Huynh-McClain Thankful for the Opportunity at K-State
Mar 30, 2022 | Tennis, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
When Trang Huynh-McClain interviewed to become assistant coach for Kansas State women's tennis in July, it didn't take much convincing for head coach Jordan Smith to bring her from Washington State to Manhattan. After all, she was a proven winner. And that comes with a funny story.
Huynh-McClain posted a 2-0 record against K-State as a former standout at Washington State and assistant coach with the Cougars — a fact that wasn't lost on Smith.
"We actually joked about it in the interview and still joke about it today that K-State is 2-2 all-time against WSU, but lost both times I was either a player or assistant coach at WSU," Huynh-McClain said. "I'll take that as a win against Jordan."
Joking aside, Huynh-McClain, who came to K-State after three years as an assistant coach at Washington State, is making a serious impact during her first season with the Wildcats.
K-State is currently 8-8 this spring season and comes off back-to-back wins over No. 41 Tulsa (4-2) and Wichita State (6-1) as the Wildcats prepare to face No. 28 Iowa State at 4 p.m. Friday at the Mike Goss Tennis Stadium in Manhattan.
"As we went through the coaching hires and tried to find somebody with the most experience, she was a tenured coach at a Pac-12 school who was interested in moving this way," Smith said. "It was a no-brainer. Hopefully we put her into a good position for her to be a head coach after this stop.
"Having someone who has that similar background who our ladies can relate to, you're always trying to find someone they can use as a role model."
As for what made the assistant coach position at K-State so appealing?
"Well, WSU is pretty close to my home as my husband and I are both from California, but when Jordan reached out, we thought it was a really good opportunity for me as I explored a new opportunity, a new conference, and a new area," Huynh-McClain said. "We've been very fortunate and are loving Manhattan. We just feel like the Big 12 is a great conference and K-State has a really great tradition.
"Everything just felt really right in my interview, so we decided to come."
It's been quite a journey for Huynh-McClain, who grew up in a small town two hours from Saigon, Vietnam (which is now known as Ho Chi Minh City). Her parents, both tennis players, brought her and her brother to the tennis courts. The family eventually moved to Saigon. She began playing matches at age 8. At age 16, she was the No. 1 women's tennis player in Vietnam, and remained the country's top player from 2009-16. She earned a WTA high ranking of 876 in singles and 380 in doubles.
"Probably when I was 10 or 12 years old after my first international tournament, I felt like I was addicted," she said. "I dropped every other sport and just focused on tennis."
Huynh-McClain was the captain of the Vietnam Women's Fed Cup Team in 2013 and represented the Vietnam National Team at the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian Games from 2009-16. She helped the national team to a bronze medal at the 2010 Southeast Asian Games, and earned a bronze medal in singles, doubles, mixed-doubles, and team.
"Tennis is a really unique sport where you have to be physically and mentally ready," she said. "There are so many components. It's one of the hardest sports in the world. It's very fun to play and coach."
Huynh-McClain began her college career at Troy University and earned 2015 Sun Belt Player of the Year. She finished her career at Washington State in 2016 with 32 singles victories, the third most in school history. As a senior, she earned ITA Scholar-Athlete honors and was a member of the WSU All-Academic Team and President's Honor Roll.
She served as a student assistant at Washington State from August to December 2016, then she served as graduate assistant at Northern Illinois from January 2017 to May 2018, before joining the Washington State staff as a full-time assistant coach. She helped the Cougars to 44 wins during her tenure and the 2019 NCAA Championships, their first appearance in seven years.
"It just seemed like the girls at Washington State really got along well with her," Smith said.
Now Huynh-McClain appears to be getting along just fine with the Wildcats.
"Everybody here is really truly a family," Huynh-McClain said. "They just really care about you as a person, and they care about the student-athlete and really make sure we do everything that's best for them. I really enjoy working with the group of athletes that we have. Jordan has been a really great mentor for me."
Under Smith's tutelage, Huynh-McClain hopes to learn how to assume the position of head coach at an institution in the future.
"I'd definitely like to be a head coach someday," she said. "I'm very lucky to be mentored by Jordan, who has the experience of going from assistant to being a head coach at K-State. There are a lot of people who've helped and mentored me. I feel like my goal is to become a head coach one day and to be able to continue along my path of building relationships with student-athletes and empowering the young women to be the best of themselves and the best version of themselves out there on the court and in the classroom and in the community. I've been really fortunate to cross paths with a lot of great people who've helped me.
"I'm just really thankful for the opportunity to be here at K-State and I look forward to us finishing the season strong and continuing to build a great tennis program."
When Trang Huynh-McClain interviewed to become assistant coach for Kansas State women's tennis in July, it didn't take much convincing for head coach Jordan Smith to bring her from Washington State to Manhattan. After all, she was a proven winner. And that comes with a funny story.
Huynh-McClain posted a 2-0 record against K-State as a former standout at Washington State and assistant coach with the Cougars — a fact that wasn't lost on Smith.
"We actually joked about it in the interview and still joke about it today that K-State is 2-2 all-time against WSU, but lost both times I was either a player or assistant coach at WSU," Huynh-McClain said. "I'll take that as a win against Jordan."
Joking aside, Huynh-McClain, who came to K-State after three years as an assistant coach at Washington State, is making a serious impact during her first season with the Wildcats.
K-State is currently 8-8 this spring season and comes off back-to-back wins over No. 41 Tulsa (4-2) and Wichita State (6-1) as the Wildcats prepare to face No. 28 Iowa State at 4 p.m. Friday at the Mike Goss Tennis Stadium in Manhattan.
"As we went through the coaching hires and tried to find somebody with the most experience, she was a tenured coach at a Pac-12 school who was interested in moving this way," Smith said. "It was a no-brainer. Hopefully we put her into a good position for her to be a head coach after this stop.
"Having someone who has that similar background who our ladies can relate to, you're always trying to find someone they can use as a role model."
As for what made the assistant coach position at K-State so appealing?
"Well, WSU is pretty close to my home as my husband and I are both from California, but when Jordan reached out, we thought it was a really good opportunity for me as I explored a new opportunity, a new conference, and a new area," Huynh-McClain said. "We've been very fortunate and are loving Manhattan. We just feel like the Big 12 is a great conference and K-State has a really great tradition.
"Everything just felt really right in my interview, so we decided to come."
It's been quite a journey for Huynh-McClain, who grew up in a small town two hours from Saigon, Vietnam (which is now known as Ho Chi Minh City). Her parents, both tennis players, brought her and her brother to the tennis courts. The family eventually moved to Saigon. She began playing matches at age 8. At age 16, she was the No. 1 women's tennis player in Vietnam, and remained the country's top player from 2009-16. She earned a WTA high ranking of 876 in singles and 380 in doubles.
"Probably when I was 10 or 12 years old after my first international tournament, I felt like I was addicted," she said. "I dropped every other sport and just focused on tennis."
Huynh-McClain was the captain of the Vietnam Women's Fed Cup Team in 2013 and represented the Vietnam National Team at the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian Games from 2009-16. She helped the national team to a bronze medal at the 2010 Southeast Asian Games, and earned a bronze medal in singles, doubles, mixed-doubles, and team.
"Tennis is a really unique sport where you have to be physically and mentally ready," she said. "There are so many components. It's one of the hardest sports in the world. It's very fun to play and coach."
Huynh-McClain began her college career at Troy University and earned 2015 Sun Belt Player of the Year. She finished her career at Washington State in 2016 with 32 singles victories, the third most in school history. As a senior, she earned ITA Scholar-Athlete honors and was a member of the WSU All-Academic Team and President's Honor Roll.
She served as a student assistant at Washington State from August to December 2016, then she served as graduate assistant at Northern Illinois from January 2017 to May 2018, before joining the Washington State staff as a full-time assistant coach. She helped the Cougars to 44 wins during her tenure and the 2019 NCAA Championships, their first appearance in seven years.
"It just seemed like the girls at Washington State really got along well with her," Smith said.
Now Huynh-McClain appears to be getting along just fine with the Wildcats.
"Everybody here is really truly a family," Huynh-McClain said. "They just really care about you as a person, and they care about the student-athlete and really make sure we do everything that's best for them. I really enjoy working with the group of athletes that we have. Jordan has been a really great mentor for me."
Under Smith's tutelage, Huynh-McClain hopes to learn how to assume the position of head coach at an institution in the future.
"I'd definitely like to be a head coach someday," she said. "I'm very lucky to be mentored by Jordan, who has the experience of going from assistant to being a head coach at K-State. There are a lot of people who've helped and mentored me. I feel like my goal is to become a head coach one day and to be able to continue along my path of building relationships with student-athletes and empowering the young women to be the best of themselves and the best version of themselves out there on the court and in the classroom and in the community. I've been really fortunate to cross paths with a lot of great people who've helped me.
"I'm just really thankful for the opportunity to be here at K-State and I look forward to us finishing the season strong and continuing to build a great tennis program."
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