SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Belgium's Nel Van Hout, the reigning Horizon League Player of the Year, has announced that she will continue her academic and athletic career with the Sacramento State women's tennis program, Head Coach Sophie Breault announced on Tuesday.

"We are very excited to welcome Nel to our Hornet family," Breault said. "Her collegiate experience and success at the top of the lineup will be invaluable to our team as we strive to win another championship.

"Nel has a very solid all-court game and brings a strong work ethic every day. It's exciting because we believe there is still so much room for growth in her game. Nel will thrive in our championship culture and we can't wait to help her reach her full potential and make an impact as a Hornet."

Van Hout becomes the fourth commitment for the Hornets leading up to the 2026-27 campaign, joining South Africa's Jessica Schilz, Italy's Francesca De Matteo, and Russia's Viktoriia Sedova.

A native of Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, Van Hout put together an impressive season at Milwaukee last season, becoming the first student-athlete to earn Horizon League Player of the Year honors after posting a 21-6 mark in singles and a 20-9 record in doubles at the top two spots in the Panthers' lineup. An All-Horizon League first team selection, she became the first Milwaukee player to record 20-or-more wins in both singles and doubles in the same season since 2013-14, while her 21 singles wins stand tied for 10th on the program's single-season list.

After posting an 8-1 record in the fall, Van Hout opened her spring campaign with six consecutive wins splitting time between the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, then won her final four heading into the Horizon League Championship. IN doubles, she won four straight following a slow start, then ended the year by winning four of her last five, including a win in the conference tournament where the Panthers were the No. 2 seed.

Prior to her year at Milwaukee, Van Hout spent her freshman season at Marshall University in West Virginia where she was 5-2 in singles play and 16-4 in doubles — including a 6-2 mark against Sun Belt Conference opponents in the latter. She helped the Thundering Herd to a 20-6 overall team record and a runner-up finish at the conference tournament.

Van Hout attended Atlas College in Genk, Belgium, prior to beginning her collegiate career.