Michigan State men's tennis cherishes Big Ten title, but seeks more in NCAAs

When Harry Jadun became the Michigan State men’s tennis coach four years ago, he envisioned shaping his alma mater not only into a major player in the Big Ten but on the national level.

The Spartans, for the first time since 1967, won the Big Ten regular-season title, sharing it with No. 3 Ohio State, after both teams finished 12-1 in league play. MSU (18-8) then earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with its first Big Ten Tournament championship since 1967 in a marathon match against the Buckeyes delayed several hours by rain. Matt Forbes clinched the title with a third-set tiebreak for the 4-3 victory. OSU had won 14 of the last 19 tournament titles.

Ozan Baris helped the Michigan State men's tennis team win its first Big Ten tournament title since 1967.

Jadun has led the No. 16 Spartans to their third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, and they will face No. 43 North Carolina in the first round Friday at South Carolina.

“It just shows that these guys really believe and know how to handle that adversity,” Jadun said of MSU winning in the tournament in Ojai, California, at midnight. “The weather thing, that's something we've been dealing with all year, so it really felt like we were prepared for that moment. Our guys spent some time together in the car (during the rain delays), and they just talked and said, ‘Hey, you know, no matter what happens, we trust each other, we believe in each other.’ I think that’s what got us over the hump.”

It was the second time this season the Spartans defeated the Buckeyes. The Spartans won in Columbus for the first time since 1998 during a regular-season match, ending the Buckeyes' 49-match conference win streak.

“Winning a Big Ten championship is kind of validation of the vision and the journey that we've been on,” Jadun, who joined MSU’s staff as an assistant in 2017, said Thursday during a phone interview. “It’s been a long time since we've been on top of the Big Ten, so it feels pretty good. It’s just really cool to kind of be in that same breath of conversation with some of the top teams of the country, and obviously in the Big Ten Conference. So really special, really meaningful to do it with my first recruiting class.”

The cornerstone of that vision was keeping Ozan Baris, an Okemos native, home, just as Jadun, an East Lansing native had done during his career (2012-2015) when he not only earned All-American honors but led the Spartans to the program’s first NCAA appearance. Baris, who ranks No. 43 nationally in singles, was an NCAA singles finalist in 2025 and . Forbes is ranked No. 15 and Aristotelis Thanos is No. 29.