CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois' 2025 recruiting class is ranked No. 2 in the nation by the Tennis Recruiting Network, the organization announced on Monday. The Fighting Illini's four-player Class of 2025 is the highest-ranked class in the Big Ten and sits only behind Vanderbilt.
Illinois' most recent addition to the highly touted class is Australian Hayden Jones, who signed with the Illini in April. With a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 8, Jones holds career-best ATP rankings of No. 970 in singles and No. 602 in doubles. He has earned wild-card entries into singles qualifying for the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025 and was named the 2024 Australian Tennis Junior Male Athlete of the Year.
Sasha Colleu, a blue-chip recruit from Florida, is the 16th-ranked American in the Tennis Recruiting Network's Class of 2025 rankings. Colleu has won two junior doubles titles, securing tournament wins at J100 Quebec City in September and J100 Mexico City in October. With five singles titles on the ITF juniors circuit, Colleu most recently claimed the singles tournament win at J100 Delray Beach on April 26.
David Bakonyi and Adam Jilly, who both signed in November, were part of the Illini's previously No. 9-ranked class in TRN's winter recruiting rankings. Having already played together in doubles on the junior circuit, the Hungarians complete Illinois' 2025 recruiting class. Bakonyi has a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 182, along with three junior singles and 13 junior doubles titles. Jilly has a career-best ITF junior ranking of No. 111, amassing four junior singles and nine junior doubles titles. Bakonyi and Jilly have teamed up for eight junior doubles titles, including three during the 2024 season.
Illinois is one of three Big Ten teams in Tennis Recruiting Network's Class of 2025 rankings, checking in at No. 2 alongside Michigan (No. 15) and Northwestern (No. 16).
