BERKELEY – Bjorn Hoffmann and Connor Heap signed National Letters of Intent to join the California men's tennis team next fall, head coach Peter Wright announced on Monday.

One of the top recruits in the nation, Hoffmann is ranked 16th in the TennisRecruiting.net National Recruiting Lists and stands at No. 4 among recruits from the state of California. Hoffmann, who hails from Newport Beach, California, and attends Corona del Mar High School, is also ranked ninth in the TennisRecruiting.net TennisRPI among high school seniors.

Last spring, Hoffmann reached the CIF singles division final at the 115th annual Ojai Tennis Tournament, one day after Cal ended its run in the Pac-12 tournament that also took place in Ojai. Hoffmann wound up as the CIF runner-up. In this fall's Laguna Niguel USA F28 Futures tournament, Hoffmann won four matches to qualify for the main draw, before falling in the main draw round of 32.

"We're excited to welcome Bjorn Hoffmann to the Cal tennis family," Wright said. "As one of the top juniors in Southern California and in the country, Bjorn has grown up playing with and against several players who are currently on the pro tour. He brings a pro style serve and forehand and strengthens our lineup in singles and doubles. Bjorn has tremendous upside, and we look forward to some wonderful years ahead."

The new Bear comes from his own tennis family, as his parents, Carten Hoffmann and Biljana Longman, and uncle, Zoran Korac, all played collegiately at UC Irvine.

A product of Christchurch, New Zealand, Heap follows in the footsteps of New Zealand brothers Ben and Riki McLachlan in competing at Cal. Heap is the top-ranked under-18 boys player in New Zealand and is ranked 11th overall among male players in New Zealand. That poll includes the fourth-ranked Ben McLachlan and the 24th-ranked Riki McLachlan, whom Heap defeated in a recent interclub match.

Heap, now 18, won the New Zealand under-18 boys national singles title in 2012 and more recently captured the championship at the 2015 Auckland ITF Indoor Championships. He also reached the doubles quarterfinals of the Auckland tournament.

"Connor Heap is the latest in a wonderful line of Kiwis we've had on the team," Wright said. "Connor's athleticism and competitive nature catapulted him to the top of the New Zealand rankings and more recently he's been successful playing in Europe. His international experience and pro-style game will add tremendously to the team, and we're excited to welcome Connor to the Golden Bear family."

Heap will compete in the 2015 18U New Zealand National Championships, scheduled for Dec. 14-19 in Auckland.

The new Golden Bears are joining a talented Cal program that has reached the postseason 34 times, including a current school-record 16 consecutive times under Wright. Most recently, Cal junior Andre Goransson reached the singles final at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in the Bears' last tournament of the fall.

The current Bears will continue the 2015-16 season when they play at Tulsa in a nonconference dual match on Jan. 15.