The Georgia Southern men's golf team found out on Wednesday afternoon where they will be heading as they earned an at-large bid to the NCAA regionals and will travel across the country to the Corvallis Regional for the NCAA Men's Golf Championship.
“This is a very competitive team with a competitive vibe that runs through all 11 of us, including the coaches,” said coach Carter Collins. “To have our tee time announced and know where we are going we can now turn our focus to preparing for that.”
This marks the 29th career appearance in the NCAA golf championships for the Eagles all time. The Eagles have now made seven appearances in under Collins and 12 in Collins' tenure on the coaching staff. This year the Eagles have three team titles and five top-five finishes.
“What they have continued to prove all year is consistent,” Collins said. “They have been hard working with their attitudes and preparation and I think that has shown in our results.”
This will mark the Eagles first return to the Regionals since 2023. The only member of this year’s team that has participated in the regionals is senior Parker Claxton who is excited to be able to be back.
“It is a great opportunity ad we are all looking forward to the challenge,” Claxton said. “At the end of the day you have to try and treat it like any other tournament. We have to try and just focus on one shot at a time like any other tournament.”
For the rest of the team, the NCAA championship will be a new adventure. The Eagles will have the longest trip to get to the regionals in Oregon but did play earlier this season in Utah, something the players feel will help them with the travel aspect.
“We are really excited and it’s a privilege to be in the position we are in,” said Eagle senior Morgan Blythe. “It was one of our goals to start the year to be in an NCAA regional we are grateful and excited. I think playing in Utah will help us as far as knowing how to travel and playing in a different climate and time zone. At the same time, it is just another course and we have to remain confident in our abilities.”
The regional is scheduled for May 18-20 at Trysting Tree Golf Club, where the Eagles will compete against 12 other teams and 10 individuals. The Corvallis Regional is one of six in the country. The top five teams and the top individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals, which will be played Friday, May 29 - Wednesday, June 3 at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa| Carlsbad, California.
The Eagles are the ninth seed in the Corvallis Regional, which has a field of Arkansas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Charlotte, UCLA, Notre Dame, San Diego, Purdue, Oregon State, Liberty, Xavier and Sacramento State.
