Helsel announces retirement after a decade leading 'Ville tennis
8/24/2026 5:30:00 PM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - After a decade of leading the Millersville University tennis programs and 25 years as a college coach Matt Helsel has announced his retirement. As leader of the Marauders' men's and women's teams, he piloted a dramatic turnaround and fostered a culture of excellence both on and off the court as his student-athletes excelled in the classroom and community.
"We thank Matt for his commitment and dedication to Millersville University and the tennis programs for the past 10 years," said Millersville director of athletics Kate Corcoran. "His leadership has grown the programs to be highly competitive within the PSAC, and he leaves a lasting impact on the department, University and our student-athletes. We wish Matt the best in his next endeavors as he retires from coaching after 25 years."
"Our mission of getting this program back to where it can and should be has been accomplished," said Helsel. "I want to thank the hard working and dedicated group of administrators, athletic trainers and coaching colleagues I've had the honor of working with and learning from both at Elizabethtown and Millersville. I'm forever indebted to the insistent coaches I was lucky enough to work with. Thanks to all the outstanding student-athletes I've had the honor of coaching. I appreciate having the chance to work with them at such a pivotal transition in their lives. I will cherish the memories of their commitment, their triumphs and trials, and the journeys we went on together. Above all, I thank God for the opportunity that he gave me to do this for so long. Coaching college tennis gave me more than I could have imagined when I began. I am humbled to have been given this gift, and I hope I've honored that gift by attempting to make it as meaningful and rewarding for my players as it has been for me."
Helsel breathed new life into Millersville tennis when he arrived in 2016, and the transformation was nothing short of extraordinary. He inherited a men's team that had won a combined seven total matches in the previous four seasons and had not won a single PSAC match in three. By the third season, his Marauders were in the postseason.
Both programs reached the NCAA Tournament in 2024, and from 2022 to 2025 Millersville was the only PSAC school to have both the men's and women's teams advance to the PSAC Semifinals in four consecutive seasons. The men's program reached the semifinals every season from 2019 to 2005, and in 2024 the Marauders finished as PSAC runners-up--the program's first championship appearance since 2007. He coached Carlos Martinez-Lucas to two PSAC Athlete of the Year awards. With the women's team, Helsel was named the PSAC East Coach of the Year in 2021, 2022 and 2024. He coached two PSAC East Athlete of the Year Award winners and four freshmen of the year honorees. The Marauders broke through in 2021, beating West Chester in the tournament semifinals to reach the championship round. The momentum carried into 2022 as the team won the PSAC East with an unbeaten division record, toppling West Chester in the regular season finale. The women won the division again in 2024.
Helsel's influence impacted the team's academic efforts. The teams routinely finished with the top GPA among Millersville's programs, annually won ITA scholar honors, and Ben Fellman won the Prestigious PSAC Champion Scholar Award three times while Sophie Lanius won the award in 2024. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, his teams won ITA Community Service awards, embracing Helsel's motto of "leave it better than you found it."
Before arriving at Millersville, Helsel had already established himself as one of the premier college tennis coaches. He was a 12-time conference coach of the year award winner at Elizabethtown University winning a combined 14 conference titles. He departed Elizabethtown as the school's winningest coach.
"We thank Matt for his commitment and dedication to Millersville University and the tennis programs for the past 10 years," said Millersville director of athletics Kate Corcoran. "His leadership has grown the programs to be highly competitive within the PSAC, and he leaves a lasting impact on the department, University and our student-athletes. We wish Matt the best in his next endeavors as he retires from coaching after 25 years."
"Our mission of getting this program back to where it can and should be has been accomplished," said Helsel. "I want to thank the hard working and dedicated group of administrators, athletic trainers and coaching colleagues I've had the honor of working with and learning from both at Elizabethtown and Millersville. I'm forever indebted to the insistent coaches I was lucky enough to work with. Thanks to all the outstanding student-athletes I've had the honor of coaching. I appreciate having the chance to work with them at such a pivotal transition in their lives. I will cherish the memories of their commitment, their triumphs and trials, and the journeys we went on together. Above all, I thank God for the opportunity that he gave me to do this for so long. Coaching college tennis gave me more than I could have imagined when I began. I am humbled to have been given this gift, and I hope I've honored that gift by attempting to make it as meaningful and rewarding for my players as it has been for me."
Helsel breathed new life into Millersville tennis when he arrived in 2016, and the transformation was nothing short of extraordinary. He inherited a men's team that had won a combined seven total matches in the previous four seasons and had not won a single PSAC match in three. By the third season, his Marauders were in the postseason.
Both programs reached the NCAA Tournament in 2024, and from 2022 to 2025 Millersville was the only PSAC school to have both the men's and women's teams advance to the PSAC Semifinals in four consecutive seasons. The men's program reached the semifinals every season from 2019 to 2005, and in 2024 the Marauders finished as PSAC runners-up--the program's first championship appearance since 2007. He coached Carlos Martinez-Lucas to two PSAC Athlete of the Year awards. With the women's team, Helsel was named the PSAC East Coach of the Year in 2021, 2022 and 2024. He coached two PSAC East Athlete of the Year Award winners and four freshmen of the year honorees. The Marauders broke through in 2021, beating West Chester in the tournament semifinals to reach the championship round. The momentum carried into 2022 as the team won the PSAC East with an unbeaten division record, toppling West Chester in the regular season finale. The women won the division again in 2024.
Helsel's influence impacted the team's academic efforts. The teams routinely finished with the top GPA among Millersville's programs, annually won ITA scholar honors, and Ben Fellman won the Prestigious PSAC Champion Scholar Award three times while Sophie Lanius won the award in 2024. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, his teams won ITA Community Service awards, embracing Helsel's motto of "leave it better than you found it."
Before arriving at Millersville, Helsel had already established himself as one of the premier college tennis coaches. He was a 12-time conference coach of the year award winner at Elizabethtown University winning a combined 14 conference titles. He departed Elizabethtown as the school's winningest coach.
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