CLEVELAND, OH -- Denison senior Kael Shah (Nairobi, Kenya/ES American School Barcelona (Spain)) was named the Player of the Year, while he and classmate and classmate Ethan Green (Salt Lake City, UT/Skyline) collected their third-consecutive Doubles Team of the Year honor to highlight the 2026 All-NCAC men's tennis team.
Shah delivered a standout senior singles campaign, compiling a 17-3 dual record, including an 11-2 mark at the top flight and a 6-1 record at No. 2. He was dominant against conference competition, going a perfect 5-0 in NCAC play with a 4-0 record at No. 1 singles and a 1-0 mark at No. 2. Shah becomes the sixth-consecutive and 15th overall Big Red player to earn NCAC Player of the Year honors, while also securing his third-straight All-NCAC first-team selection. He is currently ranked No. 4 in the latest ITA national rankings.
Green and Shah earned NCAC Doubles Team of the Year honors for the third-consecutive season after posting a 12-4 record at the top flight. The duo went 3-1 against conference opponents and is currently ranked No. 4 in the latest ITA national rankings. This marks the sixth overall doubles team honor for the Big Red. Additionally, Green joined Shah as an All-NCAC first-team selection in singles, finishing with an 11-5 dual record and a No. 12 ITA national ranking.
Denison senior Jake Patterson (Bridgeville, PA/South Fayette), DePauw senior Finley Buelte (Rockford, ILRockford Christian), Kenyon junior Alejandro Gonzalez (Monterrey, Mexico/Citizens) and first-year Maximo Llamas Castellanos (Guadalupe, Mexico/Prepa Tec Valle Alto) join Green and Shah as first-team all-conference selections.
In doubles, Green and Shah are joined on the first team by Kenyon’s Llamas Castellanos and sophomore Juozas Cioladis (Kildare, Ireland/McCallie School) and DePauw’s Buelte and sophomore Will Cramer (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville).
Additionally, Llamas Castellanos was named the NCAC Newcomer of the Year. The rookie tallied a 20-1 dual singles record, after posting a perfect 8-0 mark in the No. 1 flight, a 9-1 record at No. 2 and a 3-0 mark at No. 3. He is the 10th Owl player to be named NCAC Newcomer of the Year and first since 2022 when Rishil Kondapaneni collected the honor. The rookie went 6-1 against conference foes in the regular season. He and Cioladis posted a 17-3 dual match record at the No. 1 and 2 flights, to go along with a 5-2 mark in conference action.
Oberlin earned the 2026 NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year honors after head coach Eric Ishida guided the Yeomen to an impressive season. Oberlin posted a 6-2 mark in NCAC play to secure the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament, while compiling a 15-7 overall record. Under their leadership, the Yeomen climbed as high as No. 26 in the national rankings and finished the season ranked No. 29.