TEMPE, Ariz. – For the second consecutive season, the Santa Clara men's tennis program will play in the International Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend as Broncos head coach Niall Angus chose the Starkville site during the draft that took place on Thursday.
 
The draft gives the coaches the power to choose where their team plays at the 18^th annual ITA Kickoff Weekend with factors such as travel and opponents under consideration. 
 
The Kickoff Weekend takes place Jan. 23-26, 2026 at 14 sites across the country.  The host sites were determined based on 2025 year-end rankings so the remaining schools selected where they play based on their year-end finish starting with the 15th ranked team and running until all the spots were filled in the draw. 
 
This year's host sites on the men's side include: Wake Forest, TCU, Texas, Stanford, Virginia, Ohio State, NC State, Columbia, San Diego, Mississippi State, Arizona, Cal, South Carolina and UCLA. 
 
With four teams per site, a total of 56 teams comprise the ITA Kickoff Weekend draw. 
 
Santa Clara finished No. 73 nationally this season and Angus selected the Starkville, Mississippi site in the draft where they are in the same group as host, No. 10 Mississippi State along with No. 30 Auburn and No. 36 Alabama. 
 
The 2026 ITA Kickoff Weekend provides a chance to qualify for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.  The 16-team championship draw will be comprised of the two yet to be determined host schools plus winners from each of the 14 ITA Kickoff Weekend sites. 
 
This will be Santa Clara's second consecutive appearance at the ITA Kickoff Weekend and the seventh overall.

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