The Choboy File
Career Record
280-211 • 19 seasons
Record at NC State
150-142 • 11 seasons
• Guided the Wolfpack to a 2007 NCAA Elite Eight appearance.
• Is the only coach in NC State history to take the Pack to back-to-back NCAA tournaments on two separate occasions. The Wolfpack went to their first back-to-back NCAA tournaments in program history in 2006 and 2007, before returning in back-to-back seasons in 2012 and 2013.
• Named the Wilson ITA Region I Head Coach of the Year for the 2002 season and was one of eight finalists for the national coach of the year award.
• Brown and Charleston Southern were both in last place when Choboy took over and he guided both schools to a conference title within four years, the first conference title in school history for both teams.
Entering his 12th season as the NC State men's tennis head coach, accomplished veteran Jon Choboy has positioned his program for unprecedented success. Using the advantages of the elite indoor and outdoor facilities and his own drive and determination, Choboy has helped the Wolfpack turn the corner in the Atlantic Coast Conference and become a national contender.
Choboy became the first coach in the program's history to guide the Pack to back-to-back NCAA appearances on two separate occasions. The team went to the NCAA tournament after the 2006 and 2007 seasons, culminating in State's first Elite Eight appearance in 2007. More recently, Choboy has led the Wolfpack to back-to-back NCAA berths in 2012 and 2013, including a first round victory over Auburn last season. Throughout his career at State, Choboy has coached 11 All-ACC selections, two ITA Mideast Regional Arthur Ashe award winners, one ITA Mideast Regional Rookie of the Year, one ITA All-American, and one CoSida All-District performer.
In his first season with NC State, Choboy inherited a thin roster of only two student-athletes and fielded a roster of six players for the season, winning just 30 singles matches as a team. After a year of recruiting, he brought in a strong class of six players, led by 2004 All-ACC standout Conor Taylor. That year, his squad won 46 matches, including 15 in ACC play, compared to six conference wins his first season. In 2005, the Wolfpack continued its ascent up the conference standings, as well as in the national polls, as the team finished the season at No. 46 in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll. The team's 15 wins served as the most since the 1988 Wolfpack campaign, while the 12-0 start to the season marked the second best start and second longest win streak in school history.
The NC State program gained steam in 2006, going 20-11, finishing with a No. 42 final ITA ranking and making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999. William Noblitt was named All-ACC and Jay Weinacker's 23 wins in spring play set a single-season program record. The Pack then trumped that effort in 2007, ending the year at No. 19, its highest finish ever, while grabbing three postseason wins en route to the school's first appearance in the NCAA Round of Eight. Noblitt grabbed a second All-ACC nod, while Nick Cavaday joined him picking up the accolade. In 2008, Choboy continued guiding the Pack to success, as James McGee and Weinacker were named All-ACC, and Weinacker and Cavaday competed in a very close match in the NCAA doubles tournament. Choboy coached Weinacker to All-ACC honors again in 2009, and to All-American status as he advanced to the Round of 16 at the NCAA singles tournament.
The 2012-13 campaign saw the Wolfpack post their highest finish in ACC play since the 1980 campaign with six wins and a fourth place finish in the conference ledger. The squad reached the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, a feat accomplished just once before in NC State men's tennis history, advancing to the second round after a win over Auburn. The doubles tandem of Dave Thomson and Sean Weber advanced to the NCAA Doubles Championship and earn a final ITA ranking of No. 25 for the season.
Choboy came to the Wolfpack after a four-year stint at Brown University, where he compiled a 53-37 record. He led the Bears to their first-ever Ivy League championship, completing a perfect 7-0 regular season and earning an NCAA Tournament berth. For his efforts, Choboy was named the Wilson ITA Region I Head Coach of the Year for the 2002 season and was one of eight finalists for national coach of the year.
Brown qualified for the 2002 National Team NCAA Indoor Championships as one of the top 16 teams in the country, a first-ever feat for the school.
Under Choboy's guidance, Brown's regional ranking improved from 18th in 1998-99 to first in 2001-02. Choboy also helped produce the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2000 and 2001, place the only freshman in the country in the singles national tournament and field a team in the 2001 NCAA doubles championship.
Prior to his stint at Brown, Choboy served as an assistant coach at Florida for two years. While with the Gators, Choboy helped Florida to a No. 9 and No. 15 national ranking.
Choboy also has head coaching experience at Charleston Southern and Springfield College. He worked as an assistant coach at Springfield College and Canisius College, and served as the head tennis coach at Niagara Catholic High School and St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute.
While at Charleston Southern he coached both the men's and women's teams, and was named Big South Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1996. The men's team at Charleston Southern won their first conference title in school history under his tutelage. At Springfield, Choboy's team won the conference title in 1991, and he was named Northeast Conference Coach of the Year that same season.
Both Brown and Charleston Southern were last in their respective conferences when Choboy took over, and both won the school's first conference championship within four years.
The Youngstown, N.Y., native is a 1989 graduate of Canisius College with a bachelor of science degree in physical education. In 1992, Choboy received his master's degree in physical education - sport psychology. His master's thesis, "The Influence of Mental Imagery on the Tennis Service Accuracy of Intermediate Level Tennis Players" was published in 1992.
At Canisius he was a three-year all-conference selection, and finished with a career record of 75-10 at first and second singles. He competed on the Canadian Satellite Circuit from 1987-88 and in USPTA sanctioned tennis tournaments from 1989-92. Choboy has been a Professional I member of the United States Professional Tennis Association since 1989.
Choboy and his wife Tammy have three children, daughter Madison, 14, son Landon, 11, and daughter Laney, 6.
Choboy Coaching History
1985-89 • Niagara Catholic High (head coach)
1990 • St. Josephs Collegiate Institute (head coach)
1990 • Canisius (assistant coach)
1991 • Springfield College (assistant men's and women's coach)
1992-93 • Springfield College (men's and women's head coach)
1994-96 • Charleston Southern (men's and women's head coach)
1997-98 • Florida (assistant coach)
1999-2002 • Brown (head coach)
2003-pres. • NC State (head coach)
Choboy As Head Coach
1992 • Springfield College (men's & women's)
1993 • Springfield College (men's & women's)
1994 • Charleston Southern (men's & women's)
1995 • Charleston Southern (men's & women's)
1996 • Charleston Southern (men's & women's)
1999 • Brown
2000 • Brown
2001 • Brown
2002 • Brown
2003 • NC State
2004 • NC State
2005 • NC State
2006 • NC State
2007 • NC State
2008 • NC State
2009 • NC State
2010 • NC State
2011 • NC State
2012 • NC State
2013 • NC State
Career totals
280-211 • 19 seasons
150-142 (35-78 ACC) at NC State • 11 seasons
