AUBURN, Ala. – Tyler Bowers will join the Auburn men’s tennis team ahead of the 2026-27 season, head coach Bobby Reynolds announced Thursday. Bowers comes to the Plains as a graduate student after spending the last four seasons at Illinois.
“We’re excited to welcome Tyler to the Auburn Family,” Reynolds said. “He has enjoyed tremendous success in singles at Illinois and has been an instrumental part of their doubles success as well. Just as importantly, Tyler comes from an outstanding family that already has strong ties to our program through Ashton (Bowers) on the women’s team.
“We know he’ll be a great fit here, adding to the culture we’ve worked hard to build while bringing valuable experience, leadership and a competitive mindset to our team.”
Bringing more experience and leadership to the roster 🦅
— Auburn Men's Tennis (@AuburnMTennis) June 18, 2026
We’re excited to welcome Tyler Bowers to the Auburn Family! ✍️#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/c7NrMxu62i
Bowers was a regular at the top of the Illini doubles lineup each of the last two seasons, posting dual match records of 12-5 in 2026 and 10-12 in 2025. He also posted a 16-12 overall singles record in 2025 and an 18-8 mark in 2024. The four-year collegiate veteran finished his career at Illinois with 45 singles wins and 43 doubles victories.
Bowers holds a career-high ITA singles ranking of No. 79, achieved Feb. 5, 2025, as well as a career-high ITA doubles ranking of No. 52, reached Dec. 3, 2024.
Prior to his time in college, the Bloomington, Illinois, native was the top-ranked recruit in his class in the state of Illinois by Tennis Recruiting Network and a five-star prospect. He was named the 2021 Mid-South Illinois Male Player of the Year and was the 2019 IHSA doubles state champion.
Bowers’ sister, Ashton, is a member of the Auburn women’s tennis team.