Byron Balkin is in his eighth year as Head Tennis Coach at Hampden-Sydney during 2025-26. He was named the new head coach at H-SC on October 26, 2018. Balkin previously served as the top assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater from 2014-18.
Balkin has coached 11 individual All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) selections since arriving at H-SC, including two First Team in singles and four First Team in doubles. H-SC equaled its finest overall win total under Balkin during 2024-25, finishing 13-8 overall, and its 7-2 ODAC record was the second-best conference win total over the past seven seasons. The Tigers were the No. 3 seed for the ODAC Tournament, but were upset in the quarterfinals. It was a nice bounce-back campaign from 2023-24 when the program finished 6-14 overall, including 4-5 in the ODAC, and fell in the ODAC Tournament quarterfinals as the No. 8 seed.
H-SC completed the 2022-23 season by posting a final record of 11-12, including 5-4 in the ODAC. The Tigers earned the No. 7 seed in the ODAC Tournament, falling in the quarterfinals. The Tigers completed a turnaround season in 2021-22 with a final record of 10-9 overall, including 6-2 in the ODAC. The Garnet & Grey earned the No. 3 seed in the ODAC Tournament, advancing to the semifinals, and the 10 wins were the most since 2019. H-SC finished 2020-21 at 1-10 overall, including 0-9 in the ODAC, and in the shortened 2019-20 season, the Tigers were 3-6 overall before the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Balkin completed his first campaign in 2018-19 and led the program to a record of 13-10 overall, including 10-1 in the ODAC, winning 10 of the final 12 contests, while making a second consecutive — and first under Balkin — appearance in the ODAC Tournament Championship contest. No. 2 seed H-SC advanced to the conference title match with a quarterfinal win past No. 7 seed Lynchburg (5-0) and a semifinal win past No. 3 seed Virginia Wesleyan (5-4), before falling to No. 1 Washington and Lee.
Prior to H-SC, Balkin had been an assistant coach for both men's and women's tennis at UW-Whitewater since 2014, and in his time with the Warhawks, he had helped guide the programs to eight NCAA Tennis Tournaments and four Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships.
In addition to the team success, Balkin has helped coach 20 individual men's and women's tennis All-Americans. In 2016, he was named the Wilson/ITA Women's Tennis National Assistant Coach of the Year in addition to being named the Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year for both men and women. That season, Balkin helped both the men's and women's teams advance to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 while three singles players and one women's doubles team qualified for the NCAA Individual Tournament.
As a player, Balkin saw much success for the Warhawks from 2010-14. He is the all-time winningest Warkhawk, compiling over 170 career singles and doubles victories while also earning All-America doubles honors with three different partners. He helped the team to four NCAA Tournament appearances, advancing as far as the Round of 16 in 2011. Individually, he won the ITA regional doubles tournament and advanced to ITA National Championships in 2012 and 2013. In 2011 and 2014, he advanced to the NCAA individual doubles championships. In 2014, Balkin and his partner Jake Humphreys took out the #1 doubles in the country to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA doubles championships.
Balkin graduated from UW-Whitewater in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science degree in integrated business and science. He was a member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and was recognized nationally as an ITA Academic Scholar-Athlete. Balkin earned a Master of Science degree in higher education leadership with an emphasis in athletic administration from UW-Whitewater.
What Coaches Said About Coach Balkin Upon His Appointment
October 26, 2018
"Coach Balkin has been a big part of the Warhawk tennis teams' success over the past nine years as an All-American player and nationally recognized Coach. He is a tireless worker, mature beyond his years, and truly one of the stars on the rise in the tennis industry. His tactical and technical knowledge of the game has helped in the tutelage of multiple All-American players. He has also helped lead the men's and women's teams at UW-Whitewater conference dominance. The women's team just extended their streak to 91 straight conference dual match wins and to 12 consecutive conference titles this past week. Coach Balkin also understands the balance of academics and athletics needed to succeed in the landscape of Division III athletics. We wish Coach Balkin the best, but he will be greatly missed!" – Frank Barnes, Head Men's and Women's Tennis Coach, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
"It has been a pleasure getting to know Byron as both a player and coach. He was an outstanding collegiate competitor, and he has been a tremendous assistant coach. He is well respected among our coaching colleagues both regionally and nationally. Coach Barnes and the program at UW-Whitewater have clearly prepared him very well for his first head coaching position, and Coach Balkin will be an excellent head coach. He is passionate, industrious, well respected, has a great mind for the game, and a great demeanor for working with and bringing out the best in the student-athletes under his supervision. We are grateful for the special competitions and experiences we have shared with him over the years. We wish him all the best in his next chapter at Hampden-Sydney where he will certainly do great things." – Tommy Valentini, Head Men's Tennis Coach, Gustavus Adolphus College
"Congratulations to Chad Eisele and Hampden-Sydney College on their hiring of Byron Balkin. I coached against Coach Balkin both when he played and as an assistant coach. Always a 'tough out' no matter his role! He served Coach Barnes and Wisconsin-Whitewater well, and I have no doubt his H-SC teams will compete with skill, intelligence, and heart - just as he did. Hampden-Sydney got a good one, and the ODAC will be the better for his presence." – Eric Rodgers, Head Men's Tennis Coach, Coe College
"Byron is a graduate of our Athletic Administration graduate program. He is a top-notch person, well-versed coach, and talented fundraiser. He is well respected among his peers and student-athletes. I am thrilled to continue to follow his successful career path!" – Kristina Navarro, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Leadership Development and Strategic Partnerships, Rutgers University
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