NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State men's tennis head coach Mark Klysner announced the commitment of Nam Pham to the Redbird family for the 2019-2020 season on Thursday, Feb. 7.
Pham is ranked No. 1 in USTA Missouri Valley region and captured two Summer Sweet 16 championships. He earned the National Open Champion title and is ranked No. 27 in the nation.
The Lenexa, Kansas native, was awarded the 41 Action News Hyvee Athlete of the Week.
Klysner on Pham: I am just thrilled to have Nam join our team next fall. During the recruiting process it was just so evident of his passion and commitment and his excitement for the next phase of his tennis career. His playing background is highly decorated and also coming in as a five star recruit on tennisrecruiting.com as well as being as high as #27 in the national rankings makes him one of the highest rated and ranked players ever to join the Redbird family. I'm excited for him to get here in the fall and getting to work.
Pham on Playing Tennis: I started playing tennis from a young age of five and grew to love the sport. I trained at Kansas City United Tennis. As tennis kept moving forward, I have made bonds with so many people and including the team from ISU. These bonds and friendships will never be broken.
Pham on Choosing ISU: I chose Illinois State because instantly when I got on campus I could feel the sense of being united, not only with the tennis team, but with everyone around me. The campus is beautiful. The team played a huge factor in my decision. I felt very welcomed and could definitely see myself fighting along these guys for the next four years of my life. Coach Klysner and the assistant coach were very enjoyable to be around. They gave me a feeling of family. I remember telling coach Klysner that I was so sad to leave campus on my way home. The feeling of being sad made me know right then and there that this was the school for me.
Pham was also recruited by SMU, Santa Clara, Drake, Penn State, Nebraska, Memphis UNC Wilmington, NC State, and Texas Tech.
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