JACKSONVILLE (January 6, 2026) – The Atlantic Sun Conference announced its 2026 preseason awards for men's tennis Tuesday morning with North Alabama's Alberto Altur, Lachlan Brain and Alex Despoja selected to the Preseason All-ASUN team.
North Florida's Andreas Scott was voted the Preseason Player of the Year. The seven-person preseason team also included EKU's Nuno Pinheiro, FGCU's Hugo Magnusson and Stetson's Alexandre Verlaguet.
The Lions were well-represented on preseason list with UNA preparing to begin its defense of its ASUN championship from Spring 2025. This comes after a successful fall for Altur, Brain and Despoja and a spring season that brought a 20-4 record, the program's first ASUN championship and NCAA Division I Tournament appearance.
Altur heads into the spring with momentum on his side, currently ranked No. 111 in singles and No. 73 in doubles in 2025 ITA National rankings. The 2025 Second-Team All-ASUN selection won 19 matches with 10 singles and nine doubles wins in the fall, and he represented the conference in both singles and doubles at 2025 ITA Conference Masters Championships.
Altur additionally won 27 matches throughout singles and doubles play in Spring 2025, including 16 singles and 11 doubles wins. Twelve of his victories came during ASUN play, resulting in his first two career ASUN Player of the Week honors. He also ended the 2024-25 season No. 17 in the ITA Southern singles region polls.
Brain is set for his senior season after claiming his second-straight First-Team All-ASUN team selection in Spring 2025. He was victorious in 18 matches throughout singles and doubles play in Spring 2025, including 10 doubles wins and eight singles wins. Eleven of his wins came in ASUN play, tallying six singles and five doubles victories.
The Adelaide, Australia native had a solid Fall 2025 season with 13 wins across singles and doubles, including eight singles wins. He, along with sophomore Satoru Nakajima, finished second place at the Blue Gray Classic from Sept. 12-14.
Despoja rounds out UNA's preseason team selections after an impactful Fall 2025 season. The junior transfer from Adelaide, Australia made himself right at home this fall with 15 singles and doubles victories.
He was the runner-up in singles at the 2025 Conference Individual Tournament with the highlight coming in his semifinals' triumph over North Florida's Scott, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7).
Altur, Brain and Despoja will spearhead the Lions' title defense in 2026, with the Spring schedule set to released in the coming days.
2026 Men's Tennis Preseason Awards
Preseason Player of the Year: Andreas Scott, North Florida
Preseason All-ASUN Team
Andreas Scott, North Florida
Nuno Pinheiro, EKU
Hugo Magnusson, FGCU
Alberto Altur, North Alabama
Lachlan Brain, North Alabama
Alex Despoja, North Alabama
Alexandre Verlaguet, Stetson
* A tie in voting resulted in a seven-person Preseason All-ASUN Team.
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