The Pac-12 announced today postseason honors and all-conference designations for the 2024 women’s tennis season, as determined by a polling of the league’s head coaches. Stanford’s Nishesh Basavareddy was named Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year while UCLA’s Spencer Johnson was voted Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. Colton Smith and Jay Friend of Arizona earned Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year accolades while the Wildcats’ head coach, Clancy Shields, secured Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors after guiding Arizona to its first-ever Pac-12 Tournament title.

PAC-12 SINGLES PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Nishesh Basavareddy, So., Stanford (Carmel, Ind.)      
Basavareddy led Stanford to a co-regular season title with an impressive 12-1 singles record on Court 1 in 2024, including wins over seven nationally-ranked opponents. The sophomore from Carmel, Ind., was earned a pair of straight-set wins at the Pac-12 Men’s Tennis Championships in Ojai before battling fellow First-Team All-Pac-12 honoree Colton Smith in the championship dual against Arizona, Basavareddy is Stanford’s 21st all-time and second-straight men’s singles player of the year, as Arthur Fery secured the honor in 2023.

PAC-12 FRESHMAN/NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Spencer Johnson, Fr., UCLA (Ladera Ranch, Calif.)      
Johnson has compiled a 23-6 singles record across all competitions during the 2023-24 season. He made his UCLA dual debut on Court 5 against Texas A&M (Jan. 17) and worked his way up to Court 2 in his match against Oregon’s David Cierny at the Pac-12 Men’s Tennis Championships (April 25). Johnson is the sixth Bruin man all-time to win the Freshman/Newcomer of the Year award and first since Keegan Smith in 2018.

PAC-12 DOUBLES TEAM OF THE YEAR: Colton Smith, Jr. (Tenino, Wash.) & Jay Friend, So., (Tokyo, Japan), Arizona      
Smith and Friend comprised the most prolific doubles pair for Arizona this season, playing together in a team-high 33 matches and earning a 24-9 record. The duo was 5-2 in conference play, helping lead the Wildcats to a co-regular season title with Stanford. The pair pulled off a dramatic victory at the Pac-12 Men’s Tennis Championships on Court 1, taking down Stanford’s Max Basing/Nico Godsick in a 10-8 tiebreaker in the lone set to give the Wildcats their first point en route to their first-ever league tournament title. Smith and Friend were both additionally named All-Pac-12 First Team honorees. It’s the first time Arizona has earned the Doubles Team of the Year acclaim, as well as the first time a program other than Cal, UCLA, USC, or Stanford, has received the honor.

PAC-12 COACH OF THE YEAR: Clancy Shields, Arizona     
Arizona’s Clancy Shields was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year after leading the Wildcats to their first-ever Pac-12 Tournament title last week in Ojai. Shields helped guide Arizona to a 4-0 win against top-seeded Utah, as the Wildcats became the first program other than UCLA or USC to win the league tournament title since the tournament format was introduced in 2012. Arizona also finished league play tied with Stanford atop the conference standings at 7-1 for its third-straight Pac-12 regular season title (2022 outright, 2023 co-champs, 2024 co-champs). It’s the third Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor for Shields across his eight seasons in Tucson, previously securing accolades in 2019 and 2021. 

2024 PAC-12 MEN'S TENNIS ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

FIRST TEAM

SECOND TEAM

HONORABLE MENTION (received at least two votes): Jacob Bullard, ASU; Matthew Burton, ORE; Casper Christensen, ARIZ; David Cierny, ORE; Roi Ginat, ASU; Nico Godsick, STAN; Timofey Stepanov, CAL