There are more than two weeks until the NCAA singles and doubles tournament begins, but Illinois junior Ryler DeHeart has already made a name for himself.

On Thursday, when the seedings for the tournament were released, DeHeart was seeded seventh.

All athletes who are seeded entering the tournament as one of the top-16 seeds earn All-American status.

This will be the first time DeHeart has been named an All-American.

“Obviously, I’m not satisfied with just being seeded as an All-American,” DeHeart said. “I want to do well in the tournament.”

But DeHeart, a native of Tampa, Fla., realizes there are other perks that come with earning All-American status.

At the Atkins Tennis Center, where the men’s and women’s tennis teams practice and compete, the images of Illinois’ All-Americans appear on larger-than-life banners on the east wall of the building.

“It’ll be nice to get my picture up there,” DeHeart said. “It’s exciting.”

DeHeart joins a growing contingent of All-Americans that Illinois head coach Craig Tiley has coached throughout his tenure at Illinois.

DeHeart’s former teammates Rajeev Ram, Amer Delic, Michael Calkins, Phil Stolt and Brian Wilson also earned All-American accolades as well. However, DeHeart is the only Illini on the current roster who has achieved All-American status.

“It’s a great accomplishment to be with those guys, who have all done so well and have contributed so much to Illinois tennis,” DeHeart said.

This will be the first time that DeHeart has played in the singles or doubles tournament. In previous seasons, he has only competed in the team event. However, DeHeart said he is looking forward to competing in the individual events.

He will compete in doubles with sophomore GD Jones. Jones also earned a berth in the singles tournament. Freshman Kevin Anderson earned a position in the singles tournament. He is the first Illini freshman to earn a place in the tournament since 2003, when Ram did.

“My main goal is just to do well as a team and build on that for the individual tournament,” said DeHeart, who was initially surprised when he learned of his All-American status.

Although DeHeart was surprised to learn about his most-recent accolade, his coaches were not surprised at the recognition he received.

“Ryler has worked extremely hard, especially last summer,” said Illinois volunteer assistant coach Mark Edney. “It’s good to see a bit of a reward for him and to see his hard work pay off.”

The Illini will begin NCAA competition on May 14 when Illinois hosts the first two rounds of the NCAA Championships.

Illinois will play Quinnipiac on May 14 at 10 a.m. at the Atkins Tennis Center. If they advance, they will play the winner of the Notre Dame vs. Louisville match on May 15 at 1 p.m.