CREDENTIALS: In his fourth season as men’s head tennis coach this spring, Keckley’s team won its sixth consecutive West Coast Conference Tournament Championship, beat Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA tournament before losing to perennial powerhouse USC, and was ranked 25th in the country. “I think this team can make a run for the Sweet 16 in the coming year. It’s never been done before at USD and it’s always been one of our goals.”
MATCH POINT: Keckley married Maine native Cortney Marsh in June, after dating for seven years as the two pursued their career goals. “East Coast humor, very down to earth” is how he describes his wife, who completed her nurse practitioner’s degree this summer before the two honeymooned in Greece.
STYLE OF PLAY: Keckley was the 2002 Indiana state high schools singles champion before attending Notre Dame, where he enjoyed a successful undergraduate career, earning three All-Big East Tournament Team doubles honors. “I served and volleyed. I chipped and charged. I was an attacking player.”
GIVING UP HIS DAY JOB: After earning Big East Academic All-Star status three times and a degree in marketing in 2007, he worked in sales for News America Marketing in Chicago but “it just wasn’t for me.” Keckley missed the constant excitement of athletics and has found his passion in coaching. “There’s never a day I dread going to the office.”
DOUBLE TAKE: Perhaps surprisingly, the fresh-faced Midwesterner says he’s “a big Grateful Dead guy,” who attended a Dead and Company show in Los Angeles a week before his wedding. — Liz Harman
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