Jeremy Bayon Joins Women’s Tennis Staff as Associate Head Coach

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s tennis head coach Kevin Epley announced a new addition to the coaching staff on Friday afternoon. Former Florida women’s tennis coach Jeremy Bayon has been hired as the associate head coach of the program.

“Coach Jeremy Bayon brings a wealth of SEC experience and a knack for building champions to South Carolina,” Epley commented. “With a Final Four run, multiple top-10 seasons at Florida, and a track record of developing  All-Americans, his expertise is unmatched. Jeremy’s ability to elevate players  will ignite our program and drive the Gamecocks to new heights.”

Bayon spent a combined 11 years with the Gators, but his most recent tenure lasted two years. He was named assistant coach of the women’s program in 2023 before being promoted to associate head coach the following year. During his two year stint the program saw a winning record for both seasons, an ITA Regional Championship title in doubles and an NCAA Individual Championship semifinals appearance in doubles.

Prior to his time in Gainesville, the St. Etienne, France native spent two years at Georgia Southern as the men’s head coach from 2021 to 2023 where he led the team to a 15-8 record during his first season. 

Bayon took a role as the assistant coach of the women’s program at Nebraska from 2019 to 2021, making an immediate impact to the team as he helped them to a 11-4 record before the season was ultimately cut short due to covid in 2020. During his second season Bayon coached two athletes that received recognition from the conference. Kristina Novak was named First-Team All-Big Ten for the first time in her career while Maja Makoric earned the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. During his second season the Huskers saw a 11-6 record.

Before his time on the Huskers staff, Bayon had brief stints at IUPUI (2018-19) and Butler (2015-17), taking roles of assistant coach for the women’s programs at both schools.

Bayon’s first stop at Florida was as the men’s program assistant coach from 2003 to 2012. He helped lead the Gators to a final four appearance in 2005 as well as two SEC Tournament titles in 2005 and 2011. The team was also consistently ranked amongst the top programs in the nation as the Orange & Blue held top-10 marks for eight of his nine seasons. Throughout his time in this role, he helped produce a total of 15 All-Americans and three SEC Players of the Year.

Bayon has experience coaching at the youth level as well, founding the Junior Elite Tennis Academy in 2015 and working as the academy director and head coach for three years. Additionally he served as the director of tennis at the Five Seasons Family Sports Club in 2017 and coached high-performance juniors at the Indianapolis Racquet Club in 2018.

In addition to coaching experience in the SEC, Bayon also has extensive playing experience as he is a four-year letterman for Mississippi State (1997-2000). While he was a Bulldog, the team made four straight NCAA appearances, including a program best national semifinal showing in 1998. Bayon’s name is all over the record book as he ranks in the top 10 for 11 different career win categories. He is No. 2 for career dual match wins (120-55) and  No. 3 for career dual match doubles wins (57-32).

He held national rankings in both singles and doubles for a majority of his collegiate career, reaching highs of No. 43 in singles and No. 6 in doubles. Bayon ended his career on a high note, qualifying for the NCAA Singles Championship his senior year. He also made a NCAA appearance in the doubles championship in 1998 alongside his partner Simon Larose.

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