Virginia Signs Nation’s Top Recruit Jack Kennedy

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia men’s tennis head coach Andres Pedroso announced Wednesday (Nov. 12) that Jack Kennedy (Huntington, New York) has signed an athletics aid agreement and will join the team as a freshman in the fall of 2026.

Kennedy is the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2026 and has been ranked as high as No. 5 in the ITF Junior World Rankings with a current ranking of No. 8. He won the 2025 US Open Junior Doubles Championship after making a run to the semifinals at Roland Garros. He has played singles in each of the last seven Junior Grand Slams, advancing to the quarterfinals at this year’s Junior Australian Open and the Round of 16 at this year’s Junior French Open, Junior Wimbledon and Junior US Open. He also competed in the men’s singles qualifying tournament for this year’s US Open.

“As a college coach, when you travel the world to recruit, you are always looking for that player who values world-class academics, loves your sport with a passion, represents all of the best qualities of your team culture and competes with the mentality of a champion,” Pedroso said.  “We found that and more in Jack Kennedy. On behalf of the entire program, we cannot wait to see him training and competing in the Orange and Blue!  There is no question that he will be a fun one to watch and a young man that our community will cherish throughout his time in Charlottesville.”

Kennedy won both the singles and doubles titles at the USTA Boys’ 14 National Clay Court Championships in 2022 and reached the U14 Junior Orange Bowl final. He was the singles finalist of the USTA Boys’ 18 National Championships in 2024 and a semifinalist this year. He has tallied eight junior singles titles and four doubles titles. He helped the US Junior Davis Cup Team win the title in 2024.

Kennedy has played in several ITF World Tennis Tour events this year, as well as a pair of ATP Challengers. He was the runner-up in doubles at the M15 Vero Beach in April and advanced to the singles semifinals at the M15s in Orange Park (Fla.) in May and Lexington (Ky.) in October.