Shields Completes Coaching Staff with Alexander Free

BOISE, Idaho – Luke Shields, Boise State University Men's Tennis Head Coach, announced Thursday the addition of Alexander Free as the next assistant coach for the program.

"We are thrilled to add Alexander to our staff," Shields said. "He brings a lot of experience to the table as both a division one head coach and a staff member of a top 20 program. His professionalism really stood out in the hiring process. He coaches for the right reasons and will bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to this team. Alexander is a hard worker and is ready for this challenge."

"I am thrilled to become a part of the tennis program at Boise State," said Free. "The brand and the history speak for themselves. After visiting campus, you can feel the pride and energy that radiates through the campus, the city and the athletic department. The opportunity to be a part of such a historic program with coach Shields is a dream come true. I look forward to the process and the challenge of building a championship-level program every day."

Free comes to Boise State from Idaho State where he spent the last two seasons as the head coach of the Bengals men's team. In his first season at Pocatello, he led Idaho State to its first Big Sky Conference Tournament championship match appearance since 2004.

This past spring Free coached the team to 12 victories, the most wins since the 2013 campaign. In addition, his doubles team of Patrik Trhac and Aleksandar Petrovic was ranked as high as No. 33 nationally.

During his tenure at ISU, his team had six student-athletes earn a combined eight All-BSC honors and two honorable-mention accolades. Academically, Idaho State was named an ITA All-Academic Team in 2021 while four Bengals earned ITA Scholar-Athlete recognition.

Prior to Idaho State, Free spent two years (2018-20) as a volunteer at Arizona as a member of Clancy Shields, a Boise State alumnus and younger brother of Bronco head coach Luke Shields, staff. While in Tucson, he helped coach the Wildcats to an 11-3 record in 2020 and a team ranking as high as No. 23 before finishing at 38.

The 2018-19 season saw Arizona reach historic heights as the team reached a season-high rank of 21, their highest ranking since 2009. The Wildcats also earned their first NCAA tournament berth in a decade.

Free began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Appalachian State. In one season he helped guide the Mountaineers to a 12-11 record and advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals for only the second time in school history.

Before coaching, Free was a student-athlete at Tyler Junior College where he was a part of the 2014 team that advanced to the NJCAA National Championship. Free then spent two years at the University of Texas at Tyler where he was a part of two American Southwest Conference championships and was named first-team All-ASC in the 2015 season.

Free finished his playing career as a graduate transfer at Appalachian State where he was regularly featured in the doubles lineup.

Free was a four-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and was elected President of the Student Government at UT Tyler in 2015.

Free graduated from Appalachian State in 2019 with a master's degree in higher education administration with a specialization in university and community college leadership. In 2016, Free graduated Magna Cum Laude from UT Tyler in political science.

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