BEAUMONT, Texas – The future continues to get brighter for the reigning Western Athletic Conference champion Lamar University men's tennis team. Just two months after posting an undefeated season to win their first WAC title, the Cardinals have landed the nation's 21^st-ranked mid-major recruiting class according to TennisRecruiting.net.
 
TennisRecruiting.net's mid-major poll looks at all programs except those from the power five conferences and the Ivy League.
 
The Cardinals' ranked class is one of only two within the state of Texas to land on the poll (Rice) and is the lone WAC representative. It marks the third time in Shankles' career that he has landed a top 25 recruiting (two mid-major and one overall top 25 class).
 
The Cardinals landed the nation's 21^st-best mid-major class with three names already inked for next year (Elias Peter – Germany, Gustav Hasslegren – Sweden and Joan Crespo – Germany). Teams are still within the signing period allotted by the NCAA so the Cardinals' class could still grow.
 
All three Cardinals have a UTR score of at least a 10.66, with two players better than 11.65. Peter comes to the Golden Triangle ranked 25^th according to the Tennis Recruiting Network.
 
Big Red posted a 17-8 (.680) overall record this past season, going a perfect 6-0 in league play to win the WAC regular-season title in their inaugural campaign. The Cardinals' 2021-22 roster was a freshman-heavy roster with just one senior.