Ben Carr was named the Sun Belt Golfer of the Year, Carter Collins was named Coach of the Year and Wilson Andress, Parker Claxton and Mason Williams earned All-Sun Belt accolades in a vote by the league's 14 head coaches, the conference announced yesterday.
Carr was named first-team All-Sun Belt for the third consecutive season and earns all-league kudos for the fourth time. Andress and Williams joined their teammate on the All-Sun Belt First Team. It's the second straight first-team all-conference selection for Williams and his third time being named all-conference. Andress earns first-team All-Sun Belt accolades for the first time after being named third-team all-league a season ago.
Carr is the top-ranked golfer in the Sun Belt, according to Golfstat, with a No. 16 national ranking and ranks 20th in the PGA Tour University rankings. The fifth-year senior leads the league in scoring average (69.78), has carded par or better in 19 of 27 rounds and has seven top-10 finishes this season, including four in the top-five and a win at the Schenkel Invitational. He finished sixth individually at the Sun Belt Championship and won both matches in match play, improving his career record at the SBC Championship to 6-1. Carr is a two-time Sun Belt Golfer of the Week this season and was named the SwingU National Division I College Player of the Month in March. He was the runner-up at the U.S. Amateur this past August, earning an invitation to the Masters and an exemption to the U.S. Open, and was the second-lowest amateur among seven competitors at The Masters.
Williams is the second-highest ranked player in the Sun Belt, according to Golfstat, and ranked 68th nationally. The fifth-year senior ranks second in the league in scoring average (70.00) and has five top-10 finishes and three top-5s this season, including a T1 at the Gators Invitational and third-place finish at Sun Belt Championship. He has shot par or better in 22 of 30 rounds and was named Sun Belt Men's Golfer of the Week Feb. 17.
Andress is the eighth-highest ranked player in the Sun Belt, according to Golfstat, and ranks fifth in the league in scoring average (71.17). The fifth-year senior has three top-10 finishes this season, including his first collegiate win in the Gopher Invitational, and five top-25 finishes. Andress has shot par or better in 19 of 30 rounds.
Claxton is the ninth-highest ranked player in the Sun Belt, according to Golfstat, and the highest ranked freshman. He ranks 11th in the league in scoring average (72.08) and has shot par or better in 10 of 24 rounds. Claxton has two top-10 finishes, including his first collegiate win at the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate, and three top-20s. He tied for 15th at Sun Belt Championship and won both of his matches in match play.
Collins guided Georgia Southern to a runner-up finish at the Sun Belt Conference Championship and led the Eagles to four team tournament stroke-play victories, including the Sun Belt Championship, and a 3-1 record in match play on the season. The Eagles currently are ranked No. 26 in Golfstat's most recent rankings and No. 20 in the Bushnell/Golfweek DI Coaches Poll.
The Eagles await word on an at-large bid to their 28th NCAA Championship. The selection show will air on the GOLF Channel Wednesday, May 3, at 1 p.m., when the participants for NCAA Regionals May 15-17 will be announced. The regional sites are: Auburn, Alabama - Auburn University Club (Auburn, host), Salem, South Carolina - The Cliffs at Keowee Falls (Clemson, host), Bath, Michigan - Eagle Eye Golf Club, (Michigan State, host), Las Vegas, Nevada - Bear's Best Las Vegas (UNLV, host), Norman, Oklahoma - Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club (Oklahoma, host) and Morgan Hill, California - The Institute Golf Club (San Jose State, host).
2023 Sun Belt Men's Golf Awards
Golfer of the Year: Ben Carr, Georgia Southern
Newcomer of the Year: Cameron Clarke, Southern Miss
Freshman of the Year: Hugo Thyr, South Alabama
Coach of the Year: Carter Collins, Georgia Southern
All-Sun Belt First Team
Ben Carr, Georgia Southern
Brantley Scott, Troy
Mason Williams, Georgia Southern
Seth Taylor, Coastal Carolina
Cameron Clarke, Southern Miss
Wilson Andress, Georgia Southern
All-Sun Belt Second Team
Luka Naglic, Arkansas State
Malan Potgieter, Louisiana
Otto VanBuynder, ULM
Parker Claxton, Georgia Southern
Ryan Dupuy, Southern Miss
Jack Hearn, South Alabama
All-Sun Belt Third Team
Hugo Thyr, South Alabama
Tyler Jones, Marshall
Thomas Schmidt, Arkansas State
Robbie Latter, Southern Miss
Daniel Cheng, James Madison
Kasper Nyland, Texas State