Bio

On Court: Trained in Hong Kong from age 12 to 16 where he achieved a top 15 ranking in the 16s...then moved to Irvine, California where he attended University HS for his senior year... also earned a top 50 sectional ranking in SoCal Boys 18s...at University played  doubles for the CIF Division 1 Champions...lost only 5 doubles sets as a senior, and undefeated when starting in singles...as a freshman made his Stags Tennis debut at USTA / ITA West Regionals in October, losing a grueling three-setter to Redlands' Gram Leahy in a decisive tie-break...partnered Lestter Yeh in doubles...the pair went 2-1 in reaching the ITA quarterfinals...returned in the spring to compete for starting singles and doubles spots...made his dual match debut against Brandeis at #3 singles and #3 doubles (with Kotrappa), winning both comfortably...had one of two Stags singles match wins at #5 against Vanguard on Feb 23...solidified his starting role with a straight set win at #6 against Wash U on March 3 in La Jolla...then settled in at the #5 singles position and #2 doubles position for the rest of the season...won his first eight singles dual matches before a tough three-set loss at BYU Hawaii on March 20, in which he lost the first set 6-0...then won his remaining 14 dual  matches to earn an eye-popping 22-1 singles dual match record...also had wins against Halabi of Santa Cruz and Worley of Cal Lutheran in reaching the Ojai quarters...equally as impressive with Kotrappa at #2 doubles, where the pair won 25 of 31 dual matches en route to a 26-7 overall record as a team...the pair won their first eleven matches together, dropping no more than five games in any one pro-set...Butts' overall singles record of 25-3 places him 18th for most wins in a single season and third for singles season winning percentage at .892...his 28 doubles wins in 36 matches places him 12th for matches played in a single season, and 8th for matches won in a single season...he and Kotrappa end up fifth in matches played (33) and fourth in matches won (26) as a doubles team for a single season in CMS Stags Tennis history...Butts' hard work and passion for the game earned him the coveted Hank Krieger Trophy - the first Stags Tennis freshman to have ever  won the honor...as a sophomore established himself as one of the Stags' and nation's best by winning eight of nine ITA singles matches in September and October...won the USTA / ITA West Region singles as the eighth seed, defeating Whittier's David Konstantinov for the title...earned the third seed at the USTA / ITA Small College Championships, where he reached the final, becoming only the second Stag ever to reach the national championship match...recognized as the SCIAC Athlete of the Week for the week of Sept 23, 2013...finished the fall ranked #1 in the West and #2 nationally, while earning ITA All-American singles honors...went 1-1 in two doubles matches with partner Zhenya Pereverzin...turned in another spectacular spring outing, going 22-0 at #4 and #3 singles to become the first Stag to have an undefeated dual match record with more than twenty matches played...was one of four Stags to qualify for NCAAs in singles, another first for CMS...named ITA All-American in singles and 2nd Team All-SCIAC...year end singles rankings of #7 in the West and #17 nationally...his only 2014 losses came in tournament play to champions Wood - in three sets in the semis of Ojai - and Amherst's Joey Fritz - in the first round of  NCAAs...partnered teammate Neel Kotrappa at the #3 and #2 positions...the tandem produced a 24-3 dual match record and 5-1 tournament record, winning the presitigious Ojai D3 title as the #6 seed and losing in the first round of the NCAA doubles tourney...he and Kotrappa finished 2014 with rankings of #6 in the West and #22 nationally...overall records of 33-3 in singles and 29-5 in doubles, putting him #1 all time for singles matches won in a singles season, as well as single season winning percentage (.917)...his 29-5 doubles record was good for 3rd best winning percentage (.853) and 6th highest win total for a single season in CMS history...he and Kotrappa complete their two year partnership with the fourth highest win total (54) and second highest winning percentage (.831) for a team during their careers at CMS...as a junior completed an active fall tournament schedule which included reaching the quarters of singles and the semis of doubles (with Morkovine) at the ITA West Regionals...earned rankings of #11 in singles and #7 in doubles in the West, and #33 in singles and #21 in doubles nationally...returned in the spring for another record setting campaign, playing in 40 singles and 41 doubles matches at the #2 singles and #2  doubles positions...lost opening dual match of the season vs Brandeis' Granoff after having four match points, then didn't lose another dual match until March 21 at UPenn...went 22-4 in duals, with D3 losses to only Granoff and Hopkins' Hwang in the NCAA team semis...finished with a 33-7 singles mark, highlighted by runs to the championship matches at both The Ojai and the NCAA singles tournament where he lost to teammate Wood in each final...his loss to Wood in the NCAA final marks the second straight year that Butts lost to the NCAA champion in the event (Fritz in 2014)...partnered Daniel Morkovine in doubles to a 34-7 overall record in doubles, including the Ojai title over Wood and Dorn in the final...Butts became the first Stag to repeat as Ojai doubles champion, doing so with a different partner in each year...he and Morkovine set single season Stags Tennis records for matches played (41) and matches won (34)...earned ITA All-American honors in singles for the second straight year, as well as 1st Team All-SCIAC, ITA Scholar-Athlete (for 3.5 or higher GPA) and SCIAC All-Academic...appointed as captain for his senior season...as a senior picked up right where he left off in May, blitzing through the singles draw at the ITA West Regionals to earn his second title in three years and earn ITA All-American honors for the third straight year...didn't drop a set en route to the singles title, then partnered Glenn Hull to reach the finals of doubles...advanced to ITA Nationals in Sumter, S.C. where he won two of three matches and finished third...completed the fall with records of 8-1 in singles and 4-1 in doubles, earning rankings of #3 nationally and #1 in the West Region in singles, and #15 nationally and #4 in the West Region in doubles...completed the 2016 spring campaign with records of 37-6 in singles and 34-10 in doubles to become the all-time Stags Tennis leader in career matches played and career matches won in both singles and doubles...in 147 career singles matches, Butts was a mind blowing 128-19, for a .871 winning percentage...in 155 doubles matches, Butts was 125-30 for a .806 winning percentage...in 2016, his highlights include winning the NCAA singles title in Kalamazoo in May, the Ojai singles title in April, earning SCIAC Athlete of the Year, 1st Team All-SCIAC, and ITA All-American honors in singles and doubles...he defended his Ojai doubles title with Morkovine and became the first player to win three straight Ojai D3 doubles titles...he and Morkovine also reached the quarters of the NCAA D3 doubles, losing to eventual champions Geier and Kaye of Kenyon...Butts was also the sole male D3 student-athlete to be named to the ITA Collegiate All-Star Team honored at the US Open in August, and was also the ITA Senior Player of the Year...finished 2016 ranked #1 in singles and #7 in doubles...Butts was also recognized as an ITA Scholar-Athlete and a SCIAC All-Academic for maintaining a 3.5 GPA and higher throughout 2016...as Stags' Captain, Butts was also voted team MVP by his peers...this future Hall of Famer will not only be remembered for his prolific results as a member of CMS' first NCAA Championship team in 34 years, but also for his humle leadership, insane work ethic, and a commitment to playing the right way every time he represented Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Personal: Son of David and Ellen...has younger sister, Alexi, who is a competitive figure skater...grew up in Hong Kong before moving to California at age 16...began playing tennis competitively at age 12...enjoys watching all sports...occasionally attempts to play basketball