FRISCO – Augusta University’s Bo Blanchard was named the Southland Conference Men's Golf Player of the Year, while Jaguars' Head Coach Steven Paine was named Coach of the Year, headlining the league's all-conference selections announced Thursday.
Viggo Hed of Southeastern Louisiana University was named the Conference's Freshman of the Year.
Blanchard won the 2025 Southland Men's Golf Individual Championship and will participate, along with the rest of the Augusta men, in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. Blanchard is ranked 196th in the nation with a stroke average of 70.9 on the season. Blanchard has six top 25 finishes on the year and 19 rounds where he shot 72 or better. At the SLC Men's Golf Championship, Blanchard was outstanding with a 66-67-67 to shoot 16 under par and win the individual title by four strokes. In addition to Player of the Year, Blanchard was also named Newcomer of the Year.
Hed led Southeastern with a 72.5 stroke average over 26 rounds and was named SLC Golfer of the Month for September 2024. He shot under par in each of his first four tournaments and picked up a victory at the Husky Intercollegiate. He also finished third in the season-opening Grover Classic with a season-low 209 (-7). All told, the freshman had six top-20 finishes in his debut season in Hammond and was ranked 878th in the country. He also had three match-play wins at the South Texas and Bayou Oaks Match Play events, helping SLU to a victory at the Bayou Oaks.
In his third season, Steven Paine earned his third consecutive Coach of the Year honor for leading the Jaguars to their third straight Southland title. Currently ranked No. 106, Paine coaches four all-conference players, including Player of the Year Bo Blanchard, first teamers Stefan Jacobs and Chapman Barnett, and second teamer Pieter Rossouw.
Joining the Augusta trio on the first team is Ken-Marten Soo of UIW and Arthit Kruaprayong of UTRGV.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Bo Blanchard, Augusta
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Viggo Hed, Southeastern
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Bo Blanchard, Augusta
COACH OF THE YEAR: Steven Paine, Augusta
FIRST TEAM
| Player |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Bo Blanchard |
Augusta |
R-Jr. |
Columbus, Ga. |
| Stefan Jacobs |
Augusta |
Jr. |
Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Ken-Marten Soo |
UIW |
Sr. |
Tallinn, Estonia |
| Chapman Barnett |
Augusta |
So. |
Alpharetta GA |
| Arthit Kruaprayong |
UTRGV |
Jr. |
Bangkok, Thailand |
SECOND TEAM
| Player |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Joe Bunefeld |
UIW |
Gr. |
Southampton, England |
| David Schneider Jerez |
Lamar |
Jr. |
Fuengirola, Spain |
| Esteban Gonzalez |
UTRGV |
So. |
Edinburg, Texas |
| Pieter Rossouw |
Augusta |
Fr. |
Paarl, South Africa |
| Viggo Hed |
Southeastern |
Fr. |
Halmstad, Sweden |