University of Georgia Athletics
Top Georgia Products Stay Home To Play For Bulldogs
November 15, 2017 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. — Britton Johnston — a native of Snellville, Georgia and five-star prospect according to tennisrecrutiing.net — as well as Blake Croyder — another five-star recruit and native of Marietta, Georgia — are staying in-state to play for the Georgia men's tennis team, head coach Manuel Diaz announced Wednesday.
The pair of Georgia products each rank among the best players nationally according to several recruiting services. They will both finish their senior season of high school in the spring and will be eligible freshmen for the Bulldogs beginning with the 2018-19 season.
"It is always a special feeling when Georgia boys decide to play for their home state," Diaz said. "Britton and Blake are two of the best prospects in the country and had opportunities to go anywhere they wanted. I am so pleased they chose to join us here in Athens, and I can't wait to see them develop over the next few years. They both will come in, compete right away and make a huge impact for our team. We could not be more excited."
Johnston, a senior at William and Reed Academy, is ranked No. 4 in the state of Georgia and No. 13 in the southeast in the 2018 class according to tennisrecruiting.net. He has been ranked as high as 16th in the nation and No. 2 in the south during his career.
Most recently, Johnston led his high school team to a state championship and earned the squad's Most Valuable Player honor. He was a finalist in consolation at the national event in Kalamazoo, Michigan and won two gold balls in the USTA national spring events in Mobile, Alabama.
Croyder is entering his senior season at Johnson Ferry Christian Academy, where he is team captain for the varsity tennis team. He stands at No. 30 overall and No. 3 in the state of Georgia according to tennisrecruiting.net's latest rankings.
Among other impressive accomplishments, Croyder is a two-time clay court national doubles champion and was a quarterfinalist at the National Championships in Kalamazoo for both singles and doubles in 2016.
Wednesday marked the final day for the early signing period, which ran from Nov. 8-15. The Bulldogs are busy preparing for the upcoming spring season that begins on Jan. 13 at the MLK/Georgia Tech Invitational.
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