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Big Ten Announces Men's Tennis Postseason Awards
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference revealed its individual award winners, All-Big Ten selections and Sportsmanship Award recipients for men’s tennis on Thursday. All postseason honors were voted on by the conference’s head coaches.
Michigan State swept the individual awards with Ozan Baris earning Player of the Year honors and Aristotelis Thanos receiving the Freshman of the Year Award. Ohio State’s Ty Tucker was named Coach of the Year for the 17th time in his career.
Baris, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season, becomes the first Michigan State player to be named Player of the Year since the award’s inception in 1987. The Okemos, Mich., native is ranked ninth in singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), the highest rating of any Big Ten player. He owns a 27-6 singles record and has teamed with Max Sheldon to form a doubles team that is ranked 16th in the country.
Thanos compiled a 5-1 singles record in Big Ten competition and is 12-2 overall having played exclusively in the top three singles flights. The redshirt freshman has won 82 percent of his singles matches (12-2), which included an 11-match win streak from Jan. 19-April 7. A native of Athens, Greece, Thanos has represented his country in the Davis Cup.
In his 25th season at Ohio State, Tucker has guided the Buckeyes to a No. 1 ranking this season with a 27-1 overall mark. Ohio State recorded 11 wins against Top 20 teams and captured its 18th consecutive Big Ten regular season title. The Buckeyes went 9-0 in Big Ten play to extend their four-year conference win streak to 34 matches.
Ohio State lead all schools with six All-Big Ten selections, including four on the first team. Cannon Kingsley was named to the All-Big Ten First Team for a record fifth-straight season.
The Big Ten also recognized 10 Sportsmanship Award honorees, who distinguished themselves through sportsmanship, ethical behavior and good citizenship.
A complete list of award honorees is listed below:
2023-24 BIG TEN MEN'S TENNIS AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Ozan Baris, So., Michigan State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:
Aristotelis Thanos, Fr., Michigan State
COACH OF THE YEAR:
Ty Tucker, Ohio State
ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM
ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM
BIG TEN SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS
Michigan State swept the individual awards with Ozan Baris earning Player of the Year honors and Aristotelis Thanos receiving the Freshman of the Year Award. Ohio State’s Ty Tucker was named Coach of the Year for the 17th time in his career.
Baris, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season, becomes the first Michigan State player to be named Player of the Year since the award’s inception in 1987. The Okemos, Mich., native is ranked ninth in singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), the highest rating of any Big Ten player. He owns a 27-6 singles record and has teamed with Max Sheldon to form a doubles team that is ranked 16th in the country.
Thanos compiled a 5-1 singles record in Big Ten competition and is 12-2 overall having played exclusively in the top three singles flights. The redshirt freshman has won 82 percent of his singles matches (12-2), which included an 11-match win streak from Jan. 19-April 7. A native of Athens, Greece, Thanos has represented his country in the Davis Cup.
In his 25th season at Ohio State, Tucker has guided the Buckeyes to a No. 1 ranking this season with a 27-1 overall mark. Ohio State recorded 11 wins against Top 20 teams and captured its 18th consecutive Big Ten regular season title. The Buckeyes went 9-0 in Big Ten play to extend their four-year conference win streak to 34 matches.
Ohio State lead all schools with six All-Big Ten selections, including four on the first team. Cannon Kingsley was named to the All-Big Ten First Team for a record fifth-straight season.
The Big Ten also recognized 10 Sportsmanship Award honorees, who distinguished themselves through sportsmanship, ethical behavior and good citizenship.
A complete list of award honorees is listed below:
2023-24 BIG TEN MEN'S TENNIS AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Ozan Baris, So., Michigan State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:
Aristotelis Thanos, Fr., Michigan State
COACH OF THE YEAR:
Ty Tucker, Ohio State
ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM
| Name | School | Yr. | Hometown |
| Hunter Heck | Illinois | Sr. | New Brighton, Minn. |
| Karlis Ozolins | Illinois | Jr. | Salaspils, Latvia |
| Sam Landau | Indiana | So. | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Gavin Young | Michigan | Sr. | Apple Valley, Minn. |
| Ozan Baris | Michigan State | So. | Okemos, Mich. |
| Aristotelis Thanos | Michigan State | Fr. | Athens, Greece |
| Calvin Mueller | Nebraska | Jr. | Bruchkoebel, Germany |
| Jack Anthrop | Ohio State | So. | Orlando, Fla. |
| Justin Boulais | Ohio State | 5th | Oakville, Ontario |
| Cannon Kingsley | Ohio State | 5th | Northport, N.Y. |
| JJ Tracy | Ohio State | Sr. | Hilton Head, S.C. |
| Miko Eala | Penn State | Sr. | Philippines/Manacor, Spain |
ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM
| Name | School | Yr. | Hometown |
| Kenta Miyoshi | Illinois | So. | Kawasaki, Japan |
| Ronald Hohmann | Michigan State | Gr. | Oyster Bay, N.Y. |
| Presley Thieneman | Northwestern | Sr. | Carmel, Ind. |
| Alexander Bernard | Ohio State | So. | Bonita Springs, Fla. |
| Robert Cash | Ohio State | 5th | New Albany, Ohio |
| Stefan Simeunovic | Purdue | Fr. | Oakville, Ontario |
BIG TEN SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS
| Name | School | Yr. | Hometown |
| Mathis Debru | Illinois | Jr. | Grenoble, France |
| Jagger Saylor | Indiana | Sr. | Westfield, Ind. |
| Mert Oral | Michigan | So. | Ann Arbor, Mich. |
| Reed Crocker | Michigan State | Sr. | Kalamazoo, Mich. |
| Shunya Maruyama | Nebraska | Sr. | Nagano, Japan |
| Gleb Blekher | Northwestern | Sr. | Moscow, Russia |
| Reece Yakubov | Ohio State | So. | Columbus, Ohio |
| Miko Eala | Penn State | Sr. | Philippines/Manacor, Spain |
| Henrick Villanger | Purdue | Fr. | Oslo, Norway |
| Michael Minasyan | Wisconsin | So. | Stockholm, Sweden |