Michigan State University Athletics
Ozan Baris Earns B1G Men’s Tennis Player Of The Week Honors For Fifth Time In Career
4/20/2026 5:10:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Baris claims Big Ten honors after clinching the B1G Championship, MSU's first since 1967.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State senior Ozan Baris earned Big Ten Men's Tennis Co-Player of the Week accolades for the final week of the regular-season. The conference office announced the awards on Monday, ahead of the Big Ten Tournament, which starts on Wednesday.
Baris shares the award with Bjorn Swenson of Michigan, while USC's Branko Djuric was the recipient of the Freshman of the Week award.
This is the second time this season that Baris has earned the weekly honor from the conference and it's his fifth time that Baris has earned the weekly honor in his collegiate career. Baris earned the honor following his final home matches of the regular-season, his MSU Senior Celebration, and his match-clinching victory to take the conference title.
Over the weekend, Baris went 4-0 in matches to help Michigan State clinch its share of the Big Ten title for the first time since 1967.
Baris, the hometown kid from nearby Okemos, secured the victory and made history at the same time.
Claiming the victory in the final home match of his MSU career, Baris was swarmed by his teammates, before being presented with the Big Ten trophy as the team captain. It was the perfect storybook ending to his career as a Spartan, one he'd dreamed of growing up in the area and attending tennis camps at MSU as a kid.
Baris opened the competition weekend going undefeated in both doubles and singles against No. 55-ranked Indiana. Partnering with sophomore Matthew Forbes in doubles, the duo dominated Indiana's Facundo Yunis and Jip Van Assendelft, 6-2. Shortly after, Baris hit the court for singles against Jip Van Assendelft, taking a victory in straight sets 7-6, 6-3.
Baris entered Sunday's match with plenty of momentum to once again go undefeated in both doubles and singles. In doubles, Baris partnered with Forbes once more to defeat Purdue's Nour Fathalla and Stefan Simeunovic, 6-3.
In singles action, Baris took the court opposite Purdue's Maj Premzl at No. 3 singles. After a hard-fought match, Baris came out victorious 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to clinch the match.
Sunday also marked Michigan State's men's tennis Senior Celebrations. During this time, Baris was recognized as one of the most successful and decorated players in program history.
Up next, Baris and the Spartans head out west to compete in the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 1 seed, which will be held Wednesday-Sunday, April 22-25, held at Libby Park in Ojai, Calif.
Michigan State earned a first-round bye and will be joining the competition in the quarterfinals, competing against the winner of Wednesday's first-round match between the No. 9 seed Indiana and the No. 8 seed Oregon.
The Spartans will take to the court against either the Hoosiers or the Ducks on Thursday, April 23, at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT. Streaming can be found on BTN+.
MSU earned the top seed in a tiebreaker with Ohio State, as the Spartans and Buckeyes shared the Big Ten Regular-Season Championship, as they both enter the postseason with 12-1 conference records. Michigan State clinched its first regular-season title since 1967, while Ohio State secured its 20th-straight regular-season championship.
Fans can keep up with the Spartan action by following the men's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_MTennis.
Baris shares the award with Bjorn Swenson of Michigan, while USC's Branko Djuric was the recipient of the Freshman of the Week award.
This is the second time this season that Baris has earned the weekly honor from the conference and it's his fifth time that Baris has earned the weekly honor in his collegiate career. Baris earned the honor following his final home matches of the regular-season, his MSU Senior Celebration, and his match-clinching victory to take the conference title.
Over the weekend, Baris went 4-0 in matches to help Michigan State clinch its share of the Big Ten title for the first time since 1967.
Baris, the hometown kid from nearby Okemos, secured the victory and made history at the same time.
Claiming the victory in the final home match of his MSU career, Baris was swarmed by his teammates, before being presented with the Big Ten trophy as the team captain. It was the perfect storybook ending to his career as a Spartan, one he'd dreamed of growing up in the area and attending tennis camps at MSU as a kid.
Baris opened the competition weekend going undefeated in both doubles and singles against No. 55-ranked Indiana. Partnering with sophomore Matthew Forbes in doubles, the duo dominated Indiana's Facundo Yunis and Jip Van Assendelft, 6-2. Shortly after, Baris hit the court for singles against Jip Van Assendelft, taking a victory in straight sets 7-6, 6-3.
Baris entered Sunday's match with plenty of momentum to once again go undefeated in both doubles and singles. In doubles, Baris partnered with Forbes once more to defeat Purdue's Nour Fathalla and Stefan Simeunovic, 6-3.
In singles action, Baris took the court opposite Purdue's Maj Premzl at No. 3 singles. After a hard-fought match, Baris came out victorious 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to clinch the match.
Sunday also marked Michigan State's men's tennis Senior Celebrations. During this time, Baris was recognized as one of the most successful and decorated players in program history.
Up next, Baris and the Spartans head out west to compete in the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 1 seed, which will be held Wednesday-Sunday, April 22-25, held at Libby Park in Ojai, Calif.
Michigan State earned a first-round bye and will be joining the competition in the quarterfinals, competing against the winner of Wednesday's first-round match between the No. 9 seed Indiana and the No. 8 seed Oregon.
The Spartans will take to the court against either the Hoosiers or the Ducks on Thursday, April 23, at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT. Streaming can be found on BTN+.
MSU earned the top seed in a tiebreaker with Ohio State, as the Spartans and Buckeyes shared the Big Ten Regular-Season Championship, as they both enter the postseason with 12-1 conference records. Michigan State clinched its first regular-season title since 1967, while Ohio State secured its 20th-straight regular-season championship.
Fans can keep up with the Spartan action by following the men's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_MTennis.
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