Chuck Kriese, a native of Indianapolis, Ind., attended Cathedral High School where he earned 10 Varsity Prep-Letters in tennis, basketball and cross-country. He received his Undergraduate and Master’s Degrees from Tennessee Tech University where he was an All-Conference tennis player and freshmen basketball assistant coach.
Often called the “winningest coach in Atlantic Coast Conference history,” Chuck Kriese coached tennis at Clemson University from 1975 to 2008. His teams won a combined total of 10 ACC titles, seven NCAA Elite 8, 16 top 10 finishes and 685 victories. His coaching skills produced 36 All-Americas, with four players winning National Senior of the Year and 11 more rising to top 100 spots in the ATP and WTA professional tour.
Kriese coached players to nine Grand-Slam junior finals, winning five Grand-Slam championships, including Wimbledon Singles and Doubles. Kriese also coached Noppawan Lertcheewakarn of Thailand, who won Wimbledon in 2009 and was named the #1 player in the world. Under Coach Kriese, Noppawan also won US Open as well as French Open titles.
In 2013, Kriese returned to collegiate coaching ranks at The Citadel and continues there today. Kriese has been named four times for the National Coach of the Year award. He has been inducted into six Hall of Fames including: National Collegiate Tennis, Clemson University Athletic, Tennessee Tech Athletic, South Carolina Tennis and Indiana High School Tennis Athletic Hall of Fames.
Kriese has served as the United States Junior Davis Cup Coach, USA National coach and Technical Director for Southeast Asia Tennis from 2008-2011. He authored four published tennis books and co-authored two books on Clemson sports history. His coaching tree includes over thirty former assistants or players who coached in the collegiate ranks. He has taught coaching classes in 17 countries on four continents. He continues to teach, coach, write and give motivational speeches on leadership training for coaches and young people. He also hosts ‘American Tennis Radio Show’.
Chuck is married to former Claire Cummings Williams of Charleston and is the proud father of 6 children and 2 grandchildren.