Pepperdine University Athletics

Throughout his tenure, Adam Schaechterle has turned the Pepperdine men’s tennis team into an elite program. After seven years leading the Waves back to national prominence, Schaechterle was named the Pepperdine Director of Tennis in 2024-25. He is entering his eighth season as head coach of the Waves in 2025-26.

In seven seasons at Pepperdine, his Waves have posted a record of 106-60 (.639). His career record as a head coach is 141-74 (.656) in nine seasons. Pepperdine has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last four seasons under Schaechterle's direction, plus he has coached five All-Americans in Malibu.

Schaechterle was named the 16th head coach in Pepperdine men's tennis history on May 14, 2018. During the 2018-19 season, Schaechterle took the Waves from a 7-16 finish in the season before his arrival to an 11-13 record in his debut year.

Over the abbreviated 2019-20 season, Schaechterle led the Waves to a #19 ranking while going undefeated at 11-0. Pepperdine was the last remaining unbeaten team in the country at the time the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pepperdine became nationally ranked for the first time since 2017 and reached its highest ranking since 2014.The season included wins over the likes of #29 Minnesota and #42 Oklahoma.

In 2021, Schaechterle led the Waves back atop the West Coast Conference, earning their 44th total conference crown as well as the first for the program since 2013. The automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament also put the Waves in their 39th overall postseason appearance. The season was highlighted by a dramatic upset win over then-#8 USC in Troy, but the two teams met again in the NCAA second round where the Trojans prevailed. Schaechterle was named both ITA's Southwest Region Coach of the Year and the WCC Coach of the Year in 2021.

The 2022 squad returned to the NCAA Tournament, making another second-round appearance, and finished #24 in the national polls. The season was highlighted by top-10 wins over USC and Harvard.

In 2023, Schaechterle led the Waves to a 19-9 record and the WCC Tournament title, which the Waves earned with a 4-0 sweep over the nationally ranked San Diego Toreros. The Waves made the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round for the second-straight year with a win over #39 UTSA. All told, Pepperdine beat six nationally ranked teams that season. Led by blue-chip recruit and 2024 WCC Freshman of the Year Edward Winter, Schaechterle brought the Waves back to the NCAA Tournament in the 2024 season.

The 2024-25 season saw the Waves take another step in the right direction. Schaechterle brought in the nation's No. 2 recruiting class, Edward Winter returned to lead the lineup, plus Maxi Homberg became an All-American after reaching the NCAA Singles Championship round of 16 in the fall. Playing with four spring admits in the lineup, Pepperdine went 17-11, upset two top-10 teams and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

After upsetting No. 9 Texas A&M at home in February, the Waves were a top-30 team all year. Pepperdine took down another top-10 team — this time, No. 9 Columbia — beat Princeton at the UTR Sports Collegiate Championships at the BNP Paribas Open and won its first match at UCLA since 2006 en route to earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. In the postseason, the Waves had one more dramatic win left in them, as freshman David Fix came back from a 5-2 deficit in the third-set tiebreaker to clinch the Waves' 4-3 win over Alabama in the first round.

Schaechterle has coached 11 All-WCC first team singles selections, with seven named to the second team and nine to honorable mention. In 2021, the doubles team of Guy Den Ouden and Adrian Oetzbach became Pepperdine's first All-Americans since 2014. Tim Zeitvogel received the ITA's national Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award in 2022. Then in 2023, Zeitvogel and fellow senior Daniel De Jonge reached the semifinals of the NCAA doubles tournament, becoming the second Pepperdine doubles team in three years to earn All-American status.

“I want to thank Dr. Steve Potts and President Benton for the opportunity to lead the Pepperdine men’s tennis program,” said Schaechterle at his hiring. “Pepperdine tennis has an incredible tradition, and it’s a dream come true for me and my family to be part of that legacy. We look forward to building a program that represents the values of the University and that competes for championships.”

Schaechterle was previously the associate head coach at the University of Notre Dame and has also spent time at the helm of the University of North Florida and assisted at his alma mater Northwestern University.

At Notre Dame between 2013 and 2018, Schaechterle helped lead the team to its first NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2007, its first two National Indoors appearances since 2008 and the second-highest year-end ranking since 1992. While there, the team posted an 82-63 overall record in five seasons, including a 21-10 record in 2014 en route to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. In 2018, the team finished with a 19-14 record and reached the NCAA second round.

He also coached the first singles player in Notre Dame history to reach the NCAA singles semifinals and the second doubles pair to reach the NCAA doubles semifinals since 1994. He also was selected as the United States Tennis Association Men’s Collegiate National Team Coach for the 2017-18 campaign.

Prior to his tenure with the Fighting Irish, he was the head coach for the University of North Florida from 2011-13. He led the squad to its first undefeated Atlantic Sun regular season, the first appearance in the Atlantic Sun Tournament final and to many team, singles and doubles year-end rankings.

He was named Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year in 2013. While at the helm of the Ospreys, the team went 35-14 overall through two seasons, including a 19-6 record and an ASUN championship match appearance in 2012.

Schaechterle graduated from Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois, in 2006. After a brief stint working for Wilson Sporting Goods as a Tour and Juniors Manager in America from 2007-10, he returned to his alma mater to take up coaching at the collegiate level, where he was mentored by head coach Arvid Swan.

In his time as a player, Schaechterle led his team to the 2005 NCAA Tournament, was a team captain and ranked in the top-30 of the ITA’s national doubles rankings at the end of the season. He was an ITA regional doubles finalist and recorded the most doubles wins in program history (this record was broken in 2017), while also earning the 2006 Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award.

He and his wife, Kristin have three children — Noah, Kai and Lila.

Pepperdine Under Schaechterle

* 2020 dual season cut short due to COVID-19 pandemic