Breakers add local:

“I’m really excited,” Van’t Hof said Wednesday from Northern California, where he is playing in a futures tournament this week. “I hear a lot of good things about the Breakers and World Team Tennis. I’ve watched it in Newport the last couple of years.

“It couldn’t be better to be able to play in front of family and friends. All my buddies will be around. It’s going to be really fun.”

Van’t Hof said he was also excited about the opportunities that World Team Tennis brings. He could play mixed doubles with Lindsay Davenport, the former world No. 1 who is playing at home with the Breakers on July 10 against Springfield. He could also play against John McEnroe and Anna Kournikova.

“It’s nice to play against someone like Anna Kournikova, who you grew up having a crush on,” Van’t Hof said. “It’s cool. It’s your idols who you grew up watching.”

Van’t Hof, the CIF Southern Section Individual singles champion in 2004 with Mater Dei, also brings smarts to the court. He finished up a double major at USC (business and accounting) with a 3.28 grade-point average, and was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic first team.

Breakers executive director Jeff Purser said he also thinks Van’t Hof will be a great fit.

“We expect him to do well,” Purser said. “It’s not simply a local play, ‘Hey, let’s get a local guy in and sell some tickets.’ Trevor knows talent, and he’s optimistic that Kaes will do well and hold his own. He’ll be a very valuable asset to the team.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.