ST. LOUIS – University of Missouri-St. Louis Executive Director of Athletics Dr. Holly Sheilley has announced the hiring of Garcian D'Cruz as head coach for the men's and women's tennis teams.

D'Cruz becomes the 13th head coach in men's program history and the seventh on the women's side. He joins UMSL from Meredith College where he spent last season as the head women's tennis coach.

"Our goal was to find a coach who could continue the positive trajectory of our program and lead us to even greater success," Sheilley said. "We believe Garcian is the right person to do that. His enthusiasm for the game, dedication to developing student-athletes, and commitment to excellence stood out throughout the search process. We are excited about the energy and leadership he will bring to our program."

"I am honored to be named the next Head Coach for the tennis program at UMSL," D'Cruz said. "I am confident we can continue to grow the success of the program and I am grateful to everyone at UMSL for welcoming me. I'd especially like to thank Dr. Holly Sheilley for giving me this incredible opportunity and I can't wait to get to work. Go Tritons!"

D'Cruz spent last season guiding the Avenging Angels program that competes in the USA South Conference in NCAA Division III.

Prior to his time at Meredith, D'Cruz guided Tusculum to a South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Tournament appearance, coached two players to All-Conference honors and mentored 15 student-athletes who earned SAC All-Academic recognition.

Before arriving at Tusculum, D'Cruz worked at Elon University, where he was part of a successful run that saw the Phoenix finish as CAA Conference Tournament runner-up. While at Elon, six players earned All-Conference honors, and the program was recognized as an ITA All-Academic Team for the 2023–24 season.

In addition to his college coaching experience, D'Cruz also found success at the high school level, leading Lake Norman Charter to back-to-back SPAC Conference Championships in 2022 and 2023. Earlier in his career, he led Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy to a 2021 conference title and was named SPAC Conference Coach of the Year in both 2020 and 2021.

D'Cruz also brings extensive experience in tennis program management, having served in multiple leadership roles at premier athletic clubs. He has worked as Director of Athletics at Old North State Club, Director of Tennis at Prosperity Athletic Club, and Director of Tennis at Cleveland Country Club, where he oversaw player development and program operations.

A native of North Carolina, D'Cruz earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Elon University. He later completed his master's degree in Sport Management from Western Carolina University.