Kentucky Men’s Tennis Announces Strong 2019 Recruiting Class
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky men’s tennis head coach Cedric Kauffmann announced the completion of the staunch 2019 recruiting class on Friday. Gab Diallo (Montreal), Liam Draxl (Newmarket, Ontario) and Alex Leblanc (Saint-Bruno, Quebec) will all join the Wildcats as freshmen next year. As some of Canada’s most elite, the trio grew up together and was even coached by the late UK Hall of Famer and All-American Bruno Agostinelli.
“We are really excited about this recruiting class,” Kauffmann said. “Having three players of this caliber join our team will propel us into an elite category and give us the opportunity to compete with the best on the biggest stage. This year our focus was to bring in a group of players who were already familiar with each other and can come into our program ready to go both on and off the court. Our coaching staff is very confident that this will be a group that embraces the history of Kentucky tennis and will make a big impact on our program.”
Gabriel Diallo – Montreal – UTR: 12.53
- Ranked in Top 10 of Canada Boys 18’s
- Member of Canadian National Team (Sixth Year)
- Won five of 13 tournaments in 2018 in singles
- Finished sixth at 2018 Canadian Nationals
Liam Draxl – Newmarket, Ontario – UTR: 13.83
- No. 1 ranked junior in Canada
- Two-time Canadian National Singles Champion
- Seven-time Canadian National Doubles Champion
- Canadian Junior Davis Cup
- Ranked No. 1262 in the ATP and No. 39 in the ITF
- Most recently reached quarterfinals at the 25K Futures in Toronto
- Will be ranked in top-25 juniors in the world in new rankings in January
Alex Leblanc – Saint-Bruno, Quebec – UTR: 12.79
- 27-9 doubles record in 2018
- Won three ITF doubles titles and runner-up twice in last nine months
- Reached five ITF singles semifinals
- One of the most sought-after juniors for 2020, standing 6 feet 5 inches tall
- Ranked as high as No. 291 in the world in juniors and will break the top 200 in new January rankings
