Notes
The table above lists all recruits as of May 21, 2023. In addition to the Star Rating, we display the highest TRN and ITF junior rankings - as well as the best UTR and World Tennis Number (WTN) ratings - for the 6-month period prior to the voting. For international players we display the TRN ranking they would hold if eligible.
Also Receiving Consideration
We reviewed the resumes for more than 50 teams for these rankings. Teams that received strong consideration from our insiders and almost made our list are (alphabetically) as follows: Carleton, Haverford, Johns Hopkins, Luther (IA), Skidmore, Washington & Lee
Seeing Maroon
One year removed from their program’s first-ever NCAA championship in 2022, the University of Chicago had another strong outing in 2022-23, reaching the semifinals of the University Athletic Association Conference Tournament as well as the third round of the 2023 NCAA Championships. Maroon Head Coach Jay Tee has built a program in Chicago that competes year-in and year-out in the UAA and on the national stage.
© Out-of-Door Athletics
One of the secrets of Chicago’s success is strong recruiting, and 2023 is more of the same. Coach Tee and his staff have a three-man class arriving this fall that we tab as the No. 1 class in NCAA Division III Tennis. 2013 marks the 12th straight Top 10 D-III class for the Maroons - and the fifth time at No. 1 during that stretch.
Five-star athlete Robert Zhang (Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) is the highest-rated recruit for Chicago, and he has had success on the largest US junior tennis stage. Zhang competed in all four USTA National Championships over the past year, earning six wins in singles and winning a bronze ball in doubles at the USTA Winter Nationals.
Zhang will be joined in the Windy City by 4-Star seniors Kane Kelley (Tarzana, Calif.) and Matthew Liew (Greenwich, Conn.). Kelley, who competed at the 2022 USTA Clay Court and Hard Court Nationals, has been playing UTR men’s events this spring - while Liew won singles titles at a pair of USTA Level 5s earlier this year.
Coach Tee is understandably excited about his incoming recruits.
“This is a really hungry group of young men that we're adding next fall,” said Tee. “All five guys are absolute court rats and have one goal in mind: bringing more championships to Hyde Park. It was evident in the recruiting process that UChicago was their top choice. They have a chance to make an immediate impact in our lineup and on our culture, which I know they're excited about. To be able to bring in such an accomplished class means that recruits are taking notice of our success and want to be a part of it.”
Give Me Five
Two recruiting classes separated themselves from the rest. Several college coaches had Carnegie Mellon University at the top of their lists, and we put the Tartans at No. 2 in NCAA Division III.
CMU Head Coach Mike Belmonte has a strong five-man class arriving in Pittsburgh this fall - including four 4-Star recruits. 4-Star seniors Jonathan Gu (Princeton, N.J.), Raghav Jangbahadur (Palo Alto, Calif.), Daniel Kong (Muttontown, N.Y.), and Justin Yi (Wynnewood, Pa.) will be joined by 3-Star athlete Ted Gershon (Austin, Texas) at CMU. All four recruits have UTRs over 10.0 - with two above 11.0.
Checking in at the No. 3 spot are the Amherst Mammoths. Head Coach Doebler has recruited 4-Star seniors Ethan Ohm (Alpine, N.J.), Rex Harrison (La Jolla, Calif.), and Spencer Leung (Belvedere Tiburon, Calif.) to go along with Andreas Sillaste (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Peter Wang (Essex, Mass.) who both hold UTRs above 11.0.
The Babson Beavers and CMS Stags round out our Top 5 at No. 4 and 5, respectively.
Conference Call
The 25 recruiting classes on our list come from 9 different conferences, with the New England Small College Athletic Conference standing apart from the rest. 8 of the 25 classes in our rankings hail from the NESCAC. At No. 3, Amherst has the top-ranked class. The Mammoths are joined in the Top 10 by the Williams Ephs (No. 6), Tufts Jumbos (7), and Middlebury Panthers (9). Other NESCAC programs on our D-III list are the Colby Mules (13), Bowdoin Polar Bears (14), Wesleyan Cardinals (19), and Hamilton Continentals (25).
The UAA also impresses with 5 ranked classes - including 4 of the Top 10.
Drop Shots
Scattershooting through the rankings ..
- Bay Statement - Recruiting classes from 11 states are represented in the rankings, but Massachusetts is the runaway leader with a whopping 6 ranked classes. Amherst (No. 3), Babson (4), Williams (6), and Tufts (7) are all from the Commonwealth - along with the Brandeis Judges (10) and MIT Engineers (24).
- Familiar Faces - 20 of the 25 programs in these 2023 Division III rankings also appeared in 2022 - stringing together multiple ranked classes.
- Streaking - 6 programs have appeared in our D-III Recruiting Class Rankings for 10 or more consecutive years - with ranked classes every year dating back to at least 2014. Chicago (1), Carnegie Mellon (2), CMS (5), Williams (6), CWRU (8), and Bowdoin (14) all have these impressive streaks.
- Perfect Attendance - TRN started ranking D-III recruiting classes in 2010, and three programs have appeared in all 14 of those years: Chicago, CMS, and CWRU. Hats off to all of you!
- Welcome Aboard - Two schools are making their first-ever appearance in our rankings. The Concordia Tornados (21) join Hamilton (25) on our list. Congratulations to Head Coaches Jeff Bramlett and Paul Arsenault of Concordia and Hamilton, respectively, on their notable recruiting efforts.
- Best Ever - In addition to Concordia and Hamilton, three other programs have their best recruiting classes in program history. Babson (4), Colby (13), and the Vassar Brewers (16) all have historic recruiting hauls this season. Nice work!
Coming Friday … D-III Women
We wrap things up with the women later in the week. This coming Friday, TennisRecruiting.net and Inspiration Academy will complete our 2023 recruiting class ranking series with a look at the top 25 women's D-III recruiting classes. Check back for that list - as we celebrate the new blood in college tennis.
About Inspiration Academy
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