Alan Magadan makes best of season with Texas A&M tennis

Texas A&M’s Alan Magadan comes from a long line of Mexican tennis players. He began playing the sport at his father Eduardo Magadan’s tennis academy in Zacatecas, Mexico.

Alan Magadan was 10 years old when his parents Eduardo and Consuelo moved the family to McAllen, Texas. The family’s focus on tennis continued north of the Mexican border.

The youngest of six siblings is now a key member of Texas A&M’s men’s tennis team, which is set to face Wake Forest in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships.

“Tennis was always in my blood. It wasn’t a choice when I was a kid,” said Alan Magadan, a graduate student. “When I was 15 years old, I was able to choose, and I wanted to keep playing because I enjoyed it.”

Eduardo Magadan started several tennis academies in Zacatecas. The family then established two tennis academies in McAllen after moving to the Rio Grande Valley. 

Now Magadan is set for the biggest college tournament of his life. He is playing doubles and singles against Wake Forest in the Sweet 16 of the Division I NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships on Friday. 

From Tyler JC to UTSA and A&M

Magadan plays doubles with Tiago Pires. Because he had already played four years of college tennis, he didn’t know if he would be eligible to play this spring, though. At Tyler JC, he and Ryo Minakata won the 2021 NJCAA Division I Flight Two National Doubles Championship.

He and Minakata were Doubles JC All-Americans in 2021 after going 12-1 as a tandem. From there, he transferred to the University of Texas – San Antonio. Magadan played three seasons at UTSA before transferring to Texas A&M.

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Magadan hasn’t missed a beat. He is 15-5 in 20 matches this season. He has saved his best tennis for the most crucial points in the season. Magadan helped Texas A&M defeat Rice University in the first round of the NCAA Championships. He and the Aggies then beat Baylor last weekend to advance to the Sweet 16.

“His college career was just about over, and now he is in the SEC,” Denton said.

Magadan caught Denton’s attention when he helped UTSA beat Texas A&M in May 2023. He won a singles match and a doubles match in that match. 

‘Firmly’ on Texas A&M’s radar

“We always knew who he was, and he was firmly on our radar,” Denton said. “It was just a matter of figuring out if he was eligible. And once he was, we really wanted him to play for us.”

“We had a lot of our top guys get injured this spring, and Alan really stepped up for us and helped us win a lot of big matches.”

Magadan is thankful for the work Denton has done with him. He also had high praise for Texas A&M assistant coaches Barnaby Smith and Kevin O’Shea. 

“We are a family at Texas A&M,” he says, “and I don’t want to leave anybody out.”