2025 NCAA Division I men's golf regionals: Players to watch, predictions for each field
2025 NCAA Division I men's golf regionals: Players to watch, predictions for each field
The NCAA Division I men's golf regionals get underway Monday at six sites across the country.
Eighty-one teams and 45 individuals not on those teams will vye for a shot at making the 2025 NCAA Championships, set to begin May 23 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. The top-five teams and top individual not on one of those teams will advance to the national championship. The match-play final to decide a champion is set for Wednesday, May 28.
Regionals include three days of play totaling 54 holes. Auburn is the defending national champion, and Georgia Tech's Hiroshi Tai won medalist honors last year.
Here's a breakdown of the six regional sites, including a look at the top teams, players and those dark-horse teams looking to play spoiler.
More: 2025 NCAA Division I men's golf regionals full fields, seeds announced
Amherst Regional
Course: Poplar Grove GC; Host: Liberty
Teams
LSU Oklahoma Vanderbilt Pepperdine Tennessee Arizona Stanford Wake Forest Arkansas Florida Gulf Coast Kent State Princeton Howard
Individuals
Andrew Swanson, Clemson
Kaleb Wilson, West Virginia
Ike Joy, Liberty
Emil Riegger, Maryland
Peicheng Chen, St. John's
Sakke Siltala, Texas State
Henric Bjelke, Campbell
Colin Dutton, UNGC
Alex Heard, UConn
Nolan Schuermann, Holy Cross
Individuals to watch
Algot Kleen, Sr., LSU: Kleen followed Amos from East Tennessee State to LSU and has been stellar this season. He has one win, five top 10s and is a pivotal key to LSU's postseason success.
Drew Goodman, Sr., Oklahoma: Goodman was in position to win the SEC title until Koivun's stellar finish. But Goodman is playing his best golf of the season now and could challenge for medalist honors.
Jackson Van Paris, Sr., Vanderbilt: With Gordon Sargent's struggles, Van Paris has been the Commodores' best player this season, and Vandy needs a big week from JVP to make it back to Omni La Costa.
Favorite to win? Oklahoma. The Amherst Regional could go to either LSU, which has had an incredible season under first-year coach Jake Amos, or the Sooners. While both should cruise into the national championship, leaning toward OU with the recent serge from Goodman, Jase Summy and Co.
Non top-5 seed most likely to steal a spot? Kent State. The Golden Flashes have won two tournaments this year, including the MAC Championship, and are trending at the right time when other teams seeded higher have not played their best heading into the postseason.
Auburn Regional
Course: Auburn University Club; Host: Auburn
Teams
Auburn Texas A&M UCLA SMU Georgia Tech Oregon Purdue Little Rock TCU Charleston New Mexico State Loyola Maryland USC Upstate
Individuals
Louis Anceaux, Louisiana Monroe
Claes Borregaard, Kennesaw State
Xing Luo, North Alabama
Thomas Schmidt, Arkansas State
Parker Claxton, Georgia Southern
Camden Braidech, Chattanooga
Yixiang Wang, Memphis
Jack Maxey, Arkansas State
Jeep Patrick, Presbyterian
Jonathan Xionis, UT Martin
Individuals to watch
Jackson Koivun, So., Auburn: Koivun became the first player in nearly 50 years to go back-to-back at SECs, winning his second conference title last month. Now he gets a home game at the regional.
Phichaksn Maichon, Sr., Texas A&M: Ranked 17th in the NCAA golf rankings, Maichon has two wins this year and finished third at SECs. His worst finish in his past four starts is T-8.
Hiroshi Tai, Sr., Georgia Tech: The defending NCAA individual champion will need to play a big part in helping Georgia Tech find its way back into the national championship.
Favorite to win? Auburn. How can you go against the defending national champions on their home course? The Tigers are finding their stride at the right time, finishing first in the stroke-play portion of SECs before falling in the semis. Reigning Haskins winner Koivun defended his individual title and now returns to his home course. Auburn could win big.
Non top-5 seed most likely to steal a spot? Purdue. The Boilermakers had a poor showing at the Big 10 Championship, placing ninth. However, Purdue came into the postseason in good form, with two wins and a runner-up in its four tourneys before Big 10s. Not a stretch pick, but expect the Boilermakers to find form again.
Bremerton Regional
Course: Gold Mountain GC; Host: Washington
Teams
Arizona State Florida Utah South Carolina South Florida Colorado Charlotte Kansas Colorado State Kansas State Elon Coastal Carolina Oral Roberts Seattle
Individuals
Sam Renner, Washington State
Lukas Boandl, Rice
Mason Snyder, Loyola Marymount
Cade Anderson, Loyola Marymount
Daniel Zou, Rice
Individuals to watch
Josele Ballester, Sr., Arizona State: The reigning U.S. Amateur champion has not played his best this spring but straightened things out at Southern Hills, tying for fifth at Big 12s. He's a proven championship contender.
Ian Gilligan, Sr., Florida: Gilligan, who is from Nevada and started his college career at Long Beach State, returns to the West Coast and will look to help the SEC champions advance to Omni La Costa.
Gabriel Palacios, So., Utah: Palacios has two wins this spring, coming at the John A. Burns and The Goodwin, where 30 teams were in the field. He'll need another good week to help Utah find its way to Omni La Costa.
Favorite to win? Arizona State. Last year, the top-seeded Sun Devils failed to advance from the Rancho Santa Fe Regional, which was miles from Omni La Costa. Now, ASU heads to the Pacific Northwest and has a chance to get some redemption after last year and punch its ticket to nationals.
Non top-5 seed most likely to steal a spot? Colorado. This is an interesting regional with three top-five seeds being from the East Coast, meaning there could be some upsets. Meanwhile, the Buffaloes have three runner-up finishes in their last five starts, all coming in the Pacific Time Zone. Is it a sign?
Reno Regional
Course: Montreux G&CC Host: Nevada
Teams
Texas Virginia Alabama Duke Mississippi State BYU San Diego Santa Clara California Grand Canyon Sam Houston East Tennessee State Central Arkansas Fairfield
Individuals
Dane Huddleston, Utah Valley
Baron Szeto, Cal Poly
Max Schliesing, UTEP
Tegan Andrews, Cal State Fullerton
Dylan Teeter, UTEP
Individuals to watch
Ben James, Jr., Virginia: James is a virtual lock to represent the U.S. late summer in the Walker Cup, and that's due to his stellar consistency. His worst finish this year is T-16, and he won the Valero to earn his first PGA Tour start last month, too.
Christiaan Maas, Jr., Texas: Five of Maas' last six tournaments have resulted in a top-eight finish, including a T-3 at SECs. He's a big reason why Texas earned the top seed and is a national title favorite.
Tommy Morrison, Jr., Texas: Yes, two Texas players in the players to watch, and that's not even including their highest-ranked in the NCAA golf rankings, Daniel Bennett. Morrison won Amer Ari earlier this year against a top field, proving he can win the biggest events.
Favorite to win? Texas. Sense a theme here? Texas won four of five events heading into the SEC Championship, where it finished seventh and lost in the quarterfinals of match play. That feels like an anomaly, and in Reno, expect the Longhorns to bounce back.
Non top-5 seed most likely to steal a spot? BYU. Most of the lower-seeded teams are from out west, but BYU has made a habit of playing its way into the NCAA Championship. The Reno Regional could have numerous teams play their way into the top five, and expect the Cougars to be one of the challengers.
Tallahassee Regional
Course: Seminole Legacy Club; Host: Florida State
Teams
Ole Miss Florida State San Diego State Georgia Louisville Northwestern Notre Dame New Mexico USC Michigan State Furman Augusta Davidson Florida A&M
Individuals
Malan Potgieter, Louisiana
Nashawn Tyson, FAU
Hyggo Thyr, South Alabama
Niilo Maki-Petaja, Louisiana Tech
Gaspar Glaudas, Stetson
Individuals to watch
Luke Clanton, Jr., Florida State: Clanton is in the midst of the best year-long stretches of golf from an amateur in the modern games. With two college tournaments left in his am career, expect his best at home.
Justin Hastings, Sr., San Diego State: Hastings is rewriting the SDSU record books, his name sliding above Xander Schauffele's for plenty of career records. It's a long way to travel, but Hastings should be ready.
Michael La Sasso, Jr., Ole Miss: La Sasso is the third-ranked golfer in the NCAA golf rankings and for good reason. He has collected a pair of wins this year and is a big reason Ole Miss was ranked No. 1 for a majority of the season.
Favorite to win? Florida State. How can you go against the Seminoles at home? It's a perfect setup for Florida State, which finished runner-up to Auburn a year ago at Omni La Costa. A regional at home to get prepped to go back to Southern California and try to finish the job.
Non top-5 seed most likely to steal a spot? Notre Dame. Last year, the Fighting Irish qualified for NCAAs for the first time in 58 years. This year, Notre Dame finds itself as a seven seed and having to fight its way into a top-five spot. Expect a big week from ACC champ Jacob Modleski to help that happen.
Urbana Regional
Course: Atkins GC; Host: Illinois
Teams
Oklahoma State North Carolina Illinois Texas Tech Long Beach State UNLV Houston Marquette Troy Pacific NC State Illinois State Wright State
Individuals
Hunter Thomson, Michigan
Jack Schoenberger, Kentucky
Paul Beauvy, Iowa State
Patton Samuels, Austin Peay
Anthony Delisanti, Valparaiso
Clay Merchent, Indiana
Ryan Ford, Cincinnati
Ben Cors, Dayton
Titus Boswell, IU Indy
Trey Wall, Murray State
Individuals to watch
Jackson Buchanan, Sr., Illinois: Buchanan plays his best golf in the postseason, though he finished T-42 at the Big 10 Championship. Expect a big bounceback from Buchanan close to home.
David Ford, Sr., North Carolina: Ford has been the best player in college golf this season, collecting five victories and is the favorite for the Haskins Award. He could try to slam the door on the race for the trophy with a win.
Preston Stout, So., Oklahoma State: Stout joined Ludvig Aberg as players to win consecutive Big 12 individual titles, and if that's the company you're joining, it's not a bad place to be.
Favorite to win? Oklahoma State. The Cowboys have found their form again after a couple years below what's expected every season, and they're doing it with a lineup featuring four sophomores and a freshman. They dominated at Southern Hills to win the Big 12 title and have all of the momentum heading into the postseason.
Non top-5 seed most likely to steal a spot? Marquette. This is a strong regional at the top, but Marquette is playing close to home and has four wins this season, including three straight heading into regionals. It shouldn't be a shock to see that strong play continue.
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