It’s not often that three Colorado-based men’s Division I golf teams advance to NCAA Regionals in the same season, but the Centennial State hit the mark this year. That’s not a bad percentage considering there are only five NCAA DI men’s golf teams in the state.
On Wednesday on a national selection show televised by the Golf Channel, the University of Colorado, Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado punched their tickets to Regionals, which will be held May 14-16.
It will be CSU’s first trip as a team to Regionals since 2012 and UNC’s first since 2014. Meanwhile, CU will be going for the sixth straight year.
The Buffs — who finished second in the Pac-12 tournament, their best showing at a conference meet since 2009 — landed the seventh seed out of 13 teams in the Stockton, Calif., Regional. CU is led by senior Yannik Paul, who’s garnered first-team All-Pac-12 honors, a first for the program since it joined the conference in 2011.
The CSU Rams, runners-up in the Mountain West Conference for the second straight year, are seeded eighth out of 14 teams in the Kissimmee, Fla. Regional. CSU coach Christian Newton recently was named the Mountain West Conference’s Men’s Golf Coach of the Year.
And the UNC Bears, who won a conference team title (the Big Sky in this case) for the first time since 2014, are seeded 12th out of 13 teams in the Bryan, Texas Regional.
In addition, University of Denver senior and Colorado resident Chris Korte landed a berth as an individual at the Norman, Okla., Regional. Korte has won both the CGA Amateur and CGA Match Play. Another Coloradan competing in NCAA Regionals will be Josh Seiple, whose Ole Miss team is seeded sixth in Bryan, Texas.
Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Mark Crabtree, the coach at Louisville (and formerly at CSU), saw his Cardinals draw the No. 9 seed in Columbus, Ohio.
The top five team finishers — and the top individual not on one of those teams — from each Regional will advance to the NCAA Championship Finals, set for May 25-30 in Stillwater, Okla.
In all, there are six NCAA Division I Men’s Regional sites, and a total of 81 teams and 45 individuals will compete there.
During Golf Channel’s hour-long selection show, selection show watch parties hosted by both CSU and UNC were among those that drew TV drop-ins from the network.
For all the complete NCAA Regional fields, CLICK HERE.
