Eli Stephenson, Nicolas Arseneault Earn All-SEC Accolades
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Two Wildcats earned Southeastern Conference Men’s Tennis Awards, the league announced Wednesday. Eli Stephenson was named to the All-SEC First Team while Nicolas Arseneault earned spots on the All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Freshman Team.
Stephenson earns his first selection to an All-SEC and the second conference honor of his career, joining an All-Freshman Team nod from 2024. Arseneault’s two laurels are the first conference honors of his young career.
With the selection of Stephenson and Arseneault, Kentucky has had at least one athlete earn All-SEC recognition in every season since 1996. The Wildcats have had at least one representative on the First Team in every season since 2016. Kentucky has been featured on every All-Freshman team since 2023.
Stephenson carded a career year for the Wildcats, ranking top 20 nationally in both singles and doubles. Stephenson posted a 26-10 record in singles action this season, playing the majority of conference play on the No. 1 court. The junior from Louisville has posted 14 singles wins against ranked opponents, seven times the amount he won in his first two collegiate seasons.
Stephenson earned the highest ranked win of his career by defeating No. 12 Kenta Miyoshi of Illinois and was named SEC Player of the Week after leading the Cats to wins over Louisville and No. 15 Duke. The Kentuckian peaked with a career high raking of No. 16 in February and has not fell outside of the top 25 all spring. In the fall, Stephenson qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship for the first time in his career.
In doubles, one season after earning All-America honors, the junior posted a 14-8 record alongside Jack Loutit, including nine victories against ranked opponents. Playing at the No. 1 court for much of the season, the duo posted an impressive 7-3 mark in league play and claimed a pair of top 15 wins.
In his rookie campaign, Arseneault has been a catalyst in Kentucky’s successes. The freshman from Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada posted a 14-8 singles record this season, peaking at No. 54 in the ITA Rankings. In just his second collegiate dual match, Arseneault defeated former ITA No. 1 Ozan Baris to help Kentucky upset No. 20 Michigan State. In total, Arseneault compiled eight ranked singles wins, including three against top 25 foes. The freshman surged down the stretch winning 10 of his last 12 matches to close the regular season.
Arseneault becomes the fourth Wildcats in program history to earn All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman recognition in the same season, joining Eric Quigley in 2008, Ryotaro Matsumura in 2026, and Antoine Ghibaudo in 2025.
Stephenson, Arseneault, and the rest of the Wildcats will learn their NCAA Tournament fate during the Selection Show at 4 p.m. ET on Monday, April 27.
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