McNeese's Blake Elliott Named 2018-19 Men's Golfer of the Year
FRISCO, Texas – McNeese’s Blake Elliott is the 2018-19 Southland Conference Men’s Golfer of the Year, the league announced Tuesday alongside the all-conference teams. Southland yearly awards are presented by
Ready Nutrition.
Elliott was voted the Golfer of the Year in addition to earning his second career berth on the All-Conference first team. The McNeese senior finished second overall at the 2019 Southland Conference Championship and helped the Cowboys to a sixth-place team finish after shooting even at 216 across all three rounds. The Liberty Hill, Texas, native recorded a pair of tournament victories throughout his senior campaign, including wins at the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational (Oct. 28-30, 2018) and the 34th Annual Louisiana Classics (Feb. 25-26).
Sam Houston State garnered a pair of individual award winners in Luis Carrera who was named Freshman of the Year and head coach Brandt Kieschnick who was named Southland Coach of the Year for the second-straight season. Carrera closed out the regular season ranked eighth in the conference with a 73.21 scoring average. He tied for 13th overall at the Southland Championship after shooting a 71 in his final round of play. The freshman recorded a season-best round of 67 on two occasions throughout the 2018-19 campaign, once in the opening round of the Border Olympics in Laredo, Texas (March 11-12) and once in the opening round of the Bayou City Collegiate Classic in Pearland, Texas (April 15-16).
Kieschnick led his Bearkat squad to their second consecutive Southland Conference Championship as all five Sam Houston State competitors finished within the top-20 individuals. The Coach of the Year honor marks the fourth of his career for Kieschnick. Sam Houston State’s conference title earned an automatic qualification into the 2019 NCAA Regional Championship at a site to be announced Wednesday, May 1 at 8 p.m. CT.
Sam Houston State landed a trio of golfers onto the All-Conference squads as 2019 Southland Conference medalist Noah Steele and teammate William Holcomb were named first-team selections, while Carrera was voted as a second-team honoree. Holcomb and Steele are each making their second All-Conference appearance.
Lamar joins the Bearkats with a league-best three all-conference members. Cody Banach and Hugo Hellman lead the Cardinals as second-team members, while freshman Kevin Lee is a third-team selection.
Stephen F. Austin’s Angelo Leyvani and Incarnate Word’s John Hill round out the first team selections. Leyvani, a senior from San Antonio, Texas, is making his third appearance on an All-Conference squad. Abilene Christian’s Alex Clouse, third-team honoree, is the final Southland All-Conference selection making a repeat appearance. The Wildcat sophomore is now a two-time selection.
All-Conference teams and individual superlatives are voted on by each league school's head coach and sports information director. Voting for oneself or one's own athletes is not permitted.
2018-19 Southland Conference Men’s Golf All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year: Blake Elliott, McNeese
Freshman of the Year: Luis Carrera, Sam Houston State
Coach of the Year: Brandt Kieschnick, Sam Houston State
First Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
| Blake Elliott2 |
Sr. |
McNeese |
Liberty Hill, Texas |
| Noah Steele^2 |
Jr. |
Sam Houston State |
Kingston, Ontario |
| William Holcomb2 |
Jr. |
Sam Houston State |
Crockett, Texas |
| Angelo Leyvani3 |
Sr. |
Stephen F. Austin |
San Antonio, Texas |
| John Hill |
Jr. |
Incarnate Word |
McQueeney, Texas |
Second Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
| Cody Banach |
Jr. |
Lamar |
Houston, Texas |
| Hugo Hellman |
Fr. |
Lamar |
Salem, Sweden |
| Baker Stevenson |
Sr. |
Nicholls |
Hartland, Mich. |
| Luis Carrera |
Fr. |
Sam Houston State |
Mexico City, Mexico |
| Jake Hendrix |
Sr. |
Stephen F. Austin |
Austin, Texas |
Third Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
| Alex Clouse2 |
So. |
Abilene Christian |
Flower Mound, Texas |
| Kevin Lee |
Fr. |
Lamar |
London, England |
| Jack Hearn |
Fr. |
McNeese |
Carrick-On-Suir, Tipperary, Ireland |
| Max Hellstrom |
Jr. |
New Orleans |
Stockholm, Sweden |
| Joris Etlin |
Sr. |
Southeastern Louisiana |
Frejus, France |
2 – Two-time All-Conference selection
3 – Three-time All-Conference selection
^ – 2019 Southland Championship top finisher
Honorable Mention: Bryce Dooley, Abilene Christian; Jack Randle, Sam Houston State; Sutton Farmer, McNeese; Jackson Smith, New Orleans; Ben Baker, Nicholls; Daniel Dimaculangan, Houston Baptist.