After signing with BYU tennis in the winter of 2022, Caden Hasler, a five-star recruit, committed to the Cougars and is already making a massive impact both on and off the court.
Hasler was ranked No. 1 in the country in doubles and No. 22 in singles in the 18-and-under division back in 2022 before serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Las Vegas.
Being from American Fork, Utah, the choice was easy to play for BYU.
“I always knew I would go to BYU,” Hasler said. “[My decision] came down to where I’d be happiest. ... I’d be happiest and the strongest [spiritually] at BYU than anywhere else."
Hasler comes from an athletic background where his father, Blair Hasler, pole vaulted at Ricks College. His sister, Cambria, is on the BYU track & field team and his mother, Holly Hasler, is the women’s tennis coach at BYU.
“My sister and I can go through the struggles of balancing athletics and school and all the different things,” Hasler said. “It’s cool because they really understand and are there to help and support.”
Hasler mentioned being mentored by his mom Holly and said that she has an enormous impact on his game and the importance that she has had in the progression of Hasler as a player.
“She’s always made time for when I need that help or if I need some extra feeding or someone to bring to a tournament with me,” Hasler said. “If I didn’t have the mom that I have, then I probably wouldn’t be the tennis player that I am today.”
When asked about Hasler and what he brings to the team, coach Zack Warren said, “His intensity that he brings, it’s infectious, when you’re around it your energy lifts and I feel like the guy can sense that. He’s been a total impact player right from the very beginning.”
Warren also mentioned the difficulty of coming right off of his mission and adjusting physically to the game. But just three months later “he’s been putting in the work.”
Hasler has already had a big impact with the team on the court with a win at the Bedford International at Air Force and Warren said that his opponent has been “tricky for us over the last two years” and Hasler was able to pick up the win.
Warren has high praise for Hasler and knows that it will only get better for him. "For where he was three months ago to where he is now, really impressed, really impressed," he said.
Hasler and the rest of the team is scheduled to compete on Oct. 9 at the Southern California Intercollegiate Championships, where Hasler and the team will continue to build towards the Mountain Region event in Las Vegas.