East Texas Baptist University Men's Tennis

Veteran Texas High School tennis coach Tommy Heim is the new men's and women's tennis head coach for East Texas Baptist University. Heim wrapped an 11-year tenure as Head Coach at Deer Park High School in May 2025, leading the program to 10 district team tennis championships and producing several district champions and regional qualifiers.    "We are excited to welcome Coach Tommy Heim to East Texas Baptist University," said Ryan Erwin, Senior Vice President for Campus Life and Director of Athletics. "Coach Heim embodies the mission of our athletics program — pursuing Christ-centered competition while striving for excellence in recruiting, academics, and athletic performance. His passion for developing student-athletes spiritually, academically, and competitively aligns perfectly with our commitment to building a program that honors Christ and competes at the highest level nationally. We look forward to his impact on our tennis program and our campus community."   Heim was named Region 3-6A Coach of the Year in 2023 and served as Region 3-6A Tournament Director that same year. In his illustrious high school career, the Texas Tennis Coaches Association (TTCA) has awarded him the Holly Ford Sportsmanship Award in 2021, the Jim Longbotham Leadership Award in 2018, and the Kim Enockson Integrity Award in 2015. He has also sent many former players to play at the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels.   "I am excited to accept the Head Tennis coaching position at East Texas Baptist University. It's an incredible opportunity to lead and mentor student-athletes on and off the court. I look forward to continuing building on the very successful and competitive men's and women's programs rooted in discipline, teamwork, and faith in our savior Jesus Christ," Heim said.   Before his time at Deer Park, he served as the head coach at Clear Lake High School from 2003 to 2014. In his tenure at Clear Lake, his teams won district ten times, were the Region 3 Champions, and were the Texas State runners-up in 2008. He also coached 16 individual state qualifiers. In 2014, he coached a State Champion in girls' singles. He also served as the Head Tennis Coach and Business Teacher at South Houston High School, where his teams and individuals were regional qualifiers.   Heim's first head coaching role was at Marshall High School from 1992 to 1999 after starting his high school coaching career as an assistant coach and PE Teacher at Nacogdoches High School.   He has a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Master of Education from Stephen F. Austin.

Drew Lambert starts his first year as the ETBU Head men's and women's tennis coach. He has been part of the Tiger tennis program first as a graduate assistant from 2017 to 2019, and then as assistant coach from 2019 to 2021. Coach Lambert attended and graduated from Howard Payne University in 2017 with a Bachelors of Arts in Education. He then attended graduate school and obtained a Master's degree at ETBU in College and University Leadership in 2019. Coach Lambert is looking forward to keeping the Christ centered and family atmosphere of the Tiger Athletic and Tennis program alive and thriving.