DENVER – The University of Denver men's tennis team is ranked No. 4 in the TennisRecruiting.net Mid-Major Men's Recruiting Class rankings, the site announced on Monday.
Denver's incoming freshman class includes
Roman Glarner and
Rafe Samuel. The duo signed to join the program in November, 2025, and will begin training with the Pioneers in upcoming fall 2026 fall quarter.
DU's No. 4 mid-major recruiting class ranking equals its highest since at least 2012, matching its ranking from 2020. Denver has now held a top-10 TRN mid-major recruiting class ranking in three of the last six years.
This is the first time since 2024 that Denver has appeared in the TRN mid-major recruiting rankings. DU came in at No. 18 that year for the class that includes rising Denver juniors
Theo Coats and
Samuel Rovai. In the last decade, DU has now earned a spot in the TRN mid-major recruiting rankings five times.
Glarner is from Switzerland and earned the first ATP and ITF elite points of his career following a runner-up finish at a tournament in Buchs, Switzerland, in 2025. He ranked as high as No. 511 in the ITA junior rankings and achieved a career-best No. 1205 ITA men's singles ranking on June 1, 2026.
Samuel is from England and has ranked as high as No. 377 in the ITF junior rankings. He played in the junior boys' qualifying draw for 2025 Wimbledon and advanced to the singles semifinals of multiple ITF tournaments in 2024 and 2025 – including logging a win over the then-No. 82 ranked junior player in 2025.
DU is the highest ranked program among West Coast Conference teams – ahead of San Diego (No. 7) and Saint Mary's (No. 15) – and DU also holds a higher ranking than Air Force (No. 9), the only other NCAA Division I men's program in Colorado.
Not included in Denver's 2025-26 recruiting class but also expected to make their collegiate debuts in 2026-27 are three redshirt freshmen for Denver who arrive in January and March, 2026:
Joshua Aston – who ranked as high as No. 529 in the ITF junior rankings –
Dylan Davies – who played in the 2025 Wimbledon junior boys' main draw – and
Ander Tarrio Ponte – who has held a No. 284 ITA men's singles ranking.
Denver is coming off a third-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division I tournament after winning its third consecutive and eighth overall Summit League title in what was DU's final season in the league. Beginning on July 1, Denver will become a member of the West Coast Conference.
DU ranked as high as No. 71 nationally in the ITA team rankings during the 2026 dual season and secured a No. 3 ITA Mountain Regional ranking to finish the year.
The TRN mid-major class rankings feature NCAA Division I programs outside of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Ivy League. Rankings are based on incoming first-year student-athletes only, not transfer students.
2026 TennisRecruiting.net Men's Mid-Major Recruiting Classes
1. Rice
2. UC Santa Barbara
3. Middle Tennessee
4. Denver
5. South Florida
6. North Florida
7. San Diego
8. UNC Wilmington
9. Air Force
10. VCU
11. Memphis
12. Georgetown
13. New Mexico
14. Liberty
15. Saint Mary's
16. UC Irvine
17. William & Mary
18. Sacramento State
19. Charlotte
20. Samford
21. Georgia Southern
22. UC San Diego
23. Johns Hopkins
24. Presbyterian
25. MIT
