NEW YORK – The United States Tennis Association (USTA) has announced that Florida Gulf Coast men's tennis coach Josh Molino will serve as head coach of Team Florida at the 2026 Battle of the Sections.

WATCH: EAGLE INSIGHT WITH COACH MOLINO

Molino will lead the Sunshine State squad of 16U and 18U boys players in the annual competition between the 17 different sections (similar to regions) across the United States. Each section team is composed of four 16u players and four 18u players.



"To represent the Florida section is truly an honor," Molino said of his appointment. "It's exciting to be one of 17 coaches across the country selected for this opportunity. I can't wait to continue to grow the FGCU brand in front of the top recruits in the nation."

The tournament, held this year on August 1-5, is annually held at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Similar to the collegiate dual match format, team matches have a total of seven points. A team match will be composed of four doubles matches and six singles matches, with the doubles counting as one team point and singles matches counting as one team point each. Participants will play a total of three singles and four doubles matches throughout the competition.

Molino's appointment comes as part of a successful summer where he added a pair of five-star recruits to his program for the upcoming season, saw the Eagles named the ITA Southeast Region Community Award winners and had CJ Smith named to the 2025-26 Allstate NACDA Spring Good Works Team.
 
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