FRISCO, Texas – Augusta's Cole Stevens followed his successes at the SLC Men's Golf Championship with a historic showing on the league's all-conference ballot. The graduate student earned Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year accolades along with a spot on the Southland All-Conference First Team.
Stevens totaled a scoring average of 71.6 with two top 10 finishes this season, including his low medalist achievement at the conference championship. Teammates Stefan Jacobs and Ryan van der Klis joined the Stevens on the first team while Dawson Booth represented the Jaguars on the second team.
Stevens becomes the first Augusta player to win Player of the Year honors and the first player in the history of the Southland to win Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in the same season.
Augusta head coach Steven Paine joined his star golfer in the superlative category, taking the conference's Coach of the Year award for the second straight season. Paine led the Jaguars to their second straight SLC title and a national rank of 75 heading into the NCAA Men's Golf Championship after a campaign that saw Augusta slotted into the top 10 in every tournament they competed in this season.
Nathan Woodham of Lamar takes Freshman of the Year after finishing in a tie for tenth at the SLC Championship. He is the eighth Cardinal to claim that honor (Gavin Flint, Chris Stroud, Dawie VanDerWalt, Oliver Bekker, Xavier Feyaerts, Luke Jerling, Pedro Marin).
Joining the Augusta trio on the All-Southland First Team are Lamar's Carl Hardin and Francis Marion's Mitchell Vance, both touting top five placements at the SLC Championship.
The second team consists of, UIW's Joe Buenfeld, Augusta's Dawson Booth, HCU's Ben Caton, Southeastern's Grayson Glorioso and New Orleans' Matt Weber.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Cole Stevens, Augusta
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Nathan Woodham, Lamar
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Cole Stevens, Augusta
COACH OF THE YEAR: Steven Paine, Augusta
FIRST TEAM
| Player |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Cole Stevens |
Augusta |
So. |
Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Stefan Jacobs * |
Augusta |
So. |
Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Ryan van der Klis |
Augusta |
Gr. |
Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Mitchell Vance |
Francis Marion |
Sr. |
Hartsville, S.C. |
| Carl Hardin |
Lamar |
Sr. |
Loddekopinge, Sweden |
SECOND TEAM
| Player |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Dawson Booth |
Augusta |
Sr. |
Augusta, Ga. |
| Joe Buenfeld |
UIW |
Jr. |
Southampton, England |
| Ben Caton |
HCU |
Sr. |
Fife, Scotland |
| Matt Weber |
New Orleans |
Jr. |
Lafayette, La. |
| Grayson Glorioso |
Southeastern |
Sr. |
Metairie, La. |