"Multiple groups of players reported him to the athletic director over the years for abusive behavior, and thank god we’re finally taken seriously and he was fired. Ask around and you will find out no one likes him. Or go watch him coach at matches and witness him screaming and jumping up and down at his players from the sidelines cussing at them. "

"A total hot mess. Terrible experience. Talked on the phone with players every night for hours. Very inappropriate. Accused of having an affair on his wife with a barely former player on the team…. Not great for a women’s college tennis coach. He can’t play tennis at all himself so not sure how he lasted this long in coaching. Got cussed at daily. My instagram was stalked by him. Isolated teammates from one another. Should not be allowed to be coaching women. Unsafe environment overall. Go literally anywhere else where he is not your coach. "

"This review is for Stein Metzger who is the current coach at UT Austin. If you are considering playing for Stein or sending your daughter to play for him, be sure to do your homework before committing. A recent recruit de-committed and is now heading to UCLA after her official UT visit in the fall of '25. She was savvy enough (or he's that obvious) to notice the unhealthy environment he creates and his creepy obsession with some recruits/players. Stein is incapable of hiding his inappropriate favoritism for some players. He will also love-bomb during recruiting and make promises he has zero intention of keeping. One reviewer on this site accurately described Stein as “bi-polar and passive aggressive”. We have been in this sport a while now, and are comfortable stating that he is the worst human involved in the sport. ANY coach is better than Stein. Even players who are from Austin, and very happy to be at UT, are miserable playing for him. On any given day, a player can listen in the hall to a crying athlete in a meeting while Stein and Angie either mock or ignore them to their face. He will repeatedly lie to an athlete's face also. He will act as if he doesn't remember his own lies. Do not believe anything Stein or Angie tell you during recruiting! There is zero integrity nor bounds to the level they will stoop to trick you. He also has inappropriate methods to decide the lineup. One example of many, is a player who got her spot because Stein goes boating very regularly with her family. Take note, if you can provide Stein outings and food/alcohol for his family, you can earn a top spot! Don't worry about performance or compliance. This family is allowed to loudly and embarrassingly berate refs and accuse them of “home cookin’” (in a hillbilly voice) which is Texas speak for the LA refs are cheating. Even though Stein gives parents rules against this behavior, it’s allowed if you are one of his pet families. Stein won’t name any captains, he will just pick his besties and utilize them as unofficial captains, even if they are jerks to their teammates. Players (especially if International) can be a bully and threaten their teammates. They can even tell the entire team that they "hate" your daughter but will still be able to do what they like. If one of his pets feels intimidated/embarrassed because they are getting served, then they can demand not to play with the better player. When a player reports bullying to Stein and Angie, their response might be "we know and have spoken to her about it multiple times". But, they will not do any mandatory reporting and will allow said bully to retaliate and threaten the player further. Your daughter can learn how to be meager and be a victim if they join this team! The two main coaches LOVE watching their pet players make others feel small and intimidated. If you report the bullying and your normal human response of fear and intimidation, you will be removed from the team. We all know these coaches and AD's can get away with a lot but it's another level at UT. If you are a victim, you are the bad guy for speaking up. Stein and Angie go out and recruit International athletes and make big promises to them. The twins (although kind girls) did not earn the 2's spot; but are there because it's what was promised. Stein said he would determine the 2 vs. 3 spot based on practice performance but when another pair kicked the twins' behinds in two sets, he retracted that promise. Piersma was asked to leave her own Dutch Federation due to personality issues and nobody in the country wanted to play with her. Piersma qualified for the Olympics but the federation didn't let her play (because she's not that good) but also because she is a horrible person and other players refused her as a partner. No problem! Angie will recruit her and let her come to the US and repeatedly bully and threaten a US All-American. She will stay at UT because she has no current career prospects outside of UT. Piersma threw a tantrum in the fall because she didn't get to play in Huntsville. She had a broken finger but felt she should have been able to go as a defender over a better, healthy teammate. Piersma didn't win a local tournament (that a teammate did win) and thus began to slander said teammate and actively campaign against her. Piersma was allowed to choose Hashman as her partner because Piersma looked poorly when she played with the player who is better than her. Stein doesn't solely favor international players, he was overheard numerous times making lineup promises and coddling a freshman this year. He either dislikes you or is enamored with you. He also allows this red player to bully teammates. It seems that he often favors the individuals who are not decent people. It’s an excellent example of the similarity-attraction effect. Aside from the other personality issues mentioned, Stein is also disorganized. While in Hawaii, he lost keys to the van and players had to wait over an hour before piling into the other van to eventually get back to the hotel. He didn’t make dinner reservations and was surprised when they couldn’t get served at a restaurant as a large group. Being a D1 athlete is stressful enough; these athletes deserve better leadership. The new courts still aren’t built at UT and players have to be driven off campus for practice. Coaches used to help with this but now they leave it up to the players. With the number of international athletes on the team it’s a large number of players who need rides. This means that Stein’s pets including Hashman, Robertson, and Davis all drive away alone in their cars while the decently raised teammates pile people into their vehicles to do the carpooling. Some drivers even end up with more players than seatbelts in their cars. The team is a class system designed by Stein and Angie's preferences for certain individuals. Your daughter can either be a princess or a maid. There is no in-between and it doesn't matter how talented nor hard-working they may be. There's a reason we didn’t hear a loud outcry when he took the UT job. You most likely won't hear his prior UCLA Olympic athlete complimenting him. His team is divided into two groups: Stein/Angie's pets and the other half who hate them but are forced to deal with it. If your goal is to learn that there are terrible adults who get off on harming young women, then go play for Stein and Angie. Or, do yourself a favor and go with ANY other team than UT."

"If you’ve ever dreamed of being screamed at, mocked, and belittled daily, this “coach” is your jackpot. He has a remarkable talent for turning love of the game into dread of showing up. Feedback is less about tennis and more about personal attacks, delivered with cussing at full volume. Congratulations — you’ve found the fastest way to kill your passion for the sport."

"Jeff's knowledge of tennis very limited and often would have ulterior motives. He was let go for a reason. He treated his players not as humans, but rather chess pieces to further his career. Can talk the talk but can't walk the walk. Would not recommend to any kind of player. His limited tennis knowledge doesn't get him very far, and when that goes south, he turns to "accountability" and "toughness". Very possible to go into a program where he coaches and come out worse, mentally and physically. Known to swear and scream at his players."

"As both a parent and a professional tennis coach with over 30 years in the industry, the heartbreak our family experienced under Coach Jeff Nevolo was beyond anything we could have imagined. It remains the most devastating and damaging experience of our athletic journey. In my professional opinion, Jeff Nevolo has absolutely no business coaching Division I women’s tennis—frankly, no business being in any role involving young women. His behavior was not just unprofessional; it was deeply harmful. He routinely crossed boundaries, calling players after practice to gossip about their teammates. He encouraged players to spy on one another, asking them to take videos or photos of teammates during their free time. He orchestrated emotionally abusive activities, such as making players sit in a circle and tell each other what they disliked about one another. This is not team building—it is emotional warfare. He mentally and verbally abused the very young women we trusted him to lead. He cussed at them openly. Using the C" word and other disgusting expletives. These are our daughters—hard-working, dedicated athletes who had spent years training with discipline, sacrifice, and heart to compete at the collegiate level. Instead of fostering growth, he crushed their spirit. He told players their teammates didn’t like them and suggested they should transfer. He isolated them, humiliated them, and destroyed their confidence. Jeff Nevolo abused every ounce of power he was given. He stole dreams, shattered confidence, and inflicted trauma that no athlete should ever endure. There is absolutely no place for this kind of behavior in women’s sports. DO NOT HIRE THIS MAN. HE SHOULD NEVER COACH WOMEN AGAIN."

"This coach has absolutely nothing to bring to women's college tennis other than an horrible experience. He lacks knowledge of the game, has no idea how to motivate in a positive manner, hates just about everyone including his own life, incredibly negative about everything, even if the team wins. He is incredibly verbally and mentally abusive. The idea of positive coaching is foreign to him. He is insecure, narcissistic and incredibly manipulative. His style of coaching is coaching out of fear then explaining to you that he did it for your own good. He has no place in coaching women's tennis. What could be an amazing four year experience is completely ruined by one person. He only has assistant coaches that buy into his culture of beating you down. Girls that play D1 college tennis have worked their entire life for this chance. Girls sacrifice so much to get good enough to play D1. Jeff takes it all away from you and makes you hate the game and ruins the entire college experience. The college experience should be amazing. Don't let any coach take that away from you. "

"Committing to row for Dave O’Neil at Texas, I knew it would be challenging—and it should be at such a competitive level. I value “tough love” coaching, which builds strong athletes and well-rounded individuals. However, HE lacks empathy and prioritizes the team’s reputation above all else. While I don’t expect coaches to mediate team drama, I do believe in equal respect for every athlete. Unfortunately, this was not the case. HE allowed an entire class to bully their teammate, ignoring her perspective for 313 days until university leadership and lawyers forced his involvement. When asked how he’d feel if it were his own daughter being mistreated by teammates and coaches, HE admitted HE wouldn’t be happy. Yet, HE still failed to act until pressured. The treatment of myself and others was incomprehensible. Over half of an entire recruiting class quit due to mental health struggles or a loss of love for the sport, issues that HE caused or exacerbated. HE stripped me of my love for rowing for a long time. While I’ve regained much of it, it will never be the same. If you’re seeking a coach who upholds the Texas Student Athlete Code of Conduct and fosters respect, this is not the coach for you. The Texas Student Athlete Code of Conduct: Sportsmanship: “Student Athletes must conduct themselves in a distinguished manner and exhibit respect and courtesy toward teammates, opponents, coaches, staff, officials, and spectators.” To submit this review, I am required to give at least one star; however, I want to make it clear that this star is solely dedicated to the teammates who had the courage to come forward and apologize for being manipulated into bullying their teammate. These same individuals were also mistreated by this rowing program and Dave O’Neil, but their stories are not mine to tell. This star for the family we’ve built by persevering together and rising above it all. "

"Listen to your gut. You are right in what you feel. "

"Terrible. Literal nightmare. Mentally Abusive. Does not care about his players college education or mental wellbeing. Creates wedges between players and loves to gossip about them. Multiple people leave per year due to his coaching ways and environment he facilitates. If you want a successful college career with teammates and staff who care about you, go any place else."

"Arbitrary, unfair, poor customer service, changed long-standing athletics and Longhorn Foundation practices that discriminate against long-time, loyal Longhorn Foundation members, has an academic background from an inferior university. Other than that, he's perfect."

"He bullies athletes but creates a good team culture out of the team thinking he’s an asshole"

"Did not like my first year here at all. Overly focused on class rather than talent."