CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced the All-MAC and Specialty Awards winners for the 2026 Men’s Tennis season on Tuesday. The awards follow the conclusion of the 2026 MAC Men’s Tennis Championship held in Buffalo, NY, over the weekend.
 
Northern Illinois’ senior Iker Gaztambide Arrastia was voted MAC Player of the Year, posting a 20-2 singles and 17-7 doubles record this year. Arrastia ranked as the No.63 singles player in the country this season, accompanied by the upset over then No. 23 Kenta Miyoshi of Illinois on March 6. He was also recently selected to the MAC All-Tournament Team. Arrastia is the third Huskie to earn Player of the Year honors, joining Brian Livingston (2008) and Willy Galli (2005).
 
Lee Nickell was named MAC Coach of the Year for a second-straight year after leading Buffalo to a MAC Regular Season and Conference Championship titles. This is the first time in program history that the Bulls (16-6, 8-2 MAC) have gone back-to-back and is the fourth tournament championship, all under Coach Nickell.
 
Ball State’s Andrei Caragea and Broc Fletcher were awarded Freshman of the Year and the Jack Vredevelt Sportsmanship Award winner, respectively. Caragea finished his freshman season with a 10-13 singles and 10-9 doubles record, including two wins at the MAC Championship. Fletcher concluded his senior season with a 13-10 singles and 8-7 doubles record, including clinching the doubles point in the semifinals match of the MAC Championship against Buffalo.
 
Caragea is the first Cardinal to be named Freshman of the Year since Eduardo Pavia in 2008. The last Cardinals to earn the Jack Vredevelt Sportsmanship Award was Vince Orlando (2024), the son of BSU’s first-year Head Coach Gene Orlando.
 
2026 MAC Men’s Tennis All-MAC and Specialty Awards
Coach of the Year: Lee Nickell
Freshman of the Year: Andrei Caragea, Ball State
Player of the Year: Iker Gaztambide Arrastia, Northern Illinois
Jack Vredevelt Sportsmanship Award: Broc Fletcher, Ball State
 
All-MAC First Team
Jacks Lancaster, Ball State
Onder Balci, Buffalo
Theodoros Mitsakos, Buffalo
Iker Gaztambide Arrastia, Northern Illinois
Nikola Puntaric, Northern Illinois
Hanamachi Carvajal, Toledo
Ashton Adesoro, Western Michigan
 
All-MAC Second Team
Andrei Caragea, Ball State
Minjae Kim, Buffalo
Clement Mainguy, Buffalo
Eldin Nokic, UIC
Oscar Corwin, Western Michigan
Tim Riedel, Western Michigan
 
MAC All-Tournament Team
Andrei Caragea, Ball State
Clement Mainguy, Buffalo
Faiz Nasyam, Buffalo
Iker Gaztambide Arrastia, Northern Illinois
Nikola Puntaric, Northern Illinois
Tim Riedel, Western Michigan 
 
MAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player: Clement Mainguy, Buffalo