Kansas Wesleyan's Bryce Ware was historically successful on the tennis court during his sophomore year. Not to be outdone, his work in the classroom was equally impressive and historic.
In just his second season of collegiate tennis, Ware won 40 of the 47 matches he played (20 singles, 20 doubles) during the 2022-23 school year. His efforts earned him Kansas Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Year and Second Team NAIA All-America accolades – both first-time achievements for the KWU program.
Off the court Ware compiled a 4.0 grade point average in his pursuit of a degree in business management. He was named Wesleyan's first KCAC Men's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was a College Sports Communicators (CSC, formerly CoSIDA) NAIA First Team Academic All-America selection.
He is the second men's tennis player in program history to earn Academic All-America honors. Adam Watson was a third-team at-large Academic All-America selection in 2013. 2023 was the first year that tennis had its own stand-alone Academic All-America category.
The recognition made Ware a rare two-time All-American during one season, once academically, once athletically.
"It's not easy," he said. "It's a lot of busy days, a lot of time spent studying. Time management has been the big thing. I've had great mentors like (men's) coach (Josh) Molino and (women's) coach Brian (Vancuren) here and who have helped me out with that. It taught me how to manage my time where I can be at workouts, be at practice and still have time to get all my classwork done."
Ware was 20-3 in No. 1 singles competition and finished the season ranked 35th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) – the highest ever ranking for a KWU men's tennis student-athlete. He and partner Garrison Wright were 20-4 in No. 1 doubles play.
"He had the best year in history in Kansas Wesleyan tennis by far and it's not close," Molino said. "It was a Hall of Fame career in one season."
Ware said discipline is the key to success.
"Coach Molino preaches discipline to me all the time," he said. "That shows its face in so many different roles whether it's shot selection or routines or preparing yourself the night before. (Off the court) it's making sure I'm ahead of my classes especially when we hit the big busy part of the spring season. Making sure I'm doing all the things I need to do to prepare for tests and stuff … just making sure it's all done."
"He's one of those guys that school comes easy to him but he also puts in a lot of work," Molino said. "He's goal-oriented, he's very focused and disciplined. He's very mature for his age. He knows what the expectation is and how to reach it. He's going to be really successful in whatever he wants to do."
Asked which he would prefer, a victory in a match or acing an important test, Ware had a quick answer.
"I think there's just a little bit more to it for me on the tennis court than there is in the classroom," he said. "That's a little more fun."
Ware is on track to graduate next spring, earning his degree in three years. What might come next is unknown.
"I'm thinking right now something in the tennis realm whether that is coaching or working at a bigger tennis organization at USTA (United States Tennis Association) or the ITA or something like that," he said. "I want to stay in tennis as long as I can even if I'm not playing."
Molino says Ware will be marked man when he steps on the court next season.
"It will be really hard to top what he did," he said. "What he did in one year is super rare especially for a sophomore. He's probably the guy to beat (in the KCAC). He's just got to not be okay with this year. He can always finish higher nationally, he can have more wins but the pressure's off now. He's had an unbelievable tennis career as it is."
For the next few weeks, though, Ware's focus will be on improving his game, preparing for the 2023-24 season and reflecting on his accomplishments.
"It was a long season, it was hard, but this has been the icing on the cake for me on a great year," he said. "It speaks a lot to all the people who have been with me and helped me out along the way whether that's my coaches and friends and family back home or my teammates and coaches at KWU. They make it a whole lot easier to succeed.
"I'm just really grateful to be in the spot I'm in and receiving the awards are a nice bonus."
