SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Looking ahead to next season, the roster for Santa Clara's men's tennis team will be fresh with plenty of new faces. The Broncos have added six new student-athletes to their roster, including a number of highly touted recruits that either hold four star, five star, or Blue Chip marks.
"I'm very excited for the future of our program," said Bronco head coach Derek Mills. "The incoming class is full of guys who are excited and ready to win now. They will definitely be huge pieces to our success going forward over the next few seasons."
The decorated 2016 class, ranked No. 11 in the country, features Connor Garnett of Bellevue, Wash., Andrew Gu of El Cerrito, Calif., Kamran Khan of Dallas, Texas, Jeffrey Liang of Kaneohe, Hawaii, Robert Seby of Oro Valley, Ariz., and Morgan Stone of Marietta, Ga.
Connor Garnett
Garnett, a product of the Pacific Northwest, is ranked No. 1 in his home state and No. 59 in the nation, according to tennisrecruiting.net. Competing against some of the top competitors in the country, Garnett has held his own, tallying a record of 12-11 playing against Blue Chip, five star and four star recruits. To date, Garnett has already racked up three state titles.
"I chose Santa Clara because it has all the main components I was looking for in a college," said Garnett. "The tennis program looks amazing while having a great business school. Also, the campus there is small, which I personally like with a positive religious aspect too. I would also be kidding myself if the weather there wasn't a factor too."
Andrew Gu
The next future Bronco is Gu, a native of nearby El Cerrito, Calif. who is highly ranked in a number of polls due to his stellar and consistent play on the courts. The high school senior is a five-star recruit that is currently ranked in the USTA top-20 in singles among 18-year-old boys in Northern California and he also holds a No. 39 ranking in national polls. During his high school career, Gu has become an NCS Singles Champion in 2011 and 2012 competing for Albany High School.
Gu is looking forward to the experiences that he will take part in both on and off the court during his time as a Bronco.
"I chose Santa Clara because of its interesting business program and their men's tennis team program," he said. "As an athlete, I had a brotherly bond with the guys on the team. Also, the business program pulled me in because there was some cases that CEOs were giving lectures to students about how to run a major corporation or a small-local business that were on the rise to become a worldwide company."
Kamran Khan
The third new Santa Clara student-athlete is Khan, hailing from Dallas, Texas. The senior is ranked No. 15 in his home state and has 35 victories under his belt. Most recently, Khan won a silver ball at the 2015 Mobile Spring Team Championships and participated in the 2015 Challenger of Dallas Pro Event.
"By the end of my time at SCU I hope to accomplish becoming a complete player, and someone who really benefitted my team," said Khan. "I want to have reached the goal of improving as much as I can in my four years and to accomplish big things in NCAA tennis with my teammates."
Khan is looking to major in business and hopes to attend graduate school following his time at Santa Clara.
Jeffrey Liang
Liang, currently residing in Hawaii, will make the adventure across the Pacific Ocean when he arrives on the Mission Campus next fall. The current senior at Hawaii Baptist Academy finished in second place at Interscholastic League of Honolulu tennis tournament and has also attended and competed at the Davis Cup on two separate occasions.
"I chose Santa Clara because I really wanted to play for a Division 1 tennis school," said Liang. "Also, the business school is excellent. The school is located in Silicon Valley so there are many opportunities to have a great internship."
In the classroom, Liang aspires to hold a 4.0 GPA in order to set himself up for success in the business world after completing his time as a Bronco.
Robert Seby
Seby, a Blue Chip recruit, is also a future Bronco that is currently ranked No. 1 in his home state. Competing against the best of the best, Seby is 21-11 when challenging four star, five star, or Blue Chip recruits.
"When I arrived at SCU on my official visit, I could immediately see that the coaching staff was as driven and competitive as me," said Seby. "This demonstrated attitude, along with their technical knowledge about the game, convinced me that the program would take my game to the next level."
Away from the court, Seby has also excelled in the classroom. He is a member of the National Honor Society and is also an AP Scholar with distinction. Seby will be majoring in biology and studying biotechnology as a minor with the hopes of one day going to graduate school.
Morgan Stone
The final recruit that will be calling the Mission Campus his new home is Stone, currently residing in Marietta, Ga. On the court, Stone qualified for the main draw at the Atlanta ITF competition and went on to capture two more victories at the event, solidifying a junior world ranking. In doubles, Stone added to his successes by winning the UTSA Closed Regional tournament. The future Bronco carried that success overseas, training for five weeks in Majorca, Spain and seizing victory at the Cuadros XIIIT Rofeo Ultima Hora Tournament.
"At Santa Clara, I hope to keep improving and see how good I can get with the coaches bringing out the inner potential," said Stone. "I hope to win a team championship at NCAAs as well as qualify for individuals at some point in my career at SCU."
Stone, along with the rest of his new teammates, will set the stage for the next few years of Bronco tennis.
"We're part of a unique recruiting class," said Stone. "With it having six freshmen, that's basically unheard of and I think we're going to be able to really bring the program to where it should be."
