Recruiting Profile
Multi-Sport Standout Barretto Brings Versailtity to Toledo
by Rhiannon Potkey, 24 March 2025
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Isabella Barretto (WTN: 22.2) thrives on versatility. She is a three-sport athlete, excelling in tennis, track and field, and volleyball. She plays multiple instruments and can draw portraits by sight.
Isabella Barretto Has Signed with Toledo
© Contributed Photo
“My parents got me into doing everything when I was younger, and I just kind of stuck with all of it,” Barretto said. “I really love playing tennis, but I didn't necessarily love it more than anything else. I enjoyed doing everything if I could, and I wanted to be good at everything if I could.”
Barretto’s years of juggling multiple sports, however, are coming to an end. The senior from Rochester, Michigan has signed with the University of Toledo. Since focusing only on tennis the last few months, Barretto has swiftly risen in the rankings.
“There are so few high school kids that play three sports, even for a short amount of time,” Toledo head coach Tracy Mauntler said. “I feel like her well-rounded high school experience will make her an incredible college player. She really understands ‘team’ because of volleyball, which is sometimes difficult if you just play tennis in high school or on the USTA circuit.”
Barretto’s entire entire family plays tennis, and she first picked up a racket at age 4. Her joy on the court, however, didn’t lead to her specializing in the sport like some other juniors. She ran the 100, 200 and did the high jump in track and field, and was an outside hitter and libero in volleyball.
Her musical inclinations are equally as diverse. Barretto grew up playing the piano and branched out once she reached middle school, when students had to choose among band, choir, or orchestra
“I chose the band because I had watched them a couple years before and was awestruck,” she said. “It was something that I really wanted to do because of how cool it looked. I picked up the trumpet at first, and then switched to trombone my sophomore year of high school.”
Barretto performs with the marching band and concert band at Stoney Creek High School.
“The community you get within band really helped with my transition from middle school to high school, because for marching band at least, you're kind of surrounded by a bunch of different ages,” Barretto said. “Everyone is included, and it was a good way to transition into high school.”
Barretto wanted to play sports in college and realized tennis would be her best chance to make a roster. She began reaching out to colleges around the Midwest with little luck.
Before she competed in a USTA tournament last November, Barretto’s dad suggested she contact Mauntler, saying “maybe there’s a chance she’ll come” because the tournament was only 15 minutes away from the Toledo campus.
Barretto is No. 5 in Michigan on the Babolat Recruiting List
© Contributed Photo
“She emailed me back saying she was going to come watch,” Barretto said. “I ended up winning that tournament and she saw my first two matches. She showed me around the facility and it felt kind of meant to be after that.”
The more she learned about Toledo, the more excited Barretto became about joining the Rockets.
“There were so many things that made it stand out,” she said. “The athletic and academic balance is great, because there's so many different majors that all the girls can have while it doesn't interfere with the tennis schedule. That's something that Coach Mauntler is really good at, because she wants to make sure that everyone gets the best college experience and gets the major that they want to.”
Aside from her athletic and musical interests, Barretto also enjoys drawing. She can look at an image and copy what she sees with great detail.
“I went through a cartoon phase, and then I went into drawing real people,” she said. “I made a whole Instagram account where I would post everything I did on that. It was a really cool experience, until all of the drawings started taking 24-plus hours to make. But it was always something that I could do to relax and keep my mind off other things.”
Barretto’s diverse background has prevented her from burning out of one activity. Now that she’s fully focused on tennis, her potential for growth at Toledo is exponential.
“Coach Mauntler wants every player to get better and her goal is to develop all of her players,” Barretto said. “That was something that really stood out to me, because that’s always been my goal–to get better and better throughout college.
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About Rhiannon Potkey
Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two
decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many
sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories.
Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national
events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches.
Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You
can reach Rhiannon by email at
rhiannon@tennisrecruiting.net.
