UNCW's Steffen Headlines 2026 CAA Men's Tennis Postseason Honors

5/1/2026 11:30:00 AM

Rob Washburn

RICHMOND, Va. (May 1, 2026) – UNCW senior Lukas Steffen was honored as the 2026 CAA Men’s Tennis Player of the Year, headlining the group of postseason award winners voted on by the league’s head coaches.

UNCW freshman Tomas Marin was selected as the CAA Rookie of the Year and Elon’s Maciek Sykut received CAA Coach of the Year accolades for the first time.

Steffen posted an 18-5 singles record in dual matches for UNCW, including 16 wins at the No. 1 position. He was unbeaten in his final 11 matches, including victories over first-team All-CAA players Tarek Erlewein of Drexel and Veljko Krstic of Elon at the CAA Men’s Tennis Championship to earn Most Outstanding Player honors. He also contributed in doubles, garnering second-team all-conference honors with partner William Dean. Steffen is the third different UNCW player to be chosen as the CAA Player of the Year since 2021.

Marin compiled a 12-7 singles mark in dual matches, playing mostly at the No. 5 position. The freshman was unbeaten against conference competition, highlighted by a dramatic 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) victory over Drexel’s Antonio Franquis that clinched the match for the Seahawks in the semifinals of the CAA Tournament. He also chipped as part of the Seahawks’ No. 3 doubles pairing with Jordi Domenech. Marin is UNCW’s first CAA Rookie of the Year since 2022.

Sykut was chosen as the CAA Coach of the Year for the first time in his second year as head coach of the Phoenix. He guided Elon to its first conference title since 2019, knocking off five-time defending champ UNCW, 4-1, in the finals. The Phoenix, who won four of their final five matches, will compete in the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship for just the fourth time in school history later this afternoon.

Joining Steffen on the All-CAA singles first team were Campbell senior Thomas Drapeau, Drexel senior Tarek Erlewein, Elon senior Veljko Krstic, William & Mary sophomore Gur Trakhtenberg and Elon sophomore Rafael Ymer.

Making the All-CAA doubles first team were the Drexel tandem of junior Will Burridge and Erlewein, the William & Mary duo of Trakhtenberg and junior Oliver Hague, and the Elon pair of Krstic and sophomore Nikola Parichkov.

2026 CAA MEN’S TENNIS POSTSEASON AWARDS
CAA Player of the Year: Lukas Steffen, Sr., UNCW
CAA Rookie of the Year: Tomas Marin, Fr., UNCW
CAA Coach of the Year: Maciek Sykut, Elon

First Team All-CAA Singles
Name, School Class                     Hometown
Thomas Drapeau, Campbell                        Sr.                          Quebec City, Quebec
Tarek Erlewein, Drexel Sr.                          Stuhr, Lower Saxony, Germany
Veljko Krstic, Elon Sr.                          Belgrade, Serbia
Lukas Steffen, UNCW Sr.                          Cary, N.C.
Gur Trakhtenberg, William & Mary So.                         Raanana, Israel
Rafael Ymer, Elon So.                         Stockholm, Sweden

First Team All-CAA Doubles
Name, School Class                     Hometown
Will Burridge, Drexel                                     Jr.                          Swindon, U.K.
Tarek Erlewein, Drexel                                  Sr.                          Stuhr, Lower Saxony, Germany
Oliver Hague, William & Mary Jr.                          Manchester, England
Gur Trakhtenberg, William & Mary So.                         Raanana, Israel
Veljko Krstic, Elon Sr.                          Belgrade, Serbia
Nikola Parichkov, Elon                                   So.                         Brandon, Fla.

Second Team All-CAA Singles
Name, School Class                     Hometown
Will Burridge, Drexel                                     Jr.                          Swindon, U.K.
Alex de Gabriele, UNCW Jr.                          Naxxar, Malta
Jordi Domenech, UNCW                              Jr.                          Almunecar, Granada, Spain
Oliver Hague, William & Mary Jr.                          Manchester, England
Louis Keller, Monmouth Gr.                         Saint Maur des Fosses, France
Jakub Solarski, Charleston Jr.                          Lodz, Poland

Second Team All-CAA Doubles
Name, School Class                     Hometown
Jakob Bonnett, Monmouth So.                         Oundle, U.K.
Louis Keller, Monmouth Gr.                         Saint Maur des Fosses, France
William Dean, UNCW                                    So.                         Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Lukas Steffen, UNCW Sr.                          Cary, N.C.
Alex de Gabriele, UNCW Jr.                          Naxxar, Malta
Brady Hussey, UNCW So.                         Edgewood, Ky.

Third Team All-CAA Singles
Name, School Class                     Hometown
Jakob Bonnett, Monmouth So.                         Oundle, U.K.
Nikita Bortnichek, William & Mary Jr.                          Doha, Qatar
Jack Curtis, Elon Jr.                          Portsmouth, England
Alex Fragasso, Campbell                               So.                         Sassari, Italy
Rafael Padilha, Hampton Fr.                          Porto Alegre, Brazil
Kaua Santos, North Carolina A&T Jr.                          Taboao, da Serra, Brazil

Third Team All-CAA Doubles
Name, School Class                     Hometown
Jindrich Brill, North Carolina A&T So.                         Marianske Lazne, Czech Republic
Kaua Santos, North Carolina A&T Jr.                          Taboao, da Serra, Brazil
Jack Curtis, Elon Jr.                          Portsmouth, England
Rafael Ymer, Elon So.                         Stockholm, Sweden
Ram Mude, Charleston Jr.                          Melbourne, Australia
Jake Smith, Charleston                                  So.                         Daniel Island, S.C.