AUSTIN, Texas — Caltech senior Kyle McCandless (Lexington, Mass. / Lexington) received Academic All-America Men's Tennis Team honors for the 2023-24 season, College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced on Tuesday. The Beaver was named to the Div. III Second Team.

Student-athletes earned the prestigious distinction for performing "at an elite level in their chosen sport and in the classroom." Teams were voted on by CSC members within their divisions as well as CSC national staff and Academic All-America committees and directors.

McCandless advanced to the CSC Men's Tennis All-America ballot after collecting Academic All-District recognition for the third straight season this past May. He and 68 other student-athletes earned the title of Academic All-American this season among 948 total All-District honorees, who themselves are selected after meeting academic and athletic criteria.

The All-America honor is well-deserved for McCandless, who in the classroom earned a perfect 4.00 grade-point average on the 4.00-scale. The Computer Science major won the Caltech Henry Ford Scholarship for having the best academic record in the class of 2024 and won Scholar Athlete of the Year at the Caltech Student-Athlete Celebration in May.

On the court, the star ranked as high as No. 42 in the nation and No. 9 in the region for singles this past season; in doubles, he ranked as high as No. 22 nationally and No. 2 in the region alongside senior Daniel Wen (McLean, Va. / Thomas Jefferson HS for Science & Technology).

McCandless earned nine singles wins over the course of 2024, mainly in the first position, and finished with a 5-2 record against SCIAC foes. He earned two wins over nationally-ranked opponents and one over a regionally-ranked opponent in the West.

In doubles play, the Massachusetts native notched 11 victories this spring, mainly in the first position; he finished 4-3 in SCIAC play. McCandless and Wen secured one win over a nationally-ranked duo and topped three regionally-ranked pairs.

McCandless finishes his career ninth in Caltech career singles wins (26) since at least 2001 and fifth all-time in career doubles wins (31). These wins were achieved in just three seasons as no athletics were held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The star graduates the Institute with three All-SCIAC selections, including two First Team nods (2023, 2024). He led the Beavers to the SCIAC Tournament Finals in 2023 and a SCIAC Tournament Semifinals appearance in 2022.

A talented dual athlete, he also competed for the Caltech cross country team for two seasons, helping push the Beavers to third-place — their best finish in 41 years — at the 2023 SCIAC Championship Meet.

Other accomplishments for McCandless include the standout's involvement in the Caltech Autonomous Systems Lab, where he collaborated with Verizon on 5G for safer drones. Additionally, the scholar won $6,000 and the title of Citadel TERMINAL Champion after earning the first-place prize in a 250-person AI competition for undergraduates and PhD students.

McCandless also served as the Pasadena Director at ACEing Autism, a 100-person volunteer organization which runs weekly tennis clinics for 20+ kids diagnosed with Autism, helping double the program size in two years. He additionally spent time on the Caltech Student-Athlete Advisory Commitee, advocating for course schedules and meal options in the Caltech community.

The Beaver will work as a Data Science Analyst at Blackstone upon graduation.

For the full list of Academic All-America Men's Tennis winners, click here.

Follow Caltech Men's Tennis on Twitter/X and Instagram and follow Caltech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram.