10 CLASS 5A BOYS TENNIS PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2024

 

EVAN GOATES, MAIZE SOUTH
 
Goates battled through an injury-challenged freshman season to post an 18-8 record and eighth-place finish at state in singles. A quarterfinal loss to eventual champion Russell Lokko of St. Thomas Aquinas sent him to the consolation bracket. Goates’ runner-up finishes to the now-graduated Sam Ritchie of Maize helped the Mavericks defend their Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division I title and win a regional team championship. He is slated to play singles again this spring. 
 

HUDSON GRIZZELL, MAIZE SOUTH
 
On track to graduate early, Grizzell’s junior season will be his last for the Mavericks as he works with a new doubles partner, sophomore Brady Crawford. Grizzell teamed with seniors to place at state in each of his first two seasons, finishing ninth with Noah Rodriguez in 2022 as Maize South won the Class 5A team title. Last year, Grizzell and Mitch Krumm bounced back from a quarterfinal loss to Arkansas City’s Oakley and Dawson O’Donnell to finish fifth with a 26-9 record.

 

SAKET JAGANNATH, BLUE VALLEY SOUTHWEST

 
Jagannath finished fourth in 5A doubles as a freshman last season alongside senior teammate Vishal Rajkumar. The duo had a 19-8 record heading into state. They reached the semifinals before losing to Ark City’s O’Donnell brothers, followed by a loss to Newton’s senior duo of Otis Musser and Justin Franz. Jagannath will need to find a new doubles partner heading into his second season of high school tennis.
 

PAUL JITTAWAIT, ANDOVER
 
Jittawait, a senior, had a solid 2023 season right up until the final day, when he rolled an ankle in a straight-set state semifinal loss to Maize’s Sam Ritchie and injury defaulted to Bishop Carroll’s Barrett Steven to take fourth. His 33-4 record was highlighted by his second regional title, an Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail II title and tournament victories at Arkansas City, Andover and Emporia. Jittawait was ninth in 5A singles as a sophomore, posting a 29-11 mark.

 

JACK JUDKINS, KAPAUN MT. CARMEL
 
A three-time state qualifier in singles, Judkins is on the short list of players who could make a run at the Class 5A title after the graduation of Russell Lokko, the three-time champion from St. Thomas Aquinas. Judkins rebounded from a hard-fought, second-round loss at state to Maize South’s Evan Goates last year and rolled through five consolation matches to finish fifth, capping a 27-6 season. Judkins, the Greater Wichita Athletic League’s No. 1 singles champion in 2023 and No. 2 singles winner in 2022, went 22-8 as a sophomore and finished eighth at state.

 

 

DAWSON AND OAKLEY O'DONNELL, ARKANSAS CITY
 
The O’Donnells enter their third and final season as Bulldog teammates with sights set on a Class 5A doubles championship. Oakley, a senior, and Dawson, a junior, reached the state final on their home court last spring before falling to two-time champs Ian and Miles Cusick of Topeka West. Still, the O’Donnells’ 34-2 record included three regular-season victories over the Cusicks and a regional performance in which they didn’t surrender a game. In 2022, the O’Donnells posted a 29-6 record and finished fourth at state with 10 victories over 5A state placers.

 

CAEL PROVINCE, DE SOTO

Province teamed with Colton Rhoads to capture a Class 5A regional doubles championship after finishing runner-up at the United Kansas Conference championships to eventual state champions Ian and Miles Cusick of Topeka West. The duo took a 27-2 mark into the state tournament, but were upset in their first match. Working their way through the backside, Province and Rhoads earned a state medal, taking 12^th and finishing 29-6 overall. With Rhoads graduating last spring, Province is the lone returning state qualifier for the Wildcats this season.
 

SANJAY RAJKUMAR, BLUE VALLEY SOUTHWEST

 
Rajkumar will enter this season looking for a bit of redemption after his state performance as a sophomore did not quite match the high expectations set by his fifth-place finish in 5A singles as freshman in 2022. Rajkumar took a 17-9 record into state, although most of his losses were against eventual state champions, or at least eventual semifinalists in other classifications. But Rajkumar ended up losing to Maize’s Sam Ritchie in the state quarterfinals, dropping a 7-6 (2), 6-4 match to the eventual state runner-up. Instead of navigating his way to another fifth-place finish, Rajkumar suffered back-to-back losses when Kapaun’s Jack Judkins delivered him a 9-5 defeat, with Judkins followed up by delivering a similar 9-4 victory over Rajkumar’s teammate Emmett Wirth in the fifth-place match. Heading into his junior year, Rajkumar will have his sights set on an improved state performance, especially with Aquinas’ Russell Lokko graduating following an undefeated three-year reign over 5A singles.

EMMETT WIRTH, BLUE VALLEY SOUTHWEST

Wirth took advantage of his first year moving over from doubles to singles as a junior last season. Wirth headed to state with a 21-10 record and fourth-place finish in his regional. He ended up winning his first two state matches, including an on-paper upset over St. James Academy’s Eli Donaldson. Although Donaldson held a first-round bye after winning his regional, Wirth had already defeated Donaldson 8-2 and 8-3 in the regular season before winning a third time as his 6-1, 6-4 victory sent him into the state quarterfinals. A 6-1, 6-3 loss to Bishop Carroll’s Barrett Steven sent Wirth to the backside of the bracket, where he picked up two more wins, including a 9-8 (4) tiebreaker over Maize South’s Evan Goates to reach the fifth-place match. He lost 9-4 against Kapaun’s Jack Judkins, who had already sent Wirth’s teammate Sanjay Rajkumar home early two matches before. As a sophomore in 2022, Wirth won a regional title with Jedrick Wilson, but the duo did not place at state.