In his first season as Assistant Coach of the Rams, Mike Palacio helped guide VCU to a 13-12 overall record and the program’s eighth Atlantic 10 Championship in eight years. The Rams defeated Saint Joseph’s (4-0), Richmond (4-2), and Dayton (4-2) en route to the title before falling to South Carolina in the NCAA First Round. The Gamecocks went on to advance to the third round of the national tournament.
Under Palacio’s and Kutrovsky’s guidance, five Rams were recognized as Atlantic 10 All-Conference selections. German Samofalov and Alfred Almasi were First Team honorees, while Nicolo Consonni, Erwann Bouchet, and Leon Zarorski earned Second Team accolades. That success was reflected in the team's overall performance as Palacio helped guide the Rams to a 72% winning percentage against A-10 competition. Palacio’s leadership was just as steady off the court as it was between the white lines. In the classroom, Samofalov, Almasi, Consonni, Bouchet, and Kostiantyn Mantach were honored as Atlantic 10 Scholar-Athletes after each posted a grade point average of at least 3.5 during the academic year.
Palacio was named VCU’s men’s assistant tennis coach in September 2024.
Before arriving at VCU, Palacio spent five years at Pacific, where he spent two seasons on the men’s tennis staff and three as an assistant coach for the women’s team. In 2024, he helped lead the Tigers to their first West Coast Conference Tournament appearance, where they reached the second round and received an invitation to the UTR National Invitational Tennis Tournament.
Before his tenure at Pacific, Palacio spent the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach of the men’s team at Elon. The Phoenix went 21-5 and captured their first Colonial Athletic Association Conference title that season, along with making their second NCAA tournament appearance.
Prior to Elon, Palacio served as an assistant coach at Division III Washington and Lee, for the 2017-2018 season. He helped coach the men’s team to the 37th Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship during his lone season there.
Palacio also served as the women’s head coach at his alma mater, Imperial Valley College. He coached the Desert Warriors for five and a half years, and in 2014 was named the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Women’s Coach of the Year.
A native of El Centro, California, Palacio played two years at Imperial Valley College, before graduating with his associate’s degree. He would then go on to play two years at Division II Cal Poly Pomona, before graduating in 2016.
