LAS CRUCES, N.M. — NM State has named Abigail Wild as the new head coach of the women's tennis program, Director of Athletics Joe Fields announced Monday. Wild arrives in Las Cruces after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Tarleton State, where she played a key role in one of the most successful stretches in program history.
"We're excited to welcome Abigail to the Aggie family," said Director of Athletics Joe Fields. "She is a young, dynamic coach who has thrived as both a student-athlete and a coach. She is going to do a great job leading our student-athletes on and off the court. As an athletics department, our goals are to graduate student-athletes, win championships, and operate a first-class organization. Abigail is going to help us accomplish those goals. A special thank you to Josh Hadley and our executive team for assisting with the search."
"I believe Aggie Women's Tennis is going to do great things," said Abigail Wild. "I'm excited to be a part of the community of Las Cruces. I want to thank Athletics Director Joe Fields for the opportunity to join the mission of building championship programs."
During her time in Stephenville, Wild helped guide Tarleton State to a historic 2026 season, culminating in the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance at the Division I level. The Texans posted a 17-8 overall record, including an 8-1 mark at home, and won over 75% of their matches in both singles and doubles play.
Tarleton State entered the 2026 WAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed and dominated the field, not surrendering a single point. The Texans opened with a 4-0 win over UT Arlington before securing the WAC Championship with another 4-0 victory against Abilene Christian to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
The Texans' success extended beyond team results, as the program swept the conference's top honors and placed seven student-athletes on All-WAC teams. Tarleton's season concluded in the NCAA Tournament with a first-round matchup against Texas.
In the 2025 season, Wild helped the Texans compile an unbeaten 7-0 home record and secure the No. 2 seed in the 2025 WAC Tournament, while also playing a key role in the program's overall success. Tarleton claimed the WAC Fall Tennis Invitational singles title, produced the WAC Freshman of the Year and had four players earn All-WAC honors, while also collecting 12 WAC weekly awards and placing two student-athletes on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.
Prior to her coaching career, Wild competed collegiately at Hawaii Pacific for two seasons. In her first year with the Sharks, she helped the program capture a PacWest Championship and advance to the NCAA Division II semifinals. She followed that with a strong senior campaign at the top of the lineup, posting a winning record at No. 1 singles and earning All-PacWest Second Team recognition while finishing ranked among the top Division II players nationally.
Before Hawaii Pacific, Wild played at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, and also spent time at West Virginia State University. A native of the United Kingdom, she now takes over the Aggie program looking to build on its foundation and lead NM State into its next chapter.
For complete coverage of NM State women's tennis throughout the 2025-26 year, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Women's Tennis), Twitter (@NMStateWTEN) and Instagram (@NMStateWTEN).
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