Feb. 26, 2016
By Megan Valley
Grayson Broadus is a freshman on the men’s tennis team from Carollton, Texas. According to Tennisrecruiting.net, the ATA College Prep graduate was ranked as high as No. 1 in the State of Texas and No. 11 in the nation entering his rookie season at Notre Dame. During his prep career, Broadus won the gold ball at the USTA Winter National Championship and, since joining the Irish, has made an immediate impact on the court. Broadus has compiled a 2-2 record playing at the No. 2 doubles slot with senior Quentin Monaghan, while he has gone 5-3 in dual singles matches, playing mostly at the No. 6 position. We asked the five-star recruit a few questions to get to know him better:
If you had to play a sport other than tennis, what would it be?
I’d want to play football or basketball – probably football. It’s really big in high school, and it’d be a cool experience. Playing a team sport in college would be really fun.
Who is your favorite professor?
Michael DePaul. He’s my philosophy seminar professor. He’s really interesting and smart and laid-back.
What’s your guilty pleasure TV show?
I don’t think I have one. I just like watching sports or napping.
Do you have any pre-match rituals or superstitions?
I always have to listen to music, whether it’s the warm-up tape playing out loud or just putting some headphones in. I always have a straight go-to song.
If you could be any animal, what would you be?
I’d probably be a brown bear. It’s my team nickname. They’re really big and strong, but they can be kind of lazy. They get to hibernate, which would be really cool. They’re also a dominant force, which is what I wish I was.
Who is your favorite professional athlete?
That’s tough. It’s between Floyd Mayweather and Cam Newton. I love watching Floyd’s hype videos before his fights, and the stories of how hard he trains is really an inspiration, but he’s not the greatest person, so I’m not really open to that. But Cam Newton is a great guy, I think. What he does on the field and off the field with charity work and helping people is amazing. He’s really confident and a great leader.
What’s your favorite thing about playing tennis?
Winning. It’s just fun to get out there and work really hard and have it pay off. It’s a great feeling.
What made you choose Notre Dame?
The culture, the coaches, my teammates. Everyone’s just super nice and warm. But they’re also really intense and really hopeful. It was mostly my teammates and my coaches. They’re amazing.