Butler County’s boys tennis 2026 all-stars: North Catholic’s Justin Garvey is 2-time Player of the Year
It’s been tough to match Justin Garvey’s success the past couple years.
No Butler County boys tennis player has had as much individual and team postseason success the last two years — which has included twice qualifying for the PIAA Class 2A Individual Boys Tennis Championships and leading North Catholic to the state team tournament quarterfinals and semifinals.
And he helped bring him the program’s first WPIAL Class 2A Team Boys Tennis Championships title as a junior.
For the second year in a row, Garvey is the Butler Eagle’s 2026 Boys Tennis Player of the Year.
His junior and senior individual marks are eerily similar, but the biggest improvement he was a part of came in team states, where North made the 2A semifinals and lost to District 10 champ and eventual PIAA champ Cathedral Prep 3-2 a year after advancing to the quarters.
The top singles player in the county leads this year’s all-county team that features a heavy dose of Trojans talent. Check out the first team and honorable mentions below, listed alphabetically:
Justin Garvey, sr., North Catholic: Last year’s Butler Eagle Player of the Year nearly equaled his accomplishments in 2024, going 19-7 as the Trojans’ top player and going on to finish third in the WPIAL Class 2A singles championship and qualify for the state tournament. He led North back to the state team championships, this time one round further into the semis. Garvey owns the NC record with 64 career wins, the program’s first WPIAL title in 2025 and a team silver medal this season.
Cal Johnson, sr., Mars: A co-first-team pick last year with former teammate Ethan Palmer, Johnson stepped into the top spot in the Planets’ lineup and found success individually but also with a new doubles partner in the postseason. He paired with classmate Jaxon Hittle to finish third in the WPIAL Class 3A Section 2 doubles bracket and make the WPIAL 3A doubles tournament, losing in the first round. Under Johnson’s leadership, Mars made the WPIAL team tournament.
Jake Sinclair, so., North Catholic: An honorable mention last year as a freshman, Sinclair took the reigns at Singles 3 and finished 18-5 across all singles and doubles competitions. Head coach Sean Malone called his 6-1, 7-6(5) win over Bishop Shanahan’s William Engle in the state team quarterfinals his “best match of the year.” Sinclair finished runner-up with Paddy McCabe in the WPIAL Class 2A Section 3 tournament to teammates Alex Weber and Kenny Splane. Both pairs made the district doubles tournament.
Gianni Varlotta, jr., Seneca Valley: A first-time all-county honoree, Varlotta finished 10-6 as the Raiders’ main Singles 2 starter and helped them go 10-4 (4-3 section) to make the WPIAL Class 3A team tournament for the first time since 2007, according to head coach Andrea Morrisard.
Alex Weber, sr., North Catholic: A first-teamer for the second year in a row, the Trojans’ Singles 2 starter went 17-8 with some big regular-season wins against Hampton and Quaker Valley that helped North earn a higher seed in the WPIAL playoffs, according to Malone. He and Splane beat McCabe and Sinclair in the WPIAL section doubles tournament title match and qualify for the district meet.
Ryan Conaway, sr., Butler; Jaxon Hittle, sr., Mars; Mason Hoffman, sr., Knoch; Marcos Lopez, sr., Seneca Valley; Carter Manzer, so., Knoch; Paddy McCabe, so., North Catholic; Kylan Meiers, sr., Seneca Valley; Liam Schley, so., Seneca Valley; Lenny Splane, sr., North Catholic
