PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s tennis head coach Brad Pearce announced the signing of Matheus Leite and Jack Barnett. The two will join the team for the 2019-20 campaign.
“We are thrilled with the addition of Matheus and Jack for the upcoming season,” Pearce said. “Matheus brings with him the experience of playing for a top team and has proven he can compete and win against the best players in the country. Jack brings a lot of potential and a huge upside because of his size and big-game capability.”
Leite is a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil and was rated No. 1 in Brazil’s U18 rankings in 2016. He was Brazil’s national champion in July 2017 and received a UTR high of 13.25 along with an ITF ranking of No. 248 in the world.
“I’m so happy that I will be part of a great institution academically and athletically,” Leite said. “I’m thrilled to be joining BYU, my new teammates and coaches in a couple of months. I will prepare myself and make sure I’m ready for new challenges and experiences to come.”
Leite will be joining the Cougars as a junior after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Texas Tech University. There he collected 32 wins in both singles and doubles and was named to the 2019 All-Big 12 Academic First Team.
Barnett, a native of Noosa, Australia, will begin his collegiate career at BYU after completing a successful career at Sanchez Casal Tennis Academy. He was an Australian Silver Men’s Open Finalist and the Australian Gold U18s winner.
“Other than being a great school with a high athletic and academic reputation, the overall atmosphere and real family type of team that I saw while on my visit showed how much the coaches and players care about one another,” Barnett said. “Having the opportunity to be around a former top professional and high caliber coach is something that not many people can do, so for me to get to is something that I will really love.”
Barnett is a two-time ITA Summer Circuit Doubles winner and he earned a UTR high of 12.00 as well as a career-high U16 Australian State ranking of No. 2.
“Both are all-court players with big serves and exciting games,” Pearce said. “We’re excited that they will be joining an already loaded team. I can’t wait for the season to begin with our returning players and these two additions. We believe the competition internally will create a championship team and season that we can all be proud of.”