Auburn men’s golf, the defending national champions, is set to start the season where they finished just a few months ago with the No. 1 ranking the Golf Channel announced Wednesday in its annual preseason poll.
Carson Bacha, Josiah Gilbert, Jackson Koivun and Brendan Valdes were named preseason All-Americans. Koivun and Valdes were named to the first team while Bacha and Gilbert appeared on the third team.
The Tigers are one of nine SEC teams that made an appearance in the Golf Channel’s preseason poll. Auburn is followed by No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 6 Vanderbilt, No. 8 Florida, No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 12 Texas, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 18 LSU and No. 23 Alabama.
Last season, the Tigers pieced together its most magical run in program history, racking up 10 team wins, including seven in a row that culminated in the program’s first NCAA Championship. Auburn also won its fifth SEC title and third NCAA Regional title.
Head coach Nick Clinard, the 2024 Dave Williams DI National Coach of the Year, returns Koivun, Valdes, Bacha and Gilbert while adding freshman Billy Davis – brother of Auburn women’s golf’s Anna Davis.
Koivun and Valdes led the squad as GCAA First Team All-Americans. Both were also named First Team All-SEC. Koivun racked up the following honors in just his freshman season; SEC Freshman of the Year, SEC Player of the Year, the Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award, the Ben Hogan Award, the Jack Nicklaus Award and the Fred Haskins Award.
Bacha and Gilbert also played important roles in the team’s postseason push as they combined for six match wins at the SEC and NCAA Championships. Gilbert was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
The Tigers will start their title defense in just under a week on Monday, Sept. 9 at the Inverness Intercollegiate in Toledo, Ohio. Auburn’s 2024-25 campaign also has stops at the Valero Texas Collegiate at TPC San Antonio on Sept. 21-23, the East Lake Cup at the East Lake Golf Club on Oct. 28-30 and the Amer Ari Invitational at Mauna Lani Golf Club on Feb. 6-8.
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Patrick is a junior from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2022.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @patrickabingham
