How Sweet It Is! USD Men's Tennis Punch Ticket to First NCAA Sweet 16 in Program History

It was a long time coming for 11th-year USD men's tennis head coach Ryan Keckley and his Toreros, but they made incredible home support for a second straight day count at Hogan Tennis Center and made history Saturday afternoon by advancing through to the program's first-ever NCAA Sweet 16.

"It's storybook stuff," said Keckley.

"We went out and executed really well. We handled the big moments. Most importantly, we just handled the emotions. When you think about it, this is such an emotional rollercoaster. I've been doing this for 11 years so this moment is what I've been thinking about, this moment is what I've been dreaming about. So, for these players to come here and manage the expectations, the nerves, the crowd – everything – the way they did, that's what helped us cross the finish line."

The No. 15 national seed Toreros on Friday in front of a season-high 602 spectators, downed UC Santa Barbara to win their first-round tilt for the fifth successive season. In each of the prior four years, and seven times overall during Keckley's tenure, USD had then fallen just short in the second round. That included four times to USC, most recently last year at home, and twice to UCLA.

With another 434 boisterous fans in attendance Saturday in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship, Keckley's men swept past 20th-ranked UCLA to punch their ticket into uncharted territory ...