aubiefifty 18,508 Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 cullmantribune.com Auburn men’s golf sweeps SEC yearly awards - The Cullman Tribune Nick Griffin 6–7 minutes Auburn’s Men’s Golf Team swept this season’s major SEC awards. (Todd Drexler/AU Athletics) BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After a record-smashing regular season that culminated in the program’s fifth Southeastern Conference Championship, No. 1 Auburn men’s golf was recognized by the league with nine yearly SEC honors, including a sweep of the three major awards. Tigers head coach Nick Clinard was voted SEC Coach of the Year while rookie Jackson Koivun captured both SEC Freshman of the Year and SEC Player of the Year. Koivun and junior Brendan Valdes earned nods on the All-SEC First Team while senior J.M. Butler made the second team. Koivun and fellow rookie Josiah Gilbert also made the conference’s All-Freshman squad. Junior Ryan Eshleman was rewarded for his involvement and high character with an appearance on the SEC Community Service Team. For Clinard, it’s his second coach of the year title and first since 2018. He joins Sonny Dragoin (1976, 1981) and Mike Griffin (1995, 1997, 2001, 2002) as the third head coach in program history to win the award on multiple occasions. Koivun becomes the sixth Auburn man to win SEC Freshman of the Year and the second to win SEC Player of the Year. He is the first Tiger to win both in the same season, a feat previously accomplished just twice in the league’s history. Alabama’s Justin Thomas and Robby Shelton swept the awards in 2012 and 2014, respectively. It is the program’s first overall player of the year winner in nearly 30 seasons. Iain Steel (1994-95) was the initial Tiger to don the crown in 1995. Prior freshmen of the year include Hiroshi Matsuo (1988), Jimmy Green (1989), Shane Supple (1990), Ben Schlottman (2015) and Brandon Mancheno (2018). In his first season as a collegiate golfer, Koivun has amassed a 69.15 scoring average, two wins, nine top-five finishes, 24 subpar rounds and is ranked fourth in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). Joining Koivun as one of the eight players named to the league’s first team is Valdes. The Orlando, Florida product was a force to be reckoned with this season after collecting a win of his own alongside eight top-10 finishes, 22 subpar rounds and a 70.12 scoring average. Valdes is the third-highest SEC player in the most recent Scoreboard/Clippd rankings. It is the second consecutive season with an appearance on the league’s first team for Valdes. On the All-SEC Second Team, Butler was an undeniable pick after closing the season on a hot streak. He picked up two wins in his final four tournaments and secured the match-clinching point for the Tigers in their SEC Quarterfinal match against No. 9 Alabama. On the year, the Louisville, Kentucky native owns five top-10 finishes, 15 subpar rounds and a 71.63 scoring average. Butler officially closes his Auburn career as a four-time All-SEC player, joining Bill Bergin (1978-81) as the only two men in program history with all-conference honors every season of their career. Two of the league’s top newbies, Koivun and Gilbert represent Auburn’s seventh and eighth recognitions as the duo was voted to the seven-man all-freshman team. It marks the fifth consecutive season the Tigers have been represented with a rookie on the list. In just his second start of the season, Gilbert was instrumental in the Tigers’ success at the 2024 SEC Championship as he went 3-0 in his match play, including a dominant performance in the title-clinching match versus the 2023 SEC Player of the Year, Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent. Gilbert posted a 71.86 scoring average in his first season on The Plains bolstered by five top-10 outings and 14 subpar rounds. Finally, Eshleman was Auburn’s representative on the SEC Community Service Team for the second year in a row. He serves as the Community Engagement Chair of Auburn’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and has partnered with the Jason Dufner Foundation, the Auburn Food Bank and Toys for Tots. All SEC yearly awards are determined by a vote from the league’s 14 head coaches. No. 1 Auburn looks to continue is white-hot play at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional, May 13-15, at LSU’s University Club in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The top five teams from the regional will earn a ticket to the 2024 NCAA Championship slated for May 24-29 at the Omni La Costa Champions Course in Carlsbad, California. PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jackson Koivun, Auburn FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Jackson Koivun, Auburn COACH OF THE YEAR Nick Clinard, Auburn FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC Jackson Koivun, Auburn Michael La Sasso, Ole Miss Jack Lundin, Missouri Brendan Valdes, Auburn Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt Matthew Riedel, Vanderbilt Jacob Skov Olesen, Arkansas Cole Sherwood, Vanderbilt SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC Phichaksn Maichon, Texas A&M Jake Hall, Tennessee Bryce Lewis, Tennessee Alex Goff, Kentucky Ian Gilligan, Florida J.M. Butler, Auburn Jackson Van Paris, Vanderbilt Ben van Wyk, Georgia ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM Jackson Koivun, Auburn Jack Turner, Florida Josiah Gilbert, Auburn Camden Smith, Georgia Jay Mendell, LSU Thomas Curry, Arkansas Bruce Murphy, Tennessee COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM Thomas Ponder, Alabama Kaelen Dulany, Arkansas Ryan Eshleman, Auburn Rylan Shim, Florida Caleb Manuel, Georgia Tanner Parks, Kentucky Connor Gaunt, LSU Tom Fischer, Ole Miss Jack Lundin, Missouri Rafe Reynolds, South Carolina Vishnu Sadagopan, Texas A&M Jackson Van Paris, Vanderbilt 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 18,508 Posted May 14 Author Share Posted May 14 we are badass..............just think how much better we would be with golf coaching. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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