WINONA STATE TOPS NSIC MEN'S GOLF PRESEASON POLL

BURNSVILLE, Minn. - Winona State University was picked to win the league in the preseason men's golf coaches' poll. The Warriors received five first place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own team) and tallied 77 points to rank ten points ahead of Bemidji State, which tallied 67 points and two first place votes. The defending NSIC Champions of Concordia-St. Paul were third with 61 points and two first place votes. Minnesota State ranked fourth with 56 points while Minnesota Crookston was fifth with 45 points and the final first place vote. 

Minnesota State's Ben Laffen was voted by the league coaches as the NSIC Men's Golf Preseason Golfer of the Year.  The reigning NSIC Men's Golfer of the Year, Laffen is a two-time NSIC First Team selection and led the Mavericks with a 72.9 average in 2021-22. 

The 2022-23 NSIC Men's Golf schedule will commence in the end of August.  The three-round NSIC Men’s Golf Championship will take place next spring on April 21-23 at Adams Pointe Golf Club in Blue Springs, Missouri.

• 2021-22 NSIC Men's Golfer of the Year
• Two-time NSIC First Team selection
• Led Minnesota State with 72.9 average in 2021-22
• Tied for 38th at the 2022 NCAA DII Midwest/Central Region Tournament
• Career-low round is 67 (2019-20 at MSSU Fall Invitational)

Preseason Previews & Golfers to Watch

AUGUSTANA UNIVERSITY

Augustana men’s golf competed the 2021-22 season at the NSIC Championships, finishing seventh in the field. The Vikings totaled 925 points at the tournament. The team’s best finish came at the UMary Invite in September of 2021, placing first out of five teams. Augustana has six events scheduled for the fall of 2022, with the season beginning at the Super Regional Fall Preview, hosted by Winona State.  

Six golfers are returning from the previous season, with the addition of four golfers to the 2022-23 roster. Coralee Jorgensen was promoted to the Director of Golf position, and Mike Krsnak was named the head coach of the men’s golf team during the offseason.

• Placed first at the UMary Invite recording 71 in the first round and 73 strokes in the second round
• Averaged 77.90 strokes per round and had a season low of 71 strokes at the UMary Invite
• Had one top-five finish and three top-10 finishes

BEMIDJI STATE UNIVERSITY

The Bemidji State University men’s golf team returns nine letterwinners from the 2021-22 season that saw the Beavers finish fourth at the NSIC Championships last spring. Bemidji State’s preseason golfer to Watch, Ben Corbid, returns for his fifth-year at BSU and is prepared to build off a senior season where he was second on the team with a 76.2 scoring average over 10 rounds and tied for 10th at the NSIC Championship with a score of 225. He is joined by senior Seth Schricker who was third on the team with a 76.3 scoring average last season and also tied for 10th at the NSIC Championship. The Beavers will have a total of seven upperclassmen leading the squad in 2022-23 including four of the team’s top five scorers from last year. 13-year head coach Ekren Miller added five newcomers to the 2022-23 BSU men’s golf team in Cody Card, Caden Lick, Finn McLaughlin, Rylin Petry and Logan Schoepp.

• Returns for his fifth-year with the green and white after competing in 10 rounds last season and held a 76.3 scoring average to finish 0.1 strokes behind All-NSIC First Team selection Brandon Nelson
• Tied for 10th at the NSIC Spring Championship last season with a score of 225 (75-74-76), his lone event in the top-10 last season
• Posted a season-low score of 72 twice at the The Mule April 4-5 last season, one stroke shy of a career-low 71
• Holds a career scoring average of 75.8 in 46 rounds, lowest of any returner at Bemidji State

CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY, ST. PAUL

Concordia-St. Paul heads into the 2022-23 season with championship momentum, capturing the program’s first NSIC Championship last spring led by three NSIC All-Tournament performances with two of those players returning this fall: Thomas Huettl and Brandon Sperling.

The team advanced to the NCAA Region Championships for the third time in program history since CSP men’s golf was introduced in 2005-06, and its first regional appearance since the 2011-12 season.

While the program said goodbye to NSIC Men’s Golf Coach of the Year Taylor Ramirez, the team will be in good hands with the August appointment of Peter Maki as interim head coach. Maki has been an instrumental part of the program, serving as an assistant coach for the previous three years.

Coach Maki will have seven of the team’s top eight players by scoring average from a year ago, five players who produced 78.22 or better season averages and six players who played in at least 12 rounds.

The toughest member to replace will be Taylor Zack, the NSIC Most Outstanding Senior, a three-time All-NSIC (two-time First Team) performer who placed third at the NCAA Midwest/Central Region Championships (E) to become the first player in men’s team history to advance to the NCAA Division II Championships.

The program welcomes three freshmen: Cole Fisher, Sean Hickey and Trey Timm to bring depth and competition to a surging roster.

• 2022 NSIC Championship individual medalist (-2)
• 2022 NCAA Midwest/Central Region Championship competitor (+8, 28th)
• 2022 NSIC All-Tournament Team
• 2021-22 All-NSIC Second Team
• 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large First Team
• Three-time NSIC All-Academic Team
• Ranked 6th in the NSIC in scoring average (75.2) in 29 rounds

UNIVERSITY OF MARY

After taking a step forward last year, the University of Mary men’s golf team looks to carry their forward momentum into the 2022-23 season. The Marauders finished 8th at the 2022 Northern Sun championships, passing two teams in the standings from the previous season.

The Marauders are entering their third season after the program was reinstated prior to the 2021-22 season. Laif Olson enters his first full season as the UMary head coach, taking over just before the start of the spring schedule.

Cody Brunner leads a veteran roster for UMary as four of the Marauders top five golfers return for the 2022-23 season. A senior from Billings, Mont., Brunner is UMary’s NSIC Golfer to Watch this season after placing 7th at the league championships last spring. Brunner fired a 3-day score of 224 and improved each day. His mark of 71 on day three tied for 2nd on the day and was the 6th-best round of the meet.

Sophomore Gavin Argent was second on the Marauders with an average score of 79.8 shots/round and tied for the team lead with two top-5 finishes. Juniors Alex Wilson and Tyce Halter and sophomores Logan Barrett and Isaac Flicker also return.  

The Marauders open the season Sept. 12-13 in Bemidji, Minn., before hosting the University of Mary Match Play Invitational on Sept. 15 and the Marauders Tournament on Sept. 19-20 as part of the team’s 7-meet fall schedule. 

• Placed 7th at the 2022 NSIC Championships with a 3-day score of 224
• Finished only three shots out of 2nd place at the NSIC tourney
• Top UMary individual finish since program was re-instated and 2nd best Marauders NSIC finish all-time
• Led UMary to a program-best 8th place team finish
• Earned NSIC All-Academic honors

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CROOKSTON

Minnesota Crookston is looking to build on a 2021-22 season in which they made positive moves in the right direction. The Golden Eagles finished fifth at the NSIC Men's Golf Championship last season, for their best overall finish since the 2013-14 season. Layton Bartley (So., Fargo, N.D.) finished tied for 10th at the NSIC Men's Golf Championship for the best individual finish at the NSIC Championship by a Golden Eagle since 2013-14. The Golden Eagles return six players from last year with Bartley, Keegan Poppenberg (Sr., Esko, Minn.), Cade Pederson (Sr., West Fargo, N.D.), Rory Wutzke (So., Camrose, Alberta), Matt Moroz (Sr., Edmonton, Alberta), and Devin Kucy (So., Camrose, Alberta). They also have a talented group of newcomers with Julian Nieto (Fr., Bucaramanga, Colombia), Carson Shultis (Fr., Fargo, N.D.), and Ethan Howes (Fr., Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta).

• Averaged 77.4 during his junior season
• Season low of 73 at the Holiday Inn Express Classic
• Shot a 74 at The Watkins Invite

MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, MANKATO

Minnesota State, led by 2022 NSIC Men's Golfer of the Year in senior Ben Laffen, expects to improve on its sixth-place league finish from last season.  Laffen, who paced Minnesota State with a 72.9 average in 2021-22, was named NSIC Men's Golfer of the Week three times last year and qualified for the NCAA DII regional tournament. Head coach Alex Schmitz will also look to junior Joe Bigger (76.2), junior Jack Klimek (77.5) junior Joe Adams (79.5), senior Kaleb Johnson (77.7), sophomore Alex Bradley (77.9) and senior Terry Kuhn (78.7) to provide veteran depth. Newcomers looking to contribute include a trio of freshmen in Max Brud (Waunekee, Wis.), Ryan Darling (Green Bay, Wis.) and Marcus Belka (Perham, Minn.).

• 2021-22 NSIC Men's Golfer of the Year
• Two-time NSIC First Team selection
• Led Minnesota State with 72.9 average in 2021-22
• Tied for 38th at the 2022 NCAA DII Midwest/Central Region Tournament
• Career-low round is 67 (2019-20 at MSSU Fall Invitational)

MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY

Back for his first full season as head coach, Eli Mihalick provides stability for a Minot State program that returns a bulk of its team and looks to improve on a ninth-place finish at the NSIC Championship. Also back is team leader Andrew Makarchuk, a fifth-year senior, with a career average of 79.76 strokes per round. He’ll be joined by top newcomers from North Dakota in freshmen Henry Langhans from Minot High School, and Zach Hendrickson, from Minot’s Our Redeemer’s Christian School. Hendrickson was named Region Athlete of the Year in football, basketball, and golf. 

• Scoring average of 79.76 for 4-year career at Minot State
• Five Top-10 finishes in career
• Shot career-low round of 71 during 2021 season
• Career-best finish of runner-up champion at 2021 Dickinson State Spring Invite
• Finished tied for 31st with rounds of 88-74-73 (19-over 235) at the 2022 NSIC Championship

UNIVERSITY OF SIOUX FALLS

The University of Sioux Falls Men’s Golf team heads into the 2022-23 season with a strong mix of returners and newcomers.  The Cougars return six golfers who all saw meaningful tournament action last year while also bringing on five new golfers. Mason Weeks, Devon Verhasselt, Mats Lund, John Young, and Garrett Everitt will join the existing core led by former NSIC Player to Watch Gavin Metz. Weeks comes to USF as a transfer from Morningside where he helped the team to a 13th place finish at the NAIA Championship last season. The sophomore will begin his USF career as a 2022-23 NSIC Player to Watch after shooting an average of five-over 77 last year with a career best round of two-under 69. Second year Head Coach Wade Merry saw improvement over time with the team last year as they shook off a rough start and claimed the team title at the Augustana Invite in early April.  

• Sophomore transfer from Morningside University
• Contributed to a 13th place team finish at the 2022 NAIA Championships
• Shot 5.21 over par with an average 76.75 score as a freshman
• Shot a low round of 69 during 2021
• Played in 12 tournaments in 2021

UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY

Head Coach Mike Lewis returns to lead the Peacock men’s golf team for his twelfth season in Peacock blue and white. The team returns with an eye on a program-first NSIC title this year after placing third at the NSIC Championships last year. Nolan Leaton, Trent Shaw and Tate Carlson, who all placed in the top ten individually during the 2022 NSIC Championships, all are back and ready to attack the course in 2022-23.

The Peacocks competed in eight events across the 2021-22 season and posted a stroke average of 309.4. UIU’s third place finish at the conference championships tied the program’s best finish set back in 2007. The team shot a season low-round of 292 (+4) on day two of the tournament. Leaton (+8) finished in a tie for seventh, while Shaw (+9) and Carlson (+9) tied for 10th place. Leaton’s first-round score of 70 at the NSIC Championship represented the lowest round by a Peacock last season.

Upper Iowa opens their season at The Bridges in Winona, Minn. on Sept. 6-7 and will compete in four events with two in Minnesota, one in Illinois and one in Missouri.

• Played 18 rounds last season with a stroke average of 77.6 strokes; which was 3.1 strokes less than his prior season
• Carded a team-best, low-round of 70 at the 2022 NSIC Championships’ opening 18 holes and was tied at the top of the individual leaderboard following rounds one and two
• Placed seventh at the 2022 NSIC Championships to lead Upper Iowa to a third-place finish as a team

WINONA STATE UNIVERSITY

The Winona State University men’s golf team is ready to tee off their 2022-23 campaign, with the hopes of returning to the top of the NSIC. After being named NSIC Tournament Champions in 2019 and 2021, WSU fell just short last season with a runner-up finish. The Warriors will return two NSIC All-Tournament Team golfers in Abraham Elmore and Bennett Thomas.
Along with Elmore, Matt Turner and Gabe Goodman carded scoring averages in the top 20 of the NSIC last year to provide low-scoring experience heading into the 2022-23 season. Joining the returning core will be newcomers Tyler Johnson, Alessandro Trenta, and Peyton Coahra, who all bring in high amounts of previous success.
The Warriors will look to take advantage of several home competitions this season, beginning with the Regional Preview at The Bridges Golf Course in Winona, Minn. on Sept. 6-7. WSU will also serve as host at The Watkins Invitational on Sept. 26-27 in Lake City, Minn. Winona State will be in action in four other events during the fall portion of their 2022-23 season.
Head coach Jeff Straight is hopeful his Warriors will have a successful season and is looking towards a bright future for the WSU men’s golf program.

• NSIC First Team All-Conference in 2022
• NSIC All-Tournament Team in 2022
• Had the fourth-best scoring average in the NSIC, with a 74.6 last season
• Named NSIC Men’s Golfer of the Week on 3/17/2022 after leading WSU at The Legacy Invitational in Henderson, Nevada