5 biggest stories from men's college golf this fall. Who are the championship contenders?
Cameron Jourdan- Several teams, including Florida, Virginia, LSU and Vanderbilt, have established themselves as early contenders for the national title.
- Virginia's Ben James leads the PGA Tour U rankings after a strong fall season.
- South Dakota State's Tyler Seeling shot a 12-under 60, joining a select group of players in college golf history.
And just like that, the first two months of the 2025-26 college golf season is in the books.
It seems like yesterday it was September and college golf teams were kicking off their seasons across the country. Now, outside of a couple tournaments, the sport is going dormant for the next three months until the spring season arrives and teams begin a four-month sprint toward the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.
There was no shortage of action from the fall, whether it was school records going down or teams asserting their dominance heading into the holiday break.
Here are some of the biggest stories from men’s college golf this fall, including the biggest winners from the first two months of the season and more.
Who are the contenders? Florida, Virginia, LSU and more
Perhaps a sign of a fun spring to come is that numerous teams were playing well as the fall season concluded, starting with Florida. The Gators finished 10th of 12 teams in the opening Sahalee Players Championship outside of Seattle. Since then, coach J.C. Deacon has led the Gators to finishes of second, third and victories at the Williams Cup and the East Lake Cup, including knocking off No. 1 Virginia in match play at East Lake Golf Club.
The Cavaliers have also been stout, losing to only one team in four stroke-play events (or 3½, considering East Lake Cup was reduced to 9 holes of stroke play because of weather). The defending national runners-up have looked the part early behind seniors Ben James, ranked first in the NCAA Golf Rankings, and Bryan Lee (No. 8).
LSU also had a three-win fall slate, with sophomore Arni Sveinsson leading the way for the Tigers. Fellow SEC foe Vanderbilt also collected three victories. Don't forget about Oklahoma State, the defending national champions, who have a win and a pair of runner-up finishes when their full lineup. The Cowboys finished 10th at the Fighting Irish Classic but were missing their top two players, Ethan Fang and Preston Stout, who were competing in the World Amateur Team Championship.
Haskins favorites?
In the Player of the Year race, James won the Ben Hogan and finished third in both the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate and Invitational at the Honors Course, earning him the No. 1 spot in the rankings after the fall. Three players in the top 11, Duke's Bryan Kim, Auburn's Josiah Gilbert and Alabama's William Jennings, have each won twice. Southern Illinois leads all of Division I with three victories.
Past winner Jackson Koivun, and the No. 1 amateur in the world, doesn't have a win this year but was trending as the season winded down, with finishes of T-17, T-10 and T-5 this fall.
Ultimately, there's no separation early, but that means an exciting spring is coming in the race for the Haskins Award.
Chase for PGA Tour card
Koivun has a card locked up via PGA Tour University Accelerated, but there's another card that will be handed out at Omni La Costa to the top-finishing senior in the PGA Tour U Class of 2026.
As of now, that's Virginia's James, who has a big lead on second-place Christiaan Maas of Texas. James, who won five times as a freshman in 2022-23, sits at 1,225.47 points, leading Maas by more than 100.
The top spot is by no means locked up, but if James can continue his trend as one of college golf's best players in the spring, the PGA Tour card is his.
Meanwhile, finishers 2-5 earn full Korn Ferry Tour status, and Maas' Texas teammate Tommy Morrison holds only an eight-point advantage for the last spot over Vanderbilt's Wells Williams, whose worst finish this fall was T-10.
Another member of Club 60
There still hasn't been a player to shoot in the 50s in college golf, but in his first tournament of the year, South Dakota State's Tyler Seeling fired the 21st 60 in college golf history. He shot 12-under 60, a round that included three eagles, during the second round of the Island Resort Intercollegiate at Sage Run Golf Club in Michigan.
It seems it's going to happen sooner rather than later, but a 50 is coming in college golf. Even last week, Florida Gulf Coast's Nolan Harper went out in 9-under 28 in Hawaii, a score that is believed to be the lowest 9-hole score in college golf history. Harper finished the round at 7-under 64.
A historic exemption
Two weeks ago, Lee University's Drew Zielinski became the first D-II player ever to win an event and earn an exemption into a PGA Tour event. He won the Golfweek Fripp Island to Bermuda Invitational, and next week he'll tee it up at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.