Young Harris College Athletics

Barrett Elkins begins his sixth season as the men's tennis coach at Young Harris College.

Elkins guided the Mountain Lions to 10 wins last season as Young Harris qualified for the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. During the season, Young Harris had two players - the most ever in program history - named  PBC Player of the Week during the season. Raul Quevedo earned the PBC Elite 15 award for men's tennis. The award is modeled on the NCAA's Elite 90 and honors the student-athletes competing in the championship event with the highest cumulative GPA. Quevedo became the program's first Academic All-American as he was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II Men's At-Large second team. 

Elkins led Young Harris to 11 wins in 2015-16 as the Mountain Lions were ranked as high as No. 39 during the campaign in the International Tennis Association NCAA Division II Team Rankings.

Elkins led the Mountain Lions to their first-ever NCAA Division II Tournament appearance in just their first year as an NCAA Division II institution in 2015 as they earned the No. 7 seed in the Southeast Regional. Young Harris, which was ranked No. 40 in the final ITA national poll, as the Mountain Lions went 13-9 and make their first-ever trip to the Peach Belt Conference Tournament.

Young Harris won 11 matches in 2013-14 and was ranked No. 35 in the ITA poll while the Mountain Lions claimed eight wins and was ranked as high as No. 26 in the ITA national poll in Elkins' first campaign in 2012-13.

Elkins came to the Enchanted Valley after spending nearly four years as the head men's and women's tennis and head men's and women's golf coach at Ave Maria University located in Ave Maria, Florida.  He started the tennis program from scratch. Elkins increased his win total each year despite playing in one of the top NAIA conferences in the nation while raising the team's grade point average. During his time at the southwest Florida institution, he was responsible for coaching five players who were named NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athletes. 

Elkins is familiar with Georgia as he is from Atlanta and graduated from the Southern Catholic College located in Dawsonville, Georgia. Elkins, who earned a bachelor's degree in sacred theology and philosophy, initiated the college's first club tennis program.
 
Elkins played tennis for four years at St. Pius X Catholic High School and led his team to two state championship appearances. St. Pius finished as a finalist at the 2000 GHSA Class AA state tournament and won the GHSA Class AAAA state title in 2001 where he earned the Most Valuable Player Award.
 
After college, Elkins worked as a club tennis pro where he took part in running a high-level junior tennis academy. While there, he coached many of the top ranked juniors in the state of Georgia. 

Elkins and his wife Aimee have two children (Desmond and Juliana) and they live in Young Harris.