Kemper Baker enters his seventh season as the men's head tennis coach at Samford after serving as an assistant coach in 2001-02.

Baker stresses three key elements in his effort to take the Samford men's tennis program to a top national level.

"Recruiting, scholarship and fitness are the top priorities in our tennis program," Baker said. "We only recruit the highest quality student-athletes to join our team here at Samford. We have and will continue to sign players who will represent Samford with their character as well as athletic and academic achievements."

Baker, a native of Richmond, Va., also serves as a player development coach for the Academy at Lakeshore, where he trains some of the best young junior players in Alabama.

Baker and other USTA coaches conduct area training centers for the junior players. The centers serve the dual purpose of exposing players to a high level of coaching in a competitive atmosphere and allowing the USTA to identify and develop the American tennis stars of the future.

As a player, Baker competed as a junior, collegian and professional. He has held world rankings in both singles and doubles. He currently competes on the USTA Professional Circuit as well as the ITF Futures and ATP tours.

Baker is a 1999 graduate of the University of Mississippi, where he played for the an Ole Miss Rebels tennis team that was ranked as high as fifth nationally.