The Mississippi State and Ole Miss men’s golf teams earned berths Wednesday in NCAA Championships.
MSU and Ole Miss will be paired in the College Station Regional at Traditions Club on May 14-16 in Bryan, Texas. It is MSU’s first NCAA appearance since 2014.
“Our guys showed toughness and resiliency all year and it’s nice to see them rewarded for it,” MSU coach Dusty Smith said. “I am just so happy for the guys.”
The Bryan Regional also features Baylor, Clemson, Kentucky, UCLA, South Carolina, San Francisco, Georgia, UNC-Wilmington, Northern Colorado, Bradley, and Texas A&M. MSU is the 10th seed in the regional.
Ole Miss, which will be the sixth seed, earned its berth after being ranked in the top 50 throughout the year. Playing in 11 tournaments, Ole Miss finished in the top five in seven of them.
“We are really excited to be selected to NCAA Regionals,” Ole Miss coach Chris Malloy said. “This tournament berth is a testament to the hard work the guys have put in throughout the season. Now, it’s time to prepare as we embark on our quest for a national championship.”
MSU’s earned four-straight top-five finishes to end the regular season. It finished 12th at the Southeastern Conference Championship.
MSU’s last NCAA Championships appearance came at Rich Harvest Farms, Sugar Grove, Illinois, when the team finished 12th out of 14 teams.
This is the 11th time in program history Ole Miss has earned a trip to the NCAA Regional Championships. The Rebels are No. 31 in Golfweek’s national rankings and No. 32 in Golfstat’s national poll.
Reigning national champion Braden Thornberry, who is ranked No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, will lead the Rebels. He has four individual victories this season.
Up for the Fred Haskins Award (reigning award winner), the Ben Hogan Award and the Jack Nicklaus Award, Thornberry ranks fifth nationally in Golfstat’s adjusted scoring average (69.89).
The field for the NCAA Championships was revealed during a live selection show on Golf Channel, which will broadcast the national championship at the end of the month. Eighty-one teams and 45 individuals were split up among six regional sites: Stockton, California; Kissimmee, Florida; Raleigh, North Carolina; Columbus, Ohio; Norman, Oklahoma; College Station (Bryan), Texas.
The top five teams at the College Station Regional will advance to the national championships on May 25-30 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The event will feature 36 teams and six individuals.
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