Hutton Jones took over the LCU tennis programs on April 10, 2025. Jones steps into the position as just the second head coach in program history and brings an impressive coaching résumé to LCU, highlighted by a 23-year tenure as head coach of both men’s and women’s tennis at Abilene Christian University, where he amassed a combined record of 940–369. His tenure with the Wildcats included a 432–230 mark with the men’s team and a dominant 508–139 record with the women’s program. Under his leadership, ACU earned 29 NCAA tournament appearances, and Jones was named conference Coach of the Year 11 times—nine in the Lone Star Conference and twice in the Southland Conference.
Jones spent the 2023–24 season coaching at The Brook Hill School in Bullard, Texas, and served as a tennis professional at Cascades Country Club in Tyler. Prior to that, he was the assistant coach at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, an NAIA program in Bartlesville, Okla., from 2020–23.
He began his coaching career at his alma mater, ACU, serving as an assistant coach in the mid-1980s before being named head tennis professional at Ponca City Country Club (Ponca City, Okla.). He returned to ACU as head coach on Jan. 1, 1997. A four-year letterman and team captain for the Wildcats, Jones earned a bachelor’s degree in finance in 1981 and a master’s degree in management in 1983 from ACU.
His coaching legacy includes 23 conference championships, 12 conference Players of the Year, and 11 NCAA Division II Championship appearances in men’s tennis, including four quarterfinal finishes. He guided the ACU women’s program to 17 NCAA tournament appearances, highlighted by three semifinal runs, and coached 1992 NCAA Division II national singles champion Michelle King.
Jones is married to the former Paula Plasek, also a former ACU tennis standout. They have three children—Hayley, Hutton Jr., and Payton. Hutton Jr. was a three-year letterman at ACU.
