D1 tennis player and coach, and comes in with an impressive CV.
After graduating from Mississippi State, Tanner has held numerous successful coaching positions, most recently at the University of Florida. With the Florida Gators, Tanner won the NCAA D1 national championship in 2021 and was named the ITA Assistant Coach of the year. His experience and ambitions to help student-athletes excel in their academic and athletic careers, align very well with the international expansion plans of Slamstox.
Want to know more about Tanner, his impressive career, and our collaboration? Read on!
From player to coach
Tanner played on the men’s tennis team at Mississippi State for 4 years and graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in business. Stump was an instrumental part of the Bulldogs’ rise back into national prominence in his time at Mississippi State, culminating in the program’s first SEC Western Division crown his senior season and a top-20 finish in the ITA National Rankings.
After his playing career, Tanner got into coaching and held coaching positions at MTSU and Furman before returning to Mississippi State as an assistant coach. While at Mississippi State, Tanner recruited 7 players in 1 year who advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 as a Freshman class. He also recruited and coached Nuno Borges from Portugal, who broke the ATP Top 100 last year.
In 2016, Stump was hired as the assistant coach of the University of Florida, the beginning of an impressive run. While the University of Florida was consistently ranked amongst the top 25 programs in college tennis at that time, the goal was to become the Nr. 1 program in the country. Tanner was brought in to help make that happen. Recruiting was one of his major assignments, and Tanner turned recruiting into his specialty. He landed two #1 recruiting classes at the University of Florida.
NCAA National Champion
As a coach with the Gators, Tanner did an incredible job not only recruiting, but also developing players to the max of their potential. In Stump’s six seasons at Florida, he has helped guide the Gators to a 130-32 overall record, one NCAA title, two NCAA singles titles (Ben Shelton – 2022; Sam Riffice – 2021), three SEC titles, one SEC Tournament title and five NCAA Tournament appearances, gradually improving their run each season (Sweet 16 in 2017, Elite 8 in 2018, Final 4 in 2019 and national champions in 2021). After the team’s historic run in the NCAA tournament in 2021, Stump was named ITA Assistant Coach of the Year.
One of the best players Tanner has coached during his time at Florida, Ben Shelton, turned professional in 2022 and is already ranked inside the Top 100 of the ATP rankings. Another great example that college tennis is a very solid pathway to pro tennis. Shelton’s biggest win in 2022 was probably his win over Casper Ruud at the Cincinnati Open.
Slamstox in Florida
‘’Joining Slamstox is the perfect next step for me”, says Tanner. “After stepping down as a coach I wanted to spend more time with my family, but at the same time keep contributing to the development of student-athletes around the world. With my background in coaching and my recruiting experience, I will be able to help many players in the next step of their careers.”
Tanner was no stranger to Slamstox, as he visited us back in 2018 on a recruiting trip. “Pedro and his team are already doing an amazing job and handle their recruiting processes with the highest level of professionalism. As a coach, it was always very nice to work with them due to their commitment to find the absolute best match for both player and coach. I’m very happy to be joining Slamstox because they are one of the few, in my opinion, who do it right.”
Residing in and working from Gainesville in Florida, Tanner will join the team on a full-time basis and will primarily work for our student-athletes in the US and other countries. “I’m very excited to add Tanner to our team” says Pedro Mol, CEO and founder of Slamstox. “I’ve always had a lot of respect for Tanner as a coach, specifically for his thoroughness and ability to build relationships throughout the recruiting process. His personality, values and recruiting style fit very well with our company. We’re going to do great things together.”
Are you interested in meeting Tanner to learn more about your chances to become a student-athlete in the United States? Send him an email at tanner@slamstox.com or sign up for a free meeting. See you soon!
