Staff Directory

Mike Flowers

Title:
Head Coach
Email:

Former Spartan letterwinner Mike Flowers was named head coach for Michigan State men's tennis team on May 5, 2026.

Flowers had been an assistant coach for the program since July, 2022, under Harry Jadun.

"We're excited to elevate Mike Flowers to head coach of the Spartan men's tennis program," said J Batt, Michigan State University Vice President and Director of Athletics. "Mike played a key role in coaching the student-athletes who captured this year's Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships, Michigan State's first titles since 1967. He has strong relationships within the tennis community, and we're excited to support the program under his guidance."

Flowers takes over the reins of the Spartan men's tennis program after Jadun stepped down from the head coaching position to pursue career opportunities outside of collegiate coaching.

"Being named head coach for Michigan State men's tennis is an unbelievable opportunity," said Flowers. "Spartan tennis has been a foundational part of my life, both personally and professionally, dating back to my days as a student-athlete. I look forward to providing that same opportunity to current and future Spartans.

"I'd like to thank President Guskiewicz and AD Batt for their belief in me. I'm grateful to Harry Jadun for bringing me back to East Lansing four years ago. Together, we worked hard to build a program that performs at a high level on the court and in the classroom. This program has seen tremendous growth, and we look forward to continuing that momentum. It's time to get to work!"

In 2025-26, MSU went on an amazing run, winning 10-straight Big Ten Conference matches. The Spartans’ win streak included upsetting No. 1 Ohio State in Columbus on March 15, 2026 when the Spartans came out victorious in Columbus for the first time since 1998 and ended the Buckeyes’ 49-match conference win streak, dealing OSU its first conference home match since 2003.

MSU also upset No. 10 Illinois a week later on March 22 in Champaign-Uburna. The Spartans then upset No. 24 USC on March 27. Michigan State then upset No. 20 UCLA on March 29 in the first official match at the Spartan Tennis Outdoor Courts, to cap a remarkable weekend at home, earning back-to-back wins over two Top-25-ranked teams.

On April 19, 2026, the Spartans’ historic season reached a monumental moment when Michigan State men’s tennis claimed its first Big Ten Conference Championship since 1967 on Sunday after the 23rd-ranked Spartans defeated Purdue, 4-1, in an electric last home match of the regular season at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center, capping a spirited and historic Spartan Senior Celebrations day.

The B1G title was a cherry on top for the emotional day, as senior Ozan Baris was one of three MSU seniors honored with Senior Celebrations on Sunday. Between doubles and singles action, the Green & White celebrated the three senior athletes, David Saye, Aristotelis Thanos, and Baris. These three student-athletes helped build the foundation of the men’s tennis program during one of the most impressive seasons in program history, capping it by hoisting the Big Ten Championship trophy.

Michigan State placed three players on the All-Big Ten First Team, with Baris, Thanos and sophomore Matthew Forbes, marking one of the strongest individual award showings in program history. It is the third-straight year that MSU has had three or more players recognized with All-Big Ten awards, but the first time in program history with three on the First Team list. It is the third-straight year that MSU has had three or more players recognized with All-Big Ten awards, but the first time in program history with three on the First Team list.

The Spartans earned the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, and beat No. 9 seed Indiana, in the quarterfinals, then beat 5th-seeded UCLA in the semifinals, avenging a loss to UCLA in the semis of the 2025-25 B1G Tournament, setting up a date with prominent powerhouse Ohio State.

Michigan State proved that the April 15 win at Columbus wasn’t a fluke, as the Spartans defeated No. 2 seed Ohio State in a marathon dramatic, 4-3, match on the night of April 25 Pacific Time and the wee hours of the morning of April 26 Eastern Time. After starting at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, the MSU-OSU B1G Tournament title match had several weather delays, and finished just before 3 a.m. ET, nearly seven hours after it began.

The spirited fans that waited out all the delays, witnessed the top-seeded Spartans knocking off the 3rd-seeded Buckeyes, who had won 14 of the last 19 B1G Tournament titles since 2006, and were making their 22nd-consecutive appearance in the final.

The last delay was at 12:10 a.m. ET with two matches still going, redshirt-senior Aristotelis Thanos at No. 1 singles and Forbes at No. 2 singles. When play resumed at approximately 2:30 a.m. ET after getting the courts dried following the latest rain stoppage, Thanos battled OSU’s Aidan Kim tough, but fell 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-5, which tied the team score at 3-3, setting up the drama on court 2 for all the marbles.

Forbes defeated Jack Anthrop in a thrilling three-set slugfest, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3) to clinch the match, and the title, for the Spartans.

That was the second time this season the Spartans have defeated the Buckeyes. The first time they met this season was on March 15 when the Spartans came out victorious in Columbus for the first time since 1998 and ended the Buckeyes’ 49-match conference win streak, dealing OSU its first conference home match since 2003.

Baris finished as the most-decorated and successful Spartan in program history on the court and in the classroom. He became MSU’s all-time wins leader during the Spartans’ B1G Tournament title run. He is the first player in program history with multiple All-American honors, earning three of the Spartans’ seven total All-America honors to date. Baris was a three-time NCAA Individual Championships qualifier, including a two-time final four finisher, reaching the semifinals in 2023 and the finals in 2024, as the first Michigan State player to reach the national semifinals, as well as the first spartan to play in a national singles final. Baris was also the first MSU men’s tennis player to reach the NCAA Championships in both singles and doubles in back-to-back years, 2023 and 2024, and padded that mark by repeating in 2025. In the classroom, Baris was a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American and is MSU’s first back-to-back CSC Academic All-American honoree in program history. He was also a two-time recipient of MSU’s Scholar-Athlete award for the highest GPA on the team.

Flowers was named the ITA Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year following the 2024-25 season, after helping the Spartans make their second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

In 2023-24, Flowers helped lead Michigan State to a school-record 23 wins, earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history and the first since 2012-23.

Flowers, a USTA High Performance Coach, has experience coaching some of the best junior players in the world. He has coached at all four Grand Slam junior tournaments in addition to coaching Spartan Ozan Baris (then No. 15 ITF Juniors), Qavia Lopez (No. 19 ITF Juniors) and Ellie Coleman (No. 24 ITF Juniors).

As a Spartan assistant, Flowers worked extensively with Baris, who leaves Michigan State as the most decorated player in program history. A three-time All-American and four-time All-Big Ten performer, Baris was the NCAA Individual Championships National Runner-Up in 2024-25. He was also the first Spartan to reach two national semifinals, doing so first in 2023-24.

Before arriving in East Lansing, the Memphis, Tennessee, native spent the previous three seasons as an associate coach for both the men's and women's teams at Davenport University in Grand Rapids. He helped the Panthers' men's team to an 18-8 record and their first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2021. Flowers also served as an assistant coach at Davenport in 2011-12.

In addition to coaching at the collegiate level, Flowers has been the director of player development at Grand Rapids Racquet and Fitness since September 2017. He previously served as the head tennis professional at Court One Athletic Clubs from May 2013 to September 2017.

Flowers was a four-year letterwinner and two-time team captain for the Spartans from 2004-07 and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors three times. He graduated from MSU in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in finance. During his junior career, he was nationally ranked as high as No. 3 in doubles and No. 25 in singles.

Flowers and his wife, Joslyn, have four children: MJ, Addie, Breslyn and Ari.