Almost a year ago, Jack Barnett, the volunteer assistant coach for the BYU men’s tennis team, was living a completely different life than the one he lives now.
As the No. 1 singles player for the Cougars and team captain, Barnett had the responsibility of facing the toughest opponent every match. On top of that, he was leading the team through its first-ever Big 12 schedule, a difficult transition considering BYU didn’t secure a single conference win during his senior year.
Despite the transitional year, Barnett still found success, most notably finishing ranked No. 123 his senior year. Even now as a coach, he is still touted today as one of the best players by his former teammates.
“I mean Jack as a tennis player is the most talented player I've ever seen,” said Redd Owen, his former doubles partner. “He was basically unbeatable.”
On top of his talent, Barnett’s leadership as a senior captain gave him presence and authority on the team. Whenever first year head coach Zach Warren needed his help, Barnett was someone Warren could rely on.
But like everyone else, college would come to an end for Barnett and his time as a BYU tennis player and captain would conclude as well.
College may have come to an end, but Barnett’s connection to BYU men’s tennis was far from over. He found a new way to contribute and grow the program, this time as an assistant coach.
“He did a fantastic job last year and when he said his goal is to be a college tennis coach, I jumped at the opportunity to have him on our staff,” Warren said. “He was very eager and excited and he knows BYU and he knows where this program has been. He sees us taking steps in the right direction and he just wants to be a part of it … It was a very easy decision for me to have him be our volunteer.”
Suddenly, all the teammates he once fought alongside were now players he would coach. His role had flipped, but Barnett was confident in his coaching abilities and accepted the position.
The doubles matches with longtime partner Owen wouldn’t happen anymore, but Barnett is still often competing in singles matches at practices and is “still sometimes beating” his former teammates.
But now, his role involves helping Owen reach his full potential rather than working on his game and chemistry to be the best doubles partner he can be.
“When I played [my teammates], how I viewed their tennis game [was different] ... when I was on the team, that was something I never wanted to tell the guys because I didn't want to give away kind of the secrets of knowing their game styles, but now, as a coach, when I do play them, they're asking me ‘what can I change,’ ‘what can I do,’ and I'm openly telling them now,” said Barnett.
Now working under Warren and assistant coach Jonathan Sanchez, Barnett began his new life as a coach alongside them.
While he’s no longer competing on the court, Barnett is still making a meaningful impact, whether it’s preparing players during practice, coaching courtside on game day or simply by being a supportive voice for all of his players.
The leadership voice Barnett developed as captain hasn’t faded — it’s grown into a coaching role centered on uplifting the team while still pushing them to improve.
“It [has] been amazing to see how positive he's tried to make the experience be for us. He's taking the lessons that he learned as a player and helping us deal with them and so I think it's really cool,” said Owen. “It's really a blessing for us to have someone so close to us who's gone through it so recently, to communicate with us, to encourage us. And I think it's probably good for him too.”
The transition to coaching has also required Barnett to find ways to balance how to coach players he has deep, personal relationships with. Finding the balance between being a friend while also commanding respect as a coach doesn’t come without challenges.
But overall, Barnett’s shift into coaching has been great for the team, with coach Warren describing it as “a really smooth transition.” Bringing in a former captain and experienced player has added a valuable voice for the younger guys, especially since many of them spent their college careers alongside him.
“I think it's always a different dynamic when a lot of these guys were your teammates just a year ago and finding that balance,” said Warren. “I do think that when the players know that your intentions are completely good and that you're competitive and that you want the best for them, it makes it really easy. And that's why the transition has been really easy…The players respond well knowing that Jack got their back and Jack will do whatever it takes for them to be the most successful tennis player they can be.”
Barnett has already built trust with the players, but this year has required him to be tougher on his friends in ways he hadn’t been before.
“It's been difficult sometimes in the aspect of, you know, all these guys that are on the team now, they were my teammates last year … It’s tough to kind of go from friend to coach in moments when they really need a switch on,” said Barnett. “That learning curve of being able to say things to my friends that maybe as a friend I wouldn't have said, but as a coach I need to say has been the biggest challenge…But I love coaching, it's super fun.”
After all, who better to learn how to play against some of the best Big 12 players than a former player, now coach, and friend who had signature wins like over Baylor's then No. 50 player Tadeas Paroulek 6-2, 6-2 last season.
That's a RANKED WIN FOR JACK ON SENIOR NIGHT 😤 Jack Barnett defeats No. 50 Tadeas Paroulek 6-2, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/IjuBN8dCu4
— BYU Men's Tennis (@byumtennis) March 31, 2024
“When I've had struggles this season and I've battled through, we've had some great moments together you know he said ‘hey man, I know how you feel and I'm really proud of the way you battled through that’ and that really meant a lot to me,” said Owen.
While it ended up being BYU’s only conference win of the regular season, the competitive play each week against top competition is something Barnett is proud of. Plus, the team itself is currently ranked No. 68 with Fuchs and Wally Thayne ranked No. 52 and boasting a 17–6 doubles record.
With the Big 12 tournament is around the corner, starting on April 17, BYU will face a rematch against Oklahoma State — a team it narrowly lost to 4–3. The Cougars and Barnett have a shot at revenge and a chance to keep building on an already promising season.
THIS WEEK🤙 pic.twitter.com/fLl8TFFgLR
— BYU Men's Tennis (@byumtennis) April 15, 2025
“National champions, that's the goal. Whether or not we are gonna do that this year, that's always the goal going forward," Barnett said. "Looking at what we can do as coaches to help the guys to get better, to compete the best and beat the best guys in the country. We want to win a national title and we wanna be up there in the big 12 conference, winning the conference title, being the team that everyone looks at and says, ‘we wanna we wanna beat that team. I think that's always been the goal and always will be the goal is just to be the best and be the greatest.”
The future of BYU men’s tennis is bright and likely to improve as Barnett stays on as a coach.
Though there’s still a chance Barnett pursues the professional tennis dreams he had as a kid rather than pursuing his coaching career, the experience he’s had so far has been nothing but positive.
“I know life isn’t perfect and whatever you set up isn’t gonna always work out, So I always just [am] super understanding that this might not work out,” said Barnett. "So let's just live in the moment and see where that goes.”
The future may be open and ever-changing, but Barnett’s impact on BYU men’s tennis will always remain.