Spartan Men’s Tennis Places Five on All-Big Ten Honors List
4/24/2025 12:15:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Five Spartans recognized for outstanding performance in 2025 Big Ten men’s tennis season
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State men's tennis secured five All-Big Ten recognition, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday, April 23, just before the start of the 2025 Big Ten Tournament.
Junior Ozan Baris and redshirt-sophomore Aristotelis Thanos both earned All-Big Ten First Team honors, while senior Max Sheldon was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team. Freshman Matthew Forbes represented the Spartans on the All-Freshman Team, and freshman Danial Rakhmatullayev was honored with the B1G Sportsmanship Award.
Baris, who earned Player of the Year honors in 2024, and Thanos, who was named Freshman of the Year last season, continue to make their mark on the program.
Baris, the ITA Midwest Singles Champion, posted a 9-8 singles record and a 7-4 mark in Big Ten doubles play, with a career-high ITA ranking of No. 5 and earned Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors on October 16.
Thanos, named Big Ten Player of the Week on January 22, excelled in conference singles with a 5-1 record and contributed solidly in doubles with a 2-3 Big Ten mark. Their standout achievements solidified their spots on the All-Big Ten First Team.
Sheldon grabbed All-Big Ten Second Team honors after being named Big Ten Player of the Week twice, on March 19 and September 25. He finished with an impressive 8-1 record in Big Ten singles play and a 6-3 mark in doubles, contributing to the Spartans' success with an overall 11-7 doubles record.
Forbes earned All-Freshman Team honors following a standout debut season, capped by his Big Ten Freshman of the Week recognition on February 5. He recorded an 11-5 singles record, including a 4-2 mark in conference play, and posted an 8-8 doubles record, with a stellar 6-1 performance in Big Ten action.
Freshman Danial Rakhmatullayev was honored with the Sportsmanship Award, recognized for his exemplary behavior both on and off the court. The Sportsmanship Award honors student-athletes who demonstrate outstanding sportsmanship, ethical conduct, and citizenship, while excelling in their academics and personal character.
Up Next:
The Spartans hit the road to take on (6) USC, a part of the Big Ten tournament that takes place in Columbus, Ohio, Friday-Monday, April 25-28. MSU meets USC on Friday with first serve scheduled for 4 p.m. ET at Ohio State's Auer Tennis Complex in Columbus, Ohio.
Fans can follow the action from Columbus with "Watch Live" and "Live Results" links at MSUSpartans.com, and can keep up to date with the Spartan men's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_MTennis.
The complete list of 2024-25 Big Ten men's honors is as follows:
Player of the Year: Kenta Miyoshi, Jr., Illinois
Freshman of the Year: Rudy Quan, Fr., UCLA
Coach of the Year: Ty Tucker, Ohio State
All-Big Ten, First Team
KENTA MIYOSHI, JR., Illinois
Ozan Baris, Jr., Michigan State
Aristotelis Thanos, So., Michigan State
Calvin Mueller, Sr., Nebraska
Jack Anthrop, Jr., Ohio State
Alexander Bernard, Jr., Ohio State
Aidan Kim, So., Ohio State
Loren Byers, Sr., Penn State
Aleksa Krivokapic, Jr., Purdue
Rudy Quan, Fr., UCLA
PETE MAKK, SR., USC
Cesar Bouchelaghem, Sr., Washington
All-Big Ten, Second Team
William Mroz, Jr., Illinois
Will Cooksey, Sr., Michigan
Gavin Young, Sr., Michigan
Max Sheldon, Sr., Michigan State
Lenn Luemkemann, So., Oregon
Emon van Loben Sels, So., UCLA
All-Freshman Team
Matt Forbes, Fr., Michigan State
Brandon Carpico, R-Fr., Ohio State
Kaylan Bigun, Fr., UCLA
RUDY QUAN, FR., UCLA
Nathan Trouve, Fr., USC
Patrik Meszaros, Fr., Wisconsin
Sportsmanship Award
Tyler Bowers, So., Illinois
Sam Scherer, Jr., Indiana
Alex Cairo, So., Michigan
Danial Rakhmatullayev, Fr., Michigan State
Roni Hietaranta, Sr., Nebraska
Max Bengtsson, Sr., Northwestern
Reece Yakubov, Jr., Ohio State
Matthew Burton, Jr., Oregon
Loren Byers, Sr., Penn State
Henrik Villanger, So., Purdue
Emon van Loben Sels, So., UCLA
Karl Lee, Sr., USC
Dzianis Zharyn, Sr., Washington
Sachiv Kumar, Fr., Wisconsin
All caps indicates unanimous selection.
Players Mentioned
