College Golf’s Elite Battle for Prestigious Haskins Award
The race for college golf’s most unique player of the year honor is heating up, and it’s shaping up to be quite a showdown.
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Arizona State’s Josele Ballester has been on fire this fall. The senior grabbed a huge win at Olympia Fields and hasn’t slowed down, adding two more top-5 finishes to his impressive run.
But he’s got serious competition from North Carolina’s David Ford. The Tar Heel senior has already claimed two tournament victories this fall.
What makes the Haskins Award special? It’s the only major college golf award where current players and coaches get a vote, along with media members and past winners. Think of it as golf’s version of the Heisman – voted on by those who know the game best.
The defending national champions at Auburn have made quite a statement, placing three players on the 25-man watch list. That includes sophomore Jackson Koivun, who’s trying to do something incredibly rare – win the Haskins Award in back-to-back years.
Here’s who made the cut for the fall watch list:
- Arizona State: Josele Ballester, Connor Williams
- Auburn: Josiah Gilbert, Jackson Koivun, Brendan Valdes
- LSU: Algot Kleen, Arni Sveinsson
- Texas: Christiaan Maas, Tommy Morrison
- UCLA: Pablo Ereno, Omar Morales
Other standouts include Illinois’ Jackson Buchanan, Virginia’s Ben James, and Army’s John Heckel Jr. – who’s looking to become the first service academy player to win the award.
The spring season will be crucial as these players battle for college golf’s most prestigious individual honor. With so much talent on display, we could be in for some incredible golf over the next few months.
