NCAA golf fall recap: Title favorites, surprises, disappointments

Another fall season is in the books, and yet, college golf remains a confusing sport to follow.

Scores are spread about multiple websites. The main hub, Scoreboard powered by Clippd, is seemingly powered more by the desire for schools to shell out money or else their tournament-by-tournament results be held captive behind a paywall. Some top programs are lagging in updating their own sites. Fans continue to be met with disservice, even at a time when more college golf tournaments are televised than ever and stars such as Florida State’s Luke Clanton and Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent rake in the NIL dollars.

But let’s try and sift through the mess, shall we? Here’s a best effort in recapping what happened on the golf course this fall:

Men

Who’s the NCAA title favorite? Auburn. This is a tough call. Ole Miss is ranked No. 1. Fourth-ranked Oklahoma had three wins. Arizona State could’ve been ranked No. 1 if not for senior Josele Ballester missing the Hogan Collegiate while playing a DP World Tour event in Spain. But right with those squads are the defending-champion Tigers, ranked third, who didn’t win outside of the East Lake Cup but also didn’t finish worse than third. While the reigning national player of the year, Jackson Koivun, has struggled with consistency, sophomore Josiah Gilbert was arguably a first-team All-American in the fall while all five Auburn regulars are ranked No. 92 or better in the national ranking, including four at No. 31 or better. The Tigers’ depth will continue to be a strength, and once Koivun gets going, Auburn will start winning tournaments again.

If voting today, the Haskins would go to…: Josele Ballester. This was another difficult choice, as North Carolina senior David Ford won twice while not finishing outside the top 8 after a summer in which he battled back and hip injuries. But Ballester, an Arizona State senior and recent U.S. Amateur champion, is actually 2-1 versus Ford so far this season. Ballester topped a stacked field at Olympia Fields and hasn’t finished worse than fifth in three events.

Biggest surprise: LSU. First-year head coach Jake Amos brought in a few of his guys, including Algot Kleen, from East Tennessee State and has immediately turned the Tigers into one of the top teams in the SEC – and seventh in the nation. LSU won twice in the fall, though it wasn’t perfect; most noticeably, in their two worst performances, the Tigers lost to Oklahoma by a combined 42 shots.

Biggest disappointment: Vanderbilt. For the first time in a long time, the Commodores are ranked outside the top 10. At No. 15 in the nation, Vanderbilt got worse every time out after a T-3 to open the fall at Inverness, culminating in an eighth-place showing at Golf Club of Georgia, where Sargent did not compete due to the standout senior “not feeling well.” With Sargent slumping and junior Wells Williams not yet taking that next step, depth is a huge concern behind senior Jackson Van Paris.

Best comeback story: Cohen Trolio. There are some great options around the country, including Indiana’s Clay Merchent and TCU’s Scott Roden. But Trolio, the former prep standout who had been stuck on the bench at LSU in recent seasons, has rediscovered his mojo with three top-9 finishes this fall.

Mid-major minute: Resurgent Pepperdine leads the mid-majors at No. 19 in the country, but Charlotte, at No. 29, isn’t far behind. The 49ers have posted three top-6 finishes while playing a tough schedule, including a fourth-place finish at the Golf Club of Georgia, where Caden Baker was runner-up individually. Some pleasant surprises in at-large territory include No. 48 Kennesaw State, which moved to Conference USA this season and is trying to get back to NCAA regionals for the first time since 2018, and No. 50 Pacific, eyeing its first postseason since 2013 after finishing last at the West Coast Conference Championship twice in the last three seasons. But no team currently in the top 60 has gone longer without a regional berth than No. 53 Furman, which nearly had its program disbanded a decade ago. Harris Barth’s four top-11s have paced the Paladins so far this season.

Keeping an eye on the .500 rule: No. 21 Texas Tech, which has endured the misfortune of Walker Cupper Calum Scott not finishing inside the top 35 yet in three starts, is the highest-ranked team below .500, at 19-25-2. Also below the .500 mark: No. 25 Alabama (22-30-2), No. 38 Oregon (19-30-1), No. 42 Stanford (15-26-3), No. 49 TCU (26-38-1), No. 60 Ohio State (19-22) and No. 65 Clemson (19-37).

Bubble talk: Last season, the magic number for NCAA regional at-large qualification was No. 68. After the fall, Santa Clara is ranked No. 68, followed by Oregon State, St. Mary’s and Arkansas State. No. 76 Chattanooga, No. 82 Michigan State, No. 88 Kentucky, No. 89 Arkansas, No. 99 Baylor, No. 100 North Florida and No. 113 Washington are among the surprises outside of the bubble.

Women

Who’s the NCAA title favorite? Stanford. The Cardinal got a late start to their season, not competing until mid-October, but that didn’t keep them from picking up where they left off last May at La Costa. Stanford is the last remaining unbeaten team in Division I golf, men or women, as it sits atop the national rankings, albeit narrowly over Arkansas, which again has benefitted from running away with its home event at The Blessings. Seven Cardinal are ranked inside the top 50 individually, including all four freshmen and junior Megha Ganne, who didn’t play but one match in Stanford’s first two tournaments before going third-win to cap her fall and is now No. 6 individually.

If voting today, the Annika would go to…: Jasmine Koo. The USC freshman, who entered school as the reigning low amateur of the Chevron Championship, a U.S. Girls’ Junior semifinalist and Curtis Cupper, has three wins at the break. All three of those titles came after her T-19 in her college debut.

Biggest surprise: Arizona. There have been few surprises on the women’s side, at least in the top 10, but the Wildcats, under first-year coach Giovana Maymon, won their fall opener at the Folds of Honor and then capped Maymon’s first semester with a victory over Northwestern at St. Andrews. Former coach Laura Ianello, now at Texas, didn’t leave the cupboard bare, but Maymon has still gotten some inspired play out of senior Carolina Melgrati and sophomore Charlotte Back, both ranked No. 33 or better for the eighth-ranked Wildcats.

Biggest disappointment: UCLA. A season after reaching the NCAA final, the Bruins are in serious trouble. Not only is UCLA ranked No. 28 nationally, but it doesn’t project to get any better as senior Zoe Campos is bolting for the pros midseason and fellow senior Caroline Canales could be right behind her.

Best comeback story: Hannah Darling. The South Carolina standout was in a dark place after being subbed out following an opening 84 at the NCAA Championship last May. She had little clue where her ball was going and didn’t play a stroke-play event this summer. However, some time away and a victorious Curtis Cup performance helped inject some confidence back into the skilled Scot, who won the Annika Intercollegiate to kick off her fall before posting three more top-11 finishes.

Mid-major minute: The usual staples – San Jose State (39) and Pepperdine (48) – have been a little off, which has ceded some of the mid-major spotlight to the likes of No. 37 Georgia Southern, No. 38 UNLV and No. 41 UC Davis. But perhaps no mid-major has exceeded expectations more than Florida Gulf Coast. The No. 56 Eagles won three times in the fall before finishing runner-up at Miami’s event, and now, the program’s first postseason berth is very much in play.

Keeping an eye on the .500 rule: This is the first season in which the .500 rule is in effect for the women, and somewhat surprisingly, there aren’t a ton of top teams behind the eight-ball. No. 28 UCLA (28-31-3), No. 32 Iowa State (28-29-1) and No. 39 San Jose State (22-28-1) are the only top-50 teams below .500.

Bubble talk: A season ago, the magic number for the women fell at No. 52, which currently is below-.500 Washington, which is followed by Texas Tech, Colorado and Virginia Tech. No. 62 Georgia, No. 65 Princeton and No. 67 Michigan are among the surprises outside the bubble.

Who won the biggest events?

Men

SEPTEMBER
Sept. 6-8 – Visit Knoxville Collegiate, Knoxville, Tennessee (LSU)
Sept. 7-8 – Sahalee Players Championship, Sammamish, Washington (ARIZONA STATE)
Sept. 9-10 – Inverness Intercollegiate, Toledo, Ohio (VIRGINIA)
Sept. 9-11 – Folds of Honor Collegiate, Grand Haven, Michigan (ALABAMA)
Sept. 20-22 – Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational, Olympia Fields, Illinois (GEORGIA TECH)
Sept. 21-23 – Valero Texas Collegiate, San Antonio (OKLAHOMA)
Sept. 29-30 – Windon Memorial, Lake Forest, Illinois (ARIZONA)
Sept. 30-Oct. 1 – Ben Hogan Collegiate, Fort Worth, Texas (OKLAHOMA)
Sept. 30-Oct. 2 – Blessings Collegiate, Fayetteville, Arkansas (LSU)

OCTOBER
Oct. 7-9 – Barbara Nicklaus Cup, Dublin, Ohio (FLORIDA)
Oct. 7-8 – Hamptons Intercollegiate, East Hampton, New York (OLE MISS)
Oct. 7-9 – Big 12 Match Play, Hockley, Texas (BYU)
Oct. 14-16 – St. Andrews Links Collegiate, St. Andrews, Scotland (NORTHWESTERN)
Oct. 18-20 – Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate, Alpharetta, Georgia (DUKE)
Oct. 19-21 – Fallen Oak Collegiate, Saucier, Mississippi (OLE MISS)
Oct. 20-22 – Williams Cup, Wilmington, North Carolina (NORTH CAROLINA)
Oct. 21-23 – Jackson T. Stephens Cup, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (OKLAHOMA STATE)
Oct. 26-27 – Steelwood Collegiate, Loxley, Alabama (ILLINOIS)
Oct. 28-30 – East Lake Cup, Atlanta (AUBURN)

NOVEMBER
Nov. 2-4 – Ka’anapali Classic, Lahaina, Hawaii (OKLAHOMA)

Women

SEPTEMBER
Sept. 9-10 – Cougar Classic, Charleston, South Carolina (AUBURN)
Sept. 9-11 – Folds of Honor Collegiate, Grand Haven, Michigan (ARIZONA)
Sept. 9-11 – Annika Intercollegiate, Lake Elmo, Minnesota (SOUTH CAROLINA)
Sept. 16-17 – Leadership and Golf Invitational, University Place, Washington (USC)
Sept. 20-22 – Mason Rudolph Championship, Franklin, Tennessee (VANDERBILT)
Sept. 21-23 – Schooner Fall Classic, Norman, Oklahoma (HOUSTON)
Sept. 30-Oct. 1 – Windy City Collegiate, Wilmette, Illinois (ARIZONA STATE)
Sept. 30-Oct. 1 – Molly Intercollegiate, Seaside, California (STANFORD)
Sept. 30-Oct. 2 – Blessings Collegiate, Fayetteville, Arkansas (ARKANSAS)

OCTOBER
Oct. 7-8 – Illini Women’s Invitational, Medinah, Illinois (OLE MISS)
Oct. 14-15 – Dale McNamara Invitational, Tulsa, Oklahoma (ARKANSAS)
Oct. 14-16 – St. Andrews Links Collegiate, St. Andrews, Scotland (ARIZONA)
Oct. 18-20 – Stanford Intercollegiate, Stanford, California (STANFORD AND USC)
Oct. 21-23 – Jackson T. Stephens Cup, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (ARKANSAS)
Oct. 21-23 – The Ally, West Point, Mississippi (FLORIDA)
Oct. 28-30 – Nanea Invitational, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (STANFORD)
Oct. 28-30 – East Lake Cup, Atlanta (USC)

How’d I do?

POST-FALL RANKS FOR MEN’S PRESEASON TOP 10
1. Auburn – 3
2. Florida State – 31
3. Oklahoma – 4
4. Texas Tech – 21
5. Virginia – 8
6. Vanderbilt – 15
7. Arizona State – 2
8. Florida – 14
9. Illinois – 12
10. Ole Miss – 1

POST-FALL RANKS FOR WOMEN’S PRESEASON TOP 10
1. Stanford – 1
2. Texas – 5
3. USC – 4
4. UCLA – 28
5. South Carolina – 3
6. Auburn – 20
7. Arkansas – 2
8. Oregon – 6
9. Arizona State – 7
10. Northwestern – 9