Casey McCullough (4th season)
Women's Tennis Head Coach
College: Ursinus College (2005)
Major: Communication
Minor: Spanish
Grad School: The College of New Jersey (2006)
Degree: Masters (Teaching - Elementary Education)
After three years spent rebuilding both of the Rutgers-Camden tennis programs, Casey McCullough is ready to take the Scarlet Raptor women to the next level this fall in her fourth season at the helm. Rutgers-Camden’s women posted their best mark under McCullough in 2017, finishing at 4-8 with a young team.
McCullough will concentrate solely on the women’s program during the 2018-19 season after spending three years juggling duties as the head coach of both the Rutgers-Camden women’s and men’s teams. Coupled with a strong recruiting class, her Raptors have now been selected as the “dark horse” team in a pre-season poll by the New Jersey Athletic Conference coaches.
McCullough made a successful jump from the scholastic coaching ranks to the collegiate level during her first year with the Rutgers University-Camden tennis programs in 2015-16. She followed up with another solid year during the 2016-17 campaigns as she continued to bring in young talent and build the programs.
McCullough’s Rutgers-Camden record
During her second season with the women’s program, McCullough’s team featured two of the finest rookies in the New Jersey Athletic Conference with her top two singles players – and top doubles team – of Annalise Kipp and Danielle Lemma. Lemma earned honors as the NJAC Rookie of the Year. Last season, freshman Jenna O’Lexy proved to be one of the top newcomers in the NJAC.
On the men’s side, McCullough’s first year with the tennis program produced a 6-7 record, tripling the victories from the prior year. The men, who hadn’t previously won a conference match in the GNAC, advanced to the semifinals during the program’s first berth ever in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament. That team also garnered the GNAC Institutional Sportsmanship Award.
Sportsmanship and academics are major priorities for McCullough. During her three years coaching the men’s program, her Raptors not only won the GNAC’s Institutional Sportsmanship Award, but Rutgers-Camden also placed a player on the GNAC Sportsmanship Team each year. Jason Lin was honored during the 2016 spring season and Jake Collette-Nippins received recognition in both 2017 and 2018. The men’s team also captured six GNAC Academic honors in McCullough’s three seasons.
While the NJAC doesn’t feature a sportsmanship award like the GNAC does, McCullough’s women have had outstanding success with academic honors, receiving eight NJAC awards in three years for their work as student-athletes. McCullough’s first Rutgers-Camden women’s team also saw Amanda Hickman recognized as the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Women’s Tennis Team Performer of the Year. The Scarlet Raptors added another Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area honor during the 2017-18 scholastic year when Annalise Kipp was named to the elite team.
A long-time successful varsity men’s tennis head coach at Hammonton High School, McCullough helped to establish Hammonton as a powerhouse, posting an amazing 109-43 record in her seven years with the Blue Devils. McCullough’s Hammonton teams netted two Cape Atlantic League National Conference championships (2011 and 2014), a South Jersey Group III Sectional Championship in 2014 and a Tri-County Royal Division championship in 2015. That 2014 team, which was chosen as the Atlantic City Press Team of the Year, captured the first sectional championship in program history with its South Jersey Group III title.
McCullough was selected as the South Jersey Tennis Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2011, the Atlantic City Press Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2014, and was named the Hammy Award winner for Best High School Coach in 2013.
Prior to taking the men’s tennis job with the Blue Devils, McCullough was the varsity women’s tennis head coach at Hammonton High School from 2007-2013.
McCullough was a member of the Ursinus College women’s tennis team, participating 3-1/2 years at fourth singles and second doubles for the Bears. During her years at Ursinus, she served as the team captain and also earned the Bears’ Most Valuable Player award.
McCullough attended Triton Regional High School, where she was a captain for the women’s tennis team. McCullough played second and third singles for the Mustangs.
McCullough graduated from Ursinus College in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a Minor in Spanish. She received a Masters of Arts in Teaching Elementary Education from The College of New Jersey in 2006.
In addition to being a long-time tennis instructor, McCullough has taught in the Hammonton Public School system since 2006 as an Elementary School World Language teacher.
