CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – After being tabbed the ITA Midwest Region Player to Watch on Tuesday, Kenta Miyoshi has also been named the ITA National Player to Watch, the organization announced on Friday.
Miyoshi is just the second student-athlete in program history to earn the ITA National Player to Watch award, joining Illinois Athletics Hall of Famer and former world No. 5 Kevin Anderson, who won that honor in 2007.
The rising senior put together one of the most impressive seasons in program history in 2025. After earning ITA Singles All-America status in the fall in his debut appearance at the NCAA Singles Championship, Miyoshi carried that momentum into the spring.Â
The Kawasaki, Japan, native was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and collected unanimous All-Big Ten First Team honors following the regular season. He finished his junior year with a career-high and team-most 30 singles wins, including 20 such victories against ranked opponents. With his career-best No. 10 finish in the final ITA singles rankings, Miyoshi qualified for the ATP Next Gen Accelerator program, giving him opportunities to receive wild-card entry into the main draw of six Challenger 50 and 75 tournaments through the remainder of the 2025 calendar year.
Also finding success in the classroom, Miyoshi was tabbed with CSC Academic All-America First Team distinction, the first student-athlete in program history to achieve that accolade.
The ITA Player to Watch award recognizes a returning player who is expected to have an outstanding collegiate year next season and be one of the top returning players in the nation. Last year's National Player to Watch honoree, Columbia's Michael Zheng, went on to win the NCAA Singles Championship and Ivy League Player of the Year the following season.
