Jesse Plote took over as men's tennis coach at Bradley University in June 2008 and will lead the Braves into his fourth spring season in 2012.
Inheriting a team which had posted a 21-58 (.266) record in the four seasons prior to his arrival and 5-21 (.192) conference record in that time, Plote has led Bradley to a 29-42 (.408) overall dual match record (.408) mark, including a 4-12 (.250) Valley record in his first three seasons.
Coming off a 2-18 season in 2007-08, Bradley improved to 8-13 overall and 2-4 in MVC action in Plote's first season in 2008-09. On the heels of a 7-17 season in 2009-10, Plote's 2010-11 squad, which featured two sophomores and six freshmen, closed out the year with a 14-12 overall record.
The Braves had a six-match win streak early in the 2011 spring season, marking the team's longest win streak since 1993-94, and the 14 victories were the most for a Bradley men's tennis squad since 1989-90. Freshman Justin Abrams finished the year with 26 singles wins, tying for the second-most in school history and fellow freshman Ashton Kalhorn closed out the year with 20 singles wins, giving Bradley a pair of 20-match winners for the first time since 1986-87.
No stranger to the Missouri Valley Conference, Plote graduated from Valley rival Creighton, earning a bachelor of science degree in business administration in 2002. He came to Bradley from Lincoln, Neb., where he worked the previous year as the head training professional at the Nebraska Tennis Center.
Plote has several years experience coaching in the college ranks, including a three-year stint as the men's and women's tennis coach at Nebraska-Kearney. He led the men's tennis teams to three consecutive NCAA Division II tournaments and was a two-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. Plote also earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association North Central Region Coach-of-the-Year honors in 2005-06 after guiding the Lopers to a 16-7 overall record.
In addition to his duties at UNK, Plote served as Director of Tennis for the Kearney Tennis Association. He moved to Kearney after a one-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and he also spent one season as an assistant coach with the men's tennis team at Creighton.