In the summer of 2012, MSU head coach Per Nilsson named Matt Roberts as his new assistant coach after the departure of Matt Hill, who was named head coach at South Florida. Roberts hit the ground running with the MSU program, bringing a load of coaching and Southeastern Conference experience to Starkville.

"I feel really good about Matt joining our program," Nilsson said. "He understands the excitement we have created here and will be a big part of taking the next step for our program."

In his first fall season as assistant, Roberts helped coach Nilsson guide the State squad to one of its most impressive fall performances. Most notable was the 2012 USTA/ITA Southern Regional Championship captured by the doubles tandem of junior Malte Stropp and freshman Jordan Angus. The coaching of Nilsson and Roberts helped the quick development of MSU's four new freshmen, including Belgium native Romain Bogaerts, who advanced to the finals of singles play in the USTA/ITA Southern Regional Championships and earned impressive victories against No. 5 Nik Scholtz of Ole Miss and Auburn's 11th-ranked Andreas Mies. 

Roberts coaching in the fall helped two State singles players and two doubles tandems to earn national rankings to begin the spring campaign. 

Roberts came to MSU after spending the prior three seasons as an assistant at Michigan State. Prior to serving on Gene Orlando's staff in East Lansing, Roberts was a volunteer assistant tennis coach at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock (2008), where he helped lead the men's tennis team to one of its most successful campaigns in the program's history. Other positions Roberts has held include tennis pro at Proutsneck Country Club in Maine (2007-09) and tennis pro/recreational director at the Wal-Mart Fitness Center (2006-07).

Roberts is no stranger to the SEC. A three-time captain and four-year letterwinner (2003-06) at the University of Arkansas, Roberts knows what it's like to play in the rigors of the league. During his time in Fayetteville, Roberts amassed a career record of 84-50 in singles play, helping lead his team to a top 25 ranking in each of his four seasons. Roberts' upperclassman years are where he shined the most, registering a 54-19 record and two All-SEC honors as a junior and senior.

Before attending Arkansas, Roberts was one of the top-ranked juniors in the United States. From 2000-02, he was ranked as the No. 1 Southern junior and climbed to be as high as number seven in the national junior rankings. Roberts was an instrumental part in Pulaski Academy winning the 2002 Arkansas High School State Championship, where he also captured the individual championship.

While playing professionally on the ATP circuit, Roberts achieved career high rankings of No. 517 (singles) and No. 522 (doubles).