STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford men’s tennis continued its awards swing to end the season as it earned four Northwest region honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Nishesh Basavareddy was named the Player to Watch, Kyle Kang was the Rookie of the Year, Neel Rajesh was the Most Improved Player and Brandon Coupe was the Assistant Coach of the Year.
Basavareddy posted a standout sophomore campaign, earning ITA All-America status and CSC second team Academic All-America honors this season. He was the Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year and a first team All-Pac-12 selection. The Carmel, Indiana native went 16-2 on the season with 11 ranked wins, and he advanced to the round of 16 at the NCAA singles championships. He ended the campaign as the No. 12 player in the country. Additionally, he posted a 13-6 record in doubles, including an 11-4 dual mark with Samir Banerjee.
Kang, the ITA's top-ranked newcomer in the country entering the campaign, earned All-Pac-12 second team honors as a freshman. The Fullerton, California native went 12-6 overall on the season, including a 10-5 dual mark and a 5-1 record over Pac-12 opponents. Kang was ranked as high as No. 92 nationally this season, and he had five doubles wins on the season.
A breakout senior who went 8-0 against Pac-12 competition, Rajesh was a third team CSC Academic All-American as well as an All-Pac-12 second team honoree. Rajesh held a 16-4 singles mark this season and a 14-2 dual record, which included 12 consecutive victories from Feb. 2-May 4. Rajesh was been ranked as high as No. 53 this season while adding five doubles wins.
Coupe finished his 15th season at Stanford in 2023-24, helping to lead the Cardinal to the Pac-12 Championship alongside Paul Goldstein, the Taube Family Director of Men’s Tennis. Coupe has helped guide the Cardinal to an NCAA Tournament appearance in each of his seasons on The Farm, and he has been named ITA Northwest Assistant Coach of the Year five times, in 2024, 2022, 2018, 2014 and 2010. Coupe was the ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2018.
Stanford men's tennis closed the season ranked No. 17 as a team, going 19-7 overall with a 7-1 mark in the Pac-12. Stanford won its first Pac-12 Championship since 2021, and advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals on the road for the third consecutive season.