
The improbable story of how Central Arkansas arrived at its first-ever NCAA men's golf regional
The most improbable team in this year's NCAA regionals?
Central Arkansas makes a compelling case.
The Bears will compete as the 13th seed starting Monday at Montreux Golf and Country Club in Reno, Nevada, after recently capturing the program's first Atlantic Sun Conference title. It's a remarkable feat considering this team, even with 13 players on the roster, had zero returning rounds from last season and then saw its coach, Jay Rees, unexpectedly retire after the fall semester.
Since Rees' retirement, Central Arkansas, which began the spring ranked outside the top 200 in Division I, has been led by 24-year-old Josh Turnock, a Bears alum turned graduate assistant who had just completed his M.B.A. program last December.
'It's a weird situation to be in,' Turnock said. 'I told the guys in our first team meeting of the spring that this isn't normal. Most of them are freshmen, so they only had Jay for one semester, and now they get a guy who is likely only going to be here for one semester. I told them to do the best they could with the situation that we were given and to just work hard. No one was expecting much from us, so we really did have nothing to lose…
'I still can't believe this happened.'
Turnock, a native of Manchester, England, played four years at Central Arkansas before graduating in 2022. He then applied for a 12-month work visa and spent a year working for a company that helps international athletes find college scholarships. He returned to school prior to last season to pursue his M.B.A., and he'd been applying for jobs when Rees announced his retirement because of family health reasons.
The logical replacement was Turnock, that is until he accepted a job offer to be a business intelligence analyst. But the offer was rescinded just a few hours later because of a mistake by the hiring department. After that happened, Central Arkansas' director of athletics, Matt Whiting, offered Turnock the interim head coaching position.
'I happy that he waited around and was still happy to offer me the coaching role,' said Turnock, who was assisted at a few events this spring by the school's head of IT.
Turnock's squad, which features players representing 10 different countries, soon turned shock into motivation, and upon starting the spring semester, proceeded to post top-5s in five of six tournaments after zero in the fall. Leading the charge were two low-level transfers, New Mexico Junior College's Kalle Svederman of Sweden and Austrian Noah Blaickner of Park University, an NAIA program in Gilbert, Arizona, who combined for seven top-10s, including two wins, one apiece. Blaickner, who only played once in the fall but markedly improved his short game during the winter months, added a runner-up at conference. The pair remain the only players on the roster ranked inside the top 500 nationally.
As a team, Central Arkansas was ranked No. 172 in the country, good enough for only the ninth seed, heading into the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship.
'We were just waiting for the week where all five guys played well at the same time,' Turnock said, 'and that's what happened.'
On the eve of the conference championship, held at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta, Georgia, Turnock told his guys, 'No one's thinking about us, but after tomorrow they will.' The Bears responded by shooting 17 under in the first round and grabbing an eight-shot lead. They followed it up in 7 under and were four clear of the field through 36 holes.
'That last day was trying to hold on basically,' Turnock said. 'They were nervous, but none of them were scared, and they always believed they could win it.'
The Bears ending up holding off Stetson by a single shot to capture the program's first conference title of any kind since it won the 1972 AIC Championship and advance to their first-ever NCAA regional.
Central Arkansas has already posted the head-coaching position and is expected to name a full-time replacement by the end of May. Turnock, who has had more interviews for jobs in his degree field this spring, doesn't expect to be coaching after this season, though he said he's still not totally decided. With the transfer portal, the futures of the players are uncertain as well.
One thing is for sure, though.
'This is probably going to be the biggest tournament these guys have played in,' Turnock said of regionals.
Expectations will be even lower for the Bears.
But once again, they'll have everything to gain.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why UCLA might have an edge over everyone else at the Men's College World Series
UCLA coach John Savage talks to his players during a win over Fresno State in the NCAA regionals in May. The Bruins are back in the Men's College World Series in search of their first national title since 2013. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times) An NCAA communications official apologized to UCLA baseball coach John Savage before he could join two of his players on the stage for Thursday's news conference. They hadn't printed all the nameplates for the coaches yet. The coach then sat next to star shortstop Roch Cholowsky and outfielder Dean West at the microphone, finished typing into his phone and leaned forward for his opening statement. Advertisement 'Well, I think you can see by nameplate, you can tell that they weren't expecting us,' Savage deadpanned. Read more: After a 12-year wait, UCLA is back in the Men's College World Series He admitted he was teasing before acknowledging the Bruins' circumstances heading into their Men's College World Series opener against Murray State on Saturday at 11 a.m. PDT (ESPN). UCLA hasn't been to the College World Series since winning it all in 2013. The Bruins were the No. 1 national seed in 2015 and 2018. Neither team survived the regional and super regional gauntlet to be one of the last eight teams standing. Advertisement Savage felt good about his team in 2020 before the pandemic shut down the season. He liked their resilience in the following seasons. Then came the Bruins' 19-win campaign last year. It was a humbling experience for their touted sophomore class that's led a drastic turnaround. 'It's really special,' Cholowsky said. 'We've got a special group of guys. We've dealt with a lot of adversity through the year. Just getting back to Omaha, where the Bruins should be, is special to us.' No team in this year's CWS field played in last year's tournament — the first time that's happened since 1957. But the Bruins set themselves apart from the field because they have played at Charles Schwab Field this year. Advertisement Omaha hosted last month's Big Ten tournament. The Bruins won their first three games in the tournament before falling 5-0 to Nebraska in the conference title game. Read more: Chancellor Julio Frenk suggests he'll be actively involved with UCLA athletics 'Coach made a good point after the game that we can use this game and that weekend out in Omaha in the Big Ten tournament, and it's only going to be useful if we make it useful,' Cholowsky said. 'So just understanding the park, getting a taste for what Omaha is and just being hungry to get back here was the main thing.' Savage believes that week-long tournament helped the Bruins get a feel for the ballpark. They know the downtown streets, the hotels and the practice schedule. But he doesn't want the team to get too comfortable. He wants them to keep the edge they've developed since being shutout. Advertisement That loss is the team's only blemish in the last 14 games. The Bruins composed themselves to sweep their regional and super regional to win something that had eluded them for more than a decade. Savage knew months ago that this team could be the one to get back to Omaha. The Bruins were locked out of Jackie Robinson Field on Sept. 26, forcing them to scramble to different high school fields in L.A. traffic. On Thursday, Savage equated it to the Colts leaving Baltimore in Mayflower trucks over 40 years ago. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter has since restored access to the team's access to its home stadium, providing stability they needed during the season. 'It felt, at the end of the fall, I knew we potentially had something special,' Savage said. 'I was just hoping ... that we had enough talent. The makeup was there, the character, the loyalty, the toughness. That's great to have all that, but you've got to have talent at this level.' Read more: Q&A: How are college sports changing in the wake of House settlement? Advertisement This talented team will likely play its CWS opener in a hostile environment. Fans at Omaha typically cling to underdog stories and regional fourth seed Murray State certainly fits that bill. Savage assured everyone that he's taking the Racers seriously because of their path. They've won 44 games with regional wins over Ole Miss and Georgia Tech before taking two games off Duke. Helping the Bruins go forward in the tournament is a boost to its pitching staff. Cody Delvecchio is with the team in Omaha and academically eligible to play. Delvecchio has pitched simulated games and live at bats recently, but Savage acknowledged the situation is like calling someone up from triple-A to the MLB playoff roster. The right hander bolsters the Bruins' bullpen going into a two-week stretch every college player dreams about. And something everyone in the program has longed for. 'We want to come back here, put our name back out there on the map and show everyone what West Coast baseball has to offer,' West said. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.


CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Former Alabama track champion Eliud Kipsang dies after cardiac arrest aged 28
Former NCAA track star Eliud Kipsang, who earned several first-team All-America honors as a runner, has died aged 28, according to Alabama Athletics. Alabama Athletics released a statement Wednesday confirming that Kipsang had died on Tuesday evening. 'We are heartbroken by the passing of Eliud Kipsang, one of the most gifted athletes ever to wear crimson and white,' said Alabama Athletics' head coach Dan Waters. 'His impact on our program extended far beyond records and championships; he was a beloved teammate, a brother to so many and a dear friend to me, personally. 'On behalf of the entire Alabama family, we extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones. The running community has lost a remarkable soul.' The university statement did not provide details of how Kipsang had died but a GoFundMe page set up to cover his funeral costs says he suffered a cardiac arrest on Friday. The fundraising page says the 28-year-old was rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, WA, where he spent the subsequent days in intensive care as doctors tried to save his life. Kipsang broke three school records during his successful time with the Crimson Tide, where he was also named the 2021 SEC Runner of the Year. The track star was born in Kenya before moving to Alabama for his first season in 2020, winning the SEC 1,500-meter title in his debut year. He then went on to win the individual SEC cross-country title. During the 2022 season, Kipsang broke the collegiate record in the outdoor 1,500m, clocking a time of 3:33.74 – the mark still remains in the top five in collegiate history. Kipsang still holds three Alabama Athletics records in the indoor mile, indoor distance medley relay and the outdoor 1,500m. He also has six times that are still in the top-10 of Alabama track and field history. In 2021, Kipsang also competed in the Kenya Olympic trials, before trialing for the World Championships the following year.


CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Former Alabama track champion Eliud Kipsang dies after cardiac arrest aged 28
Former NCAA track star Eliud Kipsang, who earned several first-team All-America honors as a runner, has died aged 28, according to Alabama Athletics. Alabama Athletics released a statement Wednesday confirming that Kipsang had died on Tuesday evening. 'We are heartbroken by the passing of Eliud Kipsang, one of the most gifted athletes ever to wear crimson and white,' said Alabama Athletics' head coach Dan Waters. 'His impact on our program extended far beyond records and championships; he was a beloved teammate, a brother to so many and a dear friend to me, personally. 'On behalf of the entire Alabama family, we extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones. The running community has lost a remarkable soul.' The university statement did not provide details of how Kipsang had died but a GoFundMe page set up to cover his funeral costs says he suffered a cardiac arrest on Friday. The fundraising page says the 28-year-old was rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, WA, where he spent the subsequent days in intensive care as doctors tried to save his life. Kipsang broke three school records during his successful time with the Crimson Tide, where he was also named the 2021 SEC Runner of the Year. The track star was born in Kenya before moving to Alabama for his first season in 2020, winning the SEC 1,500-meter title in his debut year. He then went on to win the individual SEC cross-country title. During the 2022 season, Kipsang broke the collegiate record in the outdoor 1,500m, clocking a time of 3:33.74 – the mark still remains in the top five in collegiate history. Kipsang still holds three Alabama Athletics records in the indoor mile, indoor distance medley relay and the outdoor 1,500m. He also has six times that are still in the top-10 of Alabama track and field history. In 2021, Kipsang also competed in the Kenya Olympic trials, before trialing for the World Championships the following year.