Mark Rodel enters his fourth year as the head coach of the men’s tennis program after having previously served four years as an assistant coach for both the Bengal men's and women's tennis programs from 2010-14. He has over 20 years of coaching and playing experience at the regional, national and international level. He is a certified member of the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) where he holds an Elite level certification.
In 2018, Rodel guided David Felix and Peter Trhac to the No. 1 doubles ranking in the Mountain Region and a No. 39 national rank. The duo became the first in ISU history to qualify for the ITA All-American Championship. Both players earned All-Conference recognition and begin the 2018-19 season ranked No. 55 in the nation.
Academically the Bengals have excelled under Rodel. The team posted a perfect three-year score last season and earned APR Public Recognition. William Edin was recognized as a second-team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America last season.
Rodel was named the 2017 Co-Big Sky Coach of the Year after leading the Bengals back to the Big Sky Conference Championships for the first time since 2013. In his second season with Idaho State, the Bengals put together a 12-9 overall record with a 7-4 mark in the Big Sky to finish fifth. Idaho State fell to No. 4 Montana in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Championships. Rodel also produced ISU's first all-conference performer since 2015 as Sebastian Edin was named second team all-conference. The Bengals also excelled academically, earning the 2017 ITA All-Academic Team award, while six men's tennis players earned Big Sky All-Academic recognition.
In his first year at the helm of the program, Rodel focused on developing a strong team culture and setting the bar for future seasons at Idaho State. The Bengals saw overall improvement in their record, winning two more matches in 2016 than in 2015 and finishing eighth overall in the Big Sky, two spots higher than their 10th-place finish in 2015. Idaho State also performed in the classroom, posting a 3.49 team GPA and landing five players on the Big Sky All-Academic team during the 2015-16 season.
During his previous tenure at Idaho State University, the men’s team experienced significant improvements both on and off the court. This includes six all-conference Big Sky honorees, three academic all-American team honors for the 2012-14 seasons, a second-place conference finish in 2013 with a final record of 8-2 and a perfect 8-0 home record in 2013.
Rodel is a native of Johannesburg, South Africa and attended Weber State University where he developed as a player and ended up playing at the No. 1-2 singles and No. 1 doubles positions. In 1997 he was named team captain and graduated with a BA degree. In addition to being the men’s’ tennis coach at ISU, Rodel is also a practicing Licensed Professional Counselor.
Rodel is committed to a holistic approach in fostering student athletes’ personal, academic and athletic growth and development. Rodel leads by example both on and off the court, and he holds an Ed.S. in Counseling and a Master of Counseling from Idaho State University; Rodel also has an MBA.
He is married to Valerie (Sorenson) Rodel and has two kids Luke and Kate. His wife Valerie played basketball at Weber State from 1992-96 and is a licensed counselor and a former college basketball coach.
