As both a successful head coach and a valuable administrator over the last decade and a half at Hillsdale, Nikki Walbright is a leader for the Chargers on a variety of fronts and a key part of Director of Athletics John Tharp's leadership team.

Already a legendary program builder as a head coach of the Chargers' women's tennis team, Walbright joined the administrative side of the athletic department in 2017 as the program's Senior Woman Administrator. In 2022, she stepped down as head coach of the Hillsdale women's tennis program to become Hillsdale's Associate Athletic Director as well as the SWA, and has made a positive program-wide impact in both roles ever since.

Walbright came to Hillsdale in the winter of 2011 as a first-time head coach, just two years removed from her playing days as a member of the women's tennis team at the University of Dayton. She was confronted with a daunting task -- to build a women's tennis program from scratch after seven seasons without a team had left Hillsdale without a tradition or a single varsity player on campus to work with.

Despite her inexperience entering the role, Walbright proved herself to be the perfect candidate for the role, turning Hillsdale into a championship-winning team that's competitive in the Midwest Region in an 11-season tenure from 2011 to 2022. After a 3-12 first campaign in 2011 that saw the Chargers finish near the bottom of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Walbright led Hillsdale to an 11-win improvement in just her second season with a 14-6 mark that earned her the first of what would be three Conference Coach of the Year honors at Hillsdale. 

While Walbright got the Chargers to a competitive level in the GLIAC, it was the program's switch to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference for the 2017-18 campaign that saw Hillsdale really take off in the sport. Walbright and the Chargers won the G-MAC with a perfect 7-0 record in their first season in the conference, then repeated feat the next year and, after Covid-19 cancelled the 20219-20 season, the Chargers added a third consecutive G-MAC Tournament title in 2020-21, the following year. During Walbright's time at the helm, the Chargers had two conference Players of the Year, two Freshmen of the Year and had 14 players earn 31 total All-Conference honors, while making the only three NCAA DII Tournament appearances in program history in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

Walbright stepped down as head coach of the program in 2022, retiring with the second-most wins in program history. That wasn't the end of her coaching career, however. When a late departure meant Hillsdale needed an interim head coach for the 2024-25 season, Walbright returned to the role for a single season, guiding Hillsdale to a 14-9 mark that included the Chargers' best regular season finish since the 2018-19 campaign while also continuing to perform her duties as both Associate Athletic Director and SWA.

Originally from Sylvania, Ohio, Walbright worked as the assistant women's tennis coach at Division I Florida Atlantic University prior to arriving at Hillsdale. She played tennis for four years at the University of Dayton, where she graduated in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration/sports management. At FAU, she earned her master’s degree in exercise physiology as well.

During her playing career at Dayton, Walbright emerged as one of the program’s top players, while compiling an impressive list of off-the-court accomplishments. She was a starting singles player during her career, and became part of the No. 1 doubles team while being chosen as team captain as a senior. In 2007, her team earned the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Team Sportsmanship Award, and Walbright was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference Academic Honor Roll in each of her four seasons with the Flyers. She also handled various practice, travel and strength and conditioning responsibilities with the team while she was a player. As a senior in 2008-09, she was named her team’s most valuable player, and received the Rev. Charles L. Collins S.M. Award of Excellence, for her outstanding citizenship in 2008-09.

Carrying those kinds of responsibilities served her well at her next stop at FAU, where she made the smooth transition into assistant coach for the Owls. She emphasized technique, strategy and mental toughness in her role as assistant coach, and was at her best when helping her players win closely fought matches. She was also an active recruiter for the Owls, and played a big part in organizing team activities, travel plans and honing its strength and conditioning program.

Walbright's skill and experience with strength and conditioning instruction led her to fill that coach’s role for the United States Tennis Association Player Development, based in Boca Raton, Florida. She helped develop tennis-specific drills for highly skilled players, to use both on the court and in the weight room.

Walbright also worked as an instructor for the undergraduate course Health, Fitness for Life at FAU, teaching nearly 700 students during her two-year tenure at the school. In addition, Walbright worked as the strength and conditioning coach at the Delray Competitive Tennis Club, where she worked with junior-level players, ages 8-17, on how to improve technique, increase physical fitness and to prevent injuries. She is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and has First Aid and CPR certification.

Walbright played high school tennis at Sylvania Northview, not far from Toledo, where she racked up a career record of 108-15. She was a four-time sectional and district qualifier and was a three-time state qualifier. She was a sectional doubles champion three times, and was named Second-Team All-State in 2004-05. She earned First-Team All-League distinction in 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05.