Just a couple of months ago, Michigan State men’s tennis freshman Ozan Baris was busy competing and winning a junior doubles title at the U.S. Open. Now, he is playing for MSU at the No. 1 singles spot as a freshman.

“That's where you want to be in tennis,” Baris said. “Hopefully in the pros very soon. It was very special to be there in the first place, even for the juniors. When you're there watching the pros, it just inspires you and motivates you to keep going because that's where you want to get to.”

It was clear that Baris, a five star recruit, ranked fifth in his class coming out of high school, had a bright future in tennis, but even for a player as talented as he is, there are still adjustments to be made. 

“I think the biggest thing was a team environment,” Baris said. “Not just playing for myself, but playing for a team, practicing with the team every day. It's different. It's very nice. I think there's more responsibility on myself as well.”

Before all of this success though, he made a choice when he was younger that changed the course of his life forever. 

“I was trying out different sports with my sister actually,” Baris said. “And I was between basketball and tennis. And my sister was more on the tennis side and for myself, I just felt like tennis was the right choice and clicked a little more.”

Even though at first it was different than what he was used to, Baris says that now, after getting his feet wet in the program, his team is like family.

“I just feel like we're all really close, even all the players as well,” Baris said. “And that's something special. It's like a family here. So I think it helps in our culture and our improvement.”

Although there has been a little bit of a learning curve for Baris, he says he likes the change of pace college play brings to his experience with the game. 

“The college atmosphere is a lot more loud and pumped up,” Baris said. “It's not as quiet and proper, which I actually like a lot. I like the energy behind college tennis and college sports in general.”

Growing up in Okemos, MSU was never really a top choice for Baris, despite the proximity to home. Baris took his time traveling the country and scouting out his options, but there was something missing. 

“I visited some schools and they're all nice, but something was missing,” Baris said. “And I took some on officials here and it just felt different you know? Like that home feeling. And in the end it was a really tough decision, but I decided on here and I'm just happy with that.”

Now he is reaping the rewards as he gets the best of both worlds from the college experience at home. 

“I can be in the college atmosphere and also be able to just go home, relax, have a home cooked dinner,” Baris said. “It is just super nice.”

Head Coach Harry Jadun promised the program’s reins to Baris during his recruitment, and he thinks that is a big reason why he chose to commit to his program. 

“I think what really sold him is just the ability to create his own legacy,” Jadun said. “And for him to lead this program to the Top 25, Top 15, Big 10 championships and he really, really jumped at that opportunity. I think a lot of the other programs obviously are more established and he didn't want to jump on somebody else's bandwagon.”

Along with the championship level experience, Jadun says that Baris already has strengths in two of the three most important shots in tennis, his serve and his forehand. Mentally, there are some areas Jadun wants to see improvement in over the course of Baris’ career.

“Really just working on the mental side of things, making sure that we're consistent and bringing it every single day and competing for every point because if you don't, at the highest level, you're cooked.”

Former five star sophomore and doubles partner Max Sheldon already can’t say enough about how big of a talent Baris is, despite only being with the program for a year. 

“He's just always pushing us,” Sheldon said. “He's getting some great wins. He's elevated my doubles game a lot. It was just putting me in easy situations, put a lot of stress off my back. He's doing great.”

Looking further into his career at Michigan State, Baris says he just wants to keep getting better and better, but past that, he has larger than life goals for himself. 

“My goal in the long run is to be a professional tennis player,” Baris said. “Get to top 10 in the world. Reach number one in the world. It'd be amazing. So it's just about doing the work now and keep improving so that I can get there.”