2023-24 NSIC Men's Golf Preseason Coaches' Poll

8/24/2023 10:00:00 AM

WINONA STATE TOPS NSIC MEN'S GOLF PRESEASON POLL

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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 60 points to rank five points ahead of defending NSIC Champions of Bemidji State, which tallied 55 points and two first place votes. Concordia-St. Paul was third with 50 points the final two first place votes. Minnesota State ranked fourth with 47 points while Minnesota Crookston was fifth with 32 points. 

Winona State's Alessandro Trenta was voted by the league coaches as the NSIC Men's Golf Preseason Golfer of the Year.  The reigning NSIC Men's Golfer and Newcomer of the Year, Trenta is an All-NSIC First Team selection and was selected to the NCAA Central/Midwest Regional as an individual. 

The 2023-24 NSIC Men's Golf schedule will begin on August 28.  The three-round NSIC Men’s Golf Championship will take place next spring on April 19-21 at Adams Pointe Golf Club in Blue Springs, Missouri.

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Alessandro Trenta (So, Killwangen, Switzerland / Alte Kantonsschule Aarau HS) - Winona State University
  • Named NSIC Golfer and Newcomer of the Year as a freshman
  • Averaged 73.2 scoring average across 25 rounds in 2022-23
  • Earned a spot as an individual at the NCAA Division II Central/Midwest Regional
  • Tied the Winona State program record with an 8-under 64 at the Warrior Invitational in Henderson, Nevada
  • Was the individual medalist at the Super Regional Preview at The Bridges in Winona, Minnesota
  • Was  the only golfer to finish under par after rounds of 73 (+2) and 68 (-3) at the Super Regional Preview
  • Earned four top-five finishes in 10 events last season
  • Led Winona State to one team title (Super Regional Preview) and six other top-five team finishes
Alessandro had a very successful freshman year last season. He made the NCCA Super Regional as an individual. Was the NSIC Player of the Year as well as the NSIC Newcomer of the Year last season. Additionally, he was Winona State's Newcome of the Year for all Men's Sports last season. He has an incredible worth ethic that sets a great example for his teammates to follow. Ale was a competitive gymnast for 10 years and is a very good piano player. We are excited to see what this year will bring for Ale as he continues to improve his game.
Head Coach Jeff Straight

Coaches' Quotes & Golfers to Watch

AUGUSTANA UNIVERSITY

We have our entire team returning from last year and with that, a lot more experience on our team. Last year we were a young team with three freshmen and a sophomore as part of our lineup, this year, we have a senior with those four each advancing a year.
Head Coach Mike Krsnak
Will was the most consistent player on our team last year and earned second team all-conference honors. This year, we expect him to compete for event wins as the leader of our team.
Head Coach Mike Krsnak

BEMIDJI STATE UNIVERSITY

As this year's team plays for back-to-back NSIC Championships, we have an exciting mix of returning players, transfers, and freshmen. It will be fun to see who plays into the varsity squad. I have full confidence in this team to compete at the regional level.
Head Coach Ekren Miller
Caden is a clutch player who anchored an NSIC Championship last year. He has grown a lot in just one year of collegiate golf and will help to captain a team for 2023-24. His confidence and competitiveness will push this year's team.
Head Coach Ekren Miller

CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY, ST. PAUL

We are excited to build upon last year's three win season. There will be opportunities for some newcomers and successful transfers to step up. We are looking forward to the process, grind and pursuit of excellence. We are ready to get to work!
Head Coach Peter Maki
We can’t speak highly enough of Brandon’s work ethic. He has turned himself into one of the best players in our conference through diligent & focused work on his craft. He humbly goes about his business and we are so excited to watch him build upon last years success of being named a Ping All Region performer. Brandon leads and sets a great example for our men’s program!
Head Coach Peter Maki

UNIVERSITY OF MARY

We are excited to have seven returning players from last year's team, five new incoming freshmen and one graduate student. The guys have been playing well this summer and working hard on their golf games. The University of Mary is excited to have an improved team and a larger roster this fall.
Head Coach Laif Olson
Gavin works hard on both his golf game and his academics. He has a 3.9 grade point average and is studying mechanical engineering. We are expecting Gavin to have a successful fall campaign on the golf course.
Head Coach Laif Olson

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CROOKSTON

I am very excited to watch this team as each guy works hard and continues to improve throughout this season. I feel we have added the players necessary to take the next step and be very competitive. We added two tournament tested junior college transfers, two really good freshman who have played in many high end tournaments in their junior careers to go along with our returners. It should be a very exciting 2023-24 season.
Head Coach Brad Heppner
Layton has been a great player for the program during his first two seasons. Layton works extremely hard on his game and has been in the lineup for every event since he arrived on campus. Layton finished in the top 10 at the NSIC Championship as a freshman and t-14th as a sophomore and I look for him to build on that experience this fall. Layton is a great person and just loves to compete.
Head Coach Brad Heppner

MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, MANKATO

We have a great group of guys returning after only graduating one senior last year. We had a very consistent spring and are looking to build off of that.
Head Coach Alex Schmitz
Ben was the 2021-22 NSIC Golfer of the Year. He has recorded 40+ consecutive rounds under 80 and has been the Mavericks leading scoring average for 2+ consecutive seasons. He is a great leader and loves to compete.
Head Coach Alex Schmitz

MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY

Very excited to get this season off and running, have quite a few new faces on the men’s side that should come in and compete for playing time right away, and should provide a much more competitive atmosphere and team overall.
Head Coach Eli Mihalick
We are excited to get Chase rolling at Minot State, he will be a huge benefit to our program with his work ethic, and ability to make an impact in the conference.
Head Coach Eli Mihalick

UNIVERSITY OF SIOUX FALLS

We didn't graduate anyone off last year's team that finished fifth in the conference tournament, so we have some good experienced players returning. If they spent the time working on their games this summer as I hope they did, we may have a chance of moving up and competing with the top teams in the NSIC. I expect Gavin Metz to be one of the top players in the NSIC and I hope junior Jimmy Clark continues to show improvement and be more consistent from round-to-round and tournament-to-tournament. Incoming freshman Riley Larson had a nice high school career, and I am excited to see how he transitions to playing college golf and becoming a really good player for us this year.
Head Coach Wade Merry
Gavin had a tremendous spring season for us, one in which he earned first-team all-conference honors and was one of the top players in our region. He works hard at his game, never mails it in when he's not at his best and is very determined to make his last season at USF a memorable one. At his best, he's capable of finishing at or near the top of every tournament we play.
Head Coach Wade Merry

WINONA STATE UNIVERSITY

We are very excited about this season's team. We lost only starter off last season's starting roster, so we are poised to have a great 2023-24 campaign, as Trenta, Turner, Thomas, and Coahran will all be back for the Warriors. We are also bringing in one of our most talented recruiting classes in history this fall. Ben Mertz, Luke Mass, Logan Chouinard all from Minnesota, along with Diego Olano from El Salvador and Marc Bota from Spain are all great player that have a chance to compete for a starting spot. We have a great group of young men that love to compete, it's going to be a great season.
Head Coach Jeff Straight
Alessandro had a very successful freshman year last season. He made the NCCA Super Regional as an individual. Was the NSIC Player of the Year as well as the NSIC Newcomer of the Year last season. Additionally, he was Winona State's Newcome of the Year for all Men's Sports last season. He has an incredible worth ethic that sets a great example for his teammates to follow. Ale was a competitive gymnast for 10 years and is a very good piano player. We are excited to see what this year will bring for Ale as he continues to improve his game.
Head Coach Jeff Straight
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