Cracked Interviews [Tennis Podcast] · Cracked Racquets, Bleav

Celebrating the Past, Building the Future: Michael Woodson on Pro Bear Bash Weekend

·1 hr·2 clips

"The grass is green where you water it" — Woodson explains why he refuses deadline-pressure recruiting at Baylor.

1. Cracked Interviews, hosted by Alex Gruskin of Cracked Rackets, covers the first annual 2025 Baylor Pro-Am in Waco through a conversation with head coach Michael Woodson. 2. Woodson, who took over Baylor men's tennis in 2020 ahead of the 2021 spring, is in his sixth year and is among the top five all-time guests on the Cracked Rackets platforms. 3. His central argument is that college tennis needs both winning and community engagement, summed up in his line that staff must be "Swiss Army Knives" who also fundraise, recruit, and develop players. 4. Woodson says the Pro-Am grew from years of planning, drew alumni such as Jimmy Bendek and Will Little, and pulled in a sorority, other athletes, and the club tennis team, with credit going to Jackie Haddock, his director of operations, and his wife Vanessa. 5. He fears the peak of college tennis may have been "between 21 and 25" and says pro success stories like Rafa, Michael, and Duncan Chan matter less to attendance than whether players re-engage later, as Peyton Manning and Stephen Curry have with their sports. 6. Reflecting on 2021, he recalls administrator Kenny Boyd telling him before the finals to "stop and smell the roses," and says nine players stayed for summer development, which he credits for the fall progress of the three freshmen. 7. He describes last season's near misses, including a 4-3 loss at Texas A&M where Devin lost in three sets, and says the team's accountability has grown, with an opening match at San Diego on January 12th. 8. Asked whether Devin can be the best player in college tennis, Woodson says "he certainly can be" but needs to serve and volley and move forward more, and he calls Old Dominion transfer Connor a surprisingly strong locker-room leader who is seated at NCAAs. 9. On the transfer portal, Woodson says he competes with about 12 hours to make contact, refuses deadline tactics because "the grass is green where you water it," and calls modern recruiting "more transactional than transformational" amid NIL. 10. College tennis fans and Baylor followers interested in program-building and recruiting will enjoy this.

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