Northwest Wayne News

Wayne State University's men's tennis player, Cedric Drenth, has been recognized as the Division II Men's Tennis Academic All-America Team Member of the Year by College Sports Communicators (CSC). Drenth is now among a select group of Wayne State University student-athletes to have been named an Academic All-American three times. He also stands out as the first in the university's history to receive the Academic All-America Team Member of the Year award twice.

Originating from Sulzbach, Germany, Drenth has achieved numerous academic and athletic honors. He has maintained a 3.96 cumulative GPA while completing his bachelor's degree in Finance. Over the past three years, he has consistently earned First Team Academic All-American honors and Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar-Athlete recognition. Additionally, he is expected to secure his fourth ITA Scholar-Athlete distinction later this summer.

Drenth's accolades include being named to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) All-Academic Excellence Team three times and receiving the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award twice. He was also honored with the Deans' Award from the Mike Ilitch School of Business for having the highest GPA among student-athletes and received the GLIAC Commissioner's Award for outstanding athletic and academic performance.

Athletically, Drenth concluded his tenure at Wayne State University as a record-holder for career singles wins (106) and doubles matches won (122). Throughout his four-year career, he was recognized with multiple GLIAC honors and was twice named GLIAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year. In addition to these achievements, Drenth became Wayne State's first ITA singles All-American during 2022-23.

During this season, Drenth led his team with 24 singles victories and 25 doubles wins while playing in both No. 1 positions. His efforts ranked him as the 56th singles player nationally and fifth in the Midwest Region. In doubles play alongside partner George Day from Southampton, United Kingdom, they were ranked No. 32 nationally and fourth in their region.

Notable figures who have achieved Three-Time Academic All-American status at WSU include Elly Maleski in Women's Swimming; Ransome Allen in Men's Cross Country; Trevor Jones in Men's Swimming; Anais Ruyssen in Women's Tennis; alongside Cedric Drenth in Men's Tennis.

Past recipients of WSU's Academic All-America of the Year include Catherine Leix for Women's Swimming in 2012; Cedric Drenth for Men's Tennis in both 2023 and 2025; and Anais Ruyssen for Women's Tennis in 2024.