Nov. 29, 2010

LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky men’s tennis head coach Dennis Emery and associate head coach Cedric Kauffmann have announced the signing of Brett Johnson from Louisville, Ky., one of the best high school tennis players in the state.

“Brett is the type of player we are looking for here at Kentucky,” Emery said. “First, he is a character guy, who will fit right in with the type of players we have. Secondly, he projects to be the top senior coming out of the state of Kentucky in the 2012 class and getting that player is always a priority at Kentucky. Finally, Larry Kline does a great job getting his players ready for the college game. Because of these things, Brett should be able to move into our program and make an impact.”

Johnson will make his way to Kentucky from Christian Academy of Louisville, where he was a semifinalist in the Kentucky High School Athletics Association state tournament in 2009 and claimed the state doubles title in 2007. Johnson, currently a senior, is ranked as the No. 1 high school player in the state and No. 38 in the Southeast region, according to the Tennis Recruiting Network.  

“We were able to watch Brett at the Southern Closed Championships and Kalamazoo (at the US Tennis Association 16-to-18 Championships) last year,” Emery said. “He has an aggressive game that we think is going to get much better in college. In spite of injury, he put together a good summer.”

Kentucky recently concluded a successful fall campaign that saw the Wildcats well represented at several major tournaments, including junior Eric Quigley finishing as a finalist at the D’Novo/ITA All-American Championships and winning the consolation draw at the National Indoors.

The Wildcats will take the court again on Jan. 14-17 at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships, hosted by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.