Hardin Valley’s Jaymeson Huffman (left) and Webb School of Knoxville’s Jansen Brown are the 5Star Preps Boys Tennis Co-Players of the Year, presented by Garza Law. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY DAVE LINK
Every point is crucial in a tight tennis match.
You don’t have to tell that to Jansen Brown of Webb School of Knoxville or Jaymeson Huffman of Hardin Valley Academy.
Both are highly competitive USTA tournament players. Both play for their high school teams. And both had their 2026 high school seasons end with tight matches in May.
Brown, who just finished his sophomore season, and Huffman, a freshman in the spring, are the 5Star Preps Co-Boys’ Players of the Year. Brown was the 2025 5Star Preps Boys’ Player of the Year.
Here is a look at their 2026 seasons and a glimpse into their futures:
Garza Law is the proud sponsor of All-5Star Preps Tennis Teams for 2026.
BROWN: “VERY CLOSE”
Brown almost advanced to the Division II-AA state singles tournament, a quarterfinal bracket dominated by top private school recruited players. He missed the 2025 high school postseason because of a strained back.
In this year’s Division II-AA East Region tournament – in which the two singles finalists advance to state – Brown had two match points in the semifinals. Those match points against Chattanooga McCallie senior Sean Clark came in a 10-point tiebreaker to decide the third set.
Clark survived those points and posted a 13-11 tiebreaker victory, earning the state tournament berth. Clark lost to Chattanooga Baylor sophomore Anurag Kallambella in the region final, and both went to state.
With aspirations to play college tennis, Brown said playing for Webb gives him the chances to experience the team format, play for Webb coach Jim Pitkanen, and play top-level competition, and he wouldn’t pass up those opportunities.
“I’ve got really good teammates at Webb,” Brown said. “I love the guys on my team, and then I get coach Jimmy, too. He’s awesome, and the competition is really good.
Webb School of Knoxville’s Jansen Brown (Photo by Danny Parker)
“I was very close to beating (Clark), too. It makes me know I can compete somewhat at that level, so I go down to this tournament (the Southern 16-unders in Mobile, Ala.), and I know I can compete with the top guys, even though they’re rated higher than me.”
Clark lost in the state quarterfinals to state runner-up Bo Schroerlucke of Memphis University School, while Kallambella won the state championship without losing a set. Kallambella is from Bengaluru, India, and Clark is from Rogers, Arkansas.
Clark is committed to Division I Belmont University in Nashville.
“I’m pretty sure he’s going to Belmont for college,” Brown said, “so I’m getting closer to that level. It’s hard, but I’m trying to do it.”
Brown was 18-8 in singles this season for Webb, losing only to Kallambella (four times), Clark (twice), and Schroerlucke, an uncommitted junior (twice).
After the high school season, Brown hit the practice courts before taking a vacation in the Bahamas with his family for a week.
His first tournament back was the Southern 16s starting June 4, and it didn’t go as Brown had hoped.
In his first-round match, Brown split sets against William Goodwin of North Carolina and had to retire in the third set due to severe cramps in his legs.
Brown said cramps like that have never been an issue for him.
“Every time I took a step, it was cramping, and then it wouldn’t stop,” Brown said. “I’d already taken a medical timeout, so I had to retire.”
Brown believes he lacked the hydration needed for the heat in Mobile that day and he wasn’t able to practice enough while on vacation. He only played tennis three times while in the Bahamas; one place they stayed didn’t have tennis courts.
“I hadn’t been able to play any tennis,” he said. “But honestly, I was playing good. The body did not hold up at all.”
Brown plans to play at least two more tournaments this summer and is going to a couple of tennis training academies. His training and tournament play goes year around, and Brown will be ready for practices when the Spartans begin in January.
Then he will take on the challenges of Division II-AA tennis again.
HUFFMAN: “HAD MOMENTUM”
Hardin Valley’s Jaymeson Huffman (Photo by Danny Parker)
Huffman was just a few points away from completing an undefeated high school season on May 15 – an outstanding run for a freshman.
Huffman had not lost a singles match going into the Class AA state tournament, winning District 4-AA and Region 2-AA championships for a berth at state.
In the state quarterfinals, Huffman posted a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Wilson Central senior Alejandro Dominguez in a match the HVA freshman “just played loose, played my game.”
Huffman wasn’t as pleased with his state semifinal match, a 6-4, 7-5 win against Arlington senior Jeremy Leggett.
“I didn’t play as good in that match, but the guy was still pretty good,” Huffman said. “He put a lot of pressure on my shots to be good shots. Like if I didn’t hit the ball deep, he would step in and attack, and then I’d be on defense.”
After winning the two matches May 14, Huffman was set for the state final against Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett senior Emery Corpstein, who reached the state semifinals in 2025.
Huffman had the scouting report on Corpstein – a counter puncher who returns a lot of shots.
“I expected a pretty tight match,” Huffman said, “because his game is like a game I don’t really like to play (against) because he just gets the ball back, and I was just being a little too inconsistent.”
Huffman lost the first set against Huffman 2-6 but rallied for a 6-3 win in the second set.
After the break between sets, Huffman and Corpstein played a 10-point tiebreaker to decide the third set. Huffman took a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker before Corpstein won the next six points on his way to a 10-6 tiebreak win.
Huffman said he may have benefitted from playing out the third set instead of just a tiebreaker.
“I feel like if it was a full third,” he said, “I probably could have won that, now that I think about it, because I had the momentum going into it, but in the tiebreak, I just choked a little bit.”
Corpstein’s experience at state may have helped.
“It could have,” Huffman said. “It’s a match. We’ve all played them. It’s all the same thing. It probably would have helped him to be there (at state) before.”
Next time, Huffman will have the experience on his side. He’s played tennis most of his life, plays tournaments and practices year around, and has it planned for his future in college.
He looks forward to another season at HVA under coach Seth Rayman.
“It’s really for getting the match experience, getting to play with the team and preparing for college,” Huffman said about playing for the Hawks.