April 11, 2025 • by Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen
College golf is in a true growth phase. More events are televised, athletic departments are investing real resources in their golf programs, and new pipelines like PGA Tour University and the recently introduced LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway are giving players clearer routes to the pros.
While die-hard college golf fans have always been around, the surge of interest from casual fans and investments from athletic departments has raised the stakes for the big schools. And one week in particular means more than in the past – the conference championships.
For outsiders, it’s more captivating going head-to-head with league rivals than a regular season event. Athletic departments take real pride in conference titles as they come with rings, record book ink, bragging rights, and coaching bonuses.
As a former player and coach, this part of the season has always been my favorite. Like other die-hards and casuals, I’ll be glued to the leaderboards over the next couple of weeks to follow all the conference action. But what can we expect from this year’s conference championships? Let’s dive into the toughest ones to predict this year.
One leaderboard I’ll be monitoring is the SEC Men’s Championship. This super-conference only got deeper when Texas and Oklahoma joined last season. On the individual side, the league is riddled with talent and feels like a preview of the PGA Tour. It's also, in my opinion, the hardest conference championship to call this year.
Right now, five of the top-eight teams in the country are SEC programs: Auburn (#1), Texas (#2, above), Ole Miss (#3, below), Lousiana State (#7), and Florida (#8). All of them are undoubtedly capable of winning anywhere they tee it up.
But if I have to start narrowing down, I’m going to my favorite stat: bogey-or-worse percentage. That leaves me with Texas and Auburn as they lead Division I in that metric — 16.0% and 16.4%, respectively. So how do you choose between Ferrari and Red Bull?
Well, Texas might be the hottest team in the country right now. The Longhorns have won four tournaments this spring, including tying for first at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational last weekend. They boast one of the best trios in college golf: Christiaan Maas, Daniel Bennett (above), and Tommy Morrison — all ranked inside the top 11 individually. Not picking the Longhorns feels like shorting Apple stock.
However, my pick is Auburn (above). The defending national and SEC champs are as balanced as any team in the country. Nick Clinard’s squad has seven players ranked inside the top 160 — a luxury that lets him ride the hot hand. Statistically, they’re elite: second in bogey-or-worse percentage, first in limiting doubles, and 5th in par-5 scoring. Their biggest star, Jackson Koivun, is also back to playing great golf.
As if all this wasn’t enough to convince me, the Tigers even lead the nation in hole-in-ones this year! Things are just going right for the Tigers.
The Big 12 Championship on both the women’s and men’s sides is highly intriguing. Pardon my bias — I’ve spent most of my time in college golf in this league — but the new additions have only increased the depth and unpredictability of this conference.
The men’s side has a clearer favorite in my opinion: Oklahoma State (below). The 4th-ranked Cowboys are in form, coming off a tie for first with #1-ranked Texas last week at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational. Further, Alan Bratton’s teams know how to close out championships when they are in form. This year’s Big 12 is being played in state for the Cowboys, at Southern Hills in Tulsa.
Arizona State (#5) is also in form. The Sun Devils have their entire lineup ranked inside the top 100 individually. Their form has been a bit up-and-down this Spring for their standards, but Matt Thurmond’s team is extremely capable of competing for what would be their very first Big 12 title as they joined the conference prior to this season.
I'm really impressed with Utah (#14, above) this year. Garrett Clegg’s men definitely have the firepower to compete in their very first Big 12 Championship. They are second in the nation in par-5 scoring, and 6th in birdie-or-better percentage; both marks are conference-best. However, it will be interesting to see how the Utes handle the conditions that could hit Oklahoma that time of year. I’ve seen five-club winds and even snow during Big 12 Championships before.
On the women's side, the 8th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils (above) are second nationally in bogey-or-worse percentage and par 5 scoring, two stats that mean the conference newbies get my pick.
An outsider to watch is TCU (#15). The Horned Frogs just tied Texas in their home event at Colonial CC. And the program in the country with the most rounds under par this year? Kansas (#22, below). It’s a deep conference with several potential storylines.
The ACC Women’s Championship is about the toughest championships to call. Why? Because it features the biggest front-runner in college golf that I can recall: undefeated Stanford.
The underlying numbers for the Cardinal are almost divine. Anne Walker’s team is #1 in the country in bogey-or-worse percentage while also being #1 in birdie-or-better percentage. To make things even more ridiculous, they lead the country in par-3 scoring, par-4 scoring, and par-5 scoring. It’s simply incredible. The only “blemish” for the Cardinal so far is no hole-in-ones or albatrosses this year. Get it together, Stanford!
With those underlying numbers, I might have wagered the mortgage on Stanford if this championship were decided solely by stroke play. However, the ACCs end in match play, which could make things interesting. If the Cardinal’s unbelievable no-hitter season is going to crack, it’ll likely be in a head-to-head setting, either here or at NCAAs.
So the question is who could pull off the upset? Well, the ACC has depth. Florida State (above), Duke, Virginia, Wake Forest, and North Carolina are all ranked inside the top 15 nationally.
My pick is Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons know the ACC, and they know Sedgefield. Kim Lewellen’s team is the defending ACC champions and were the top seed in stroke play the last time the event was held here, in 2023. While their roster has evolved since then, their current star, Carolina Lopez-Chacarra (above), was part of that team in 2023.
Ninth ranked Wake Forest doesn't have the most convincing underlying numbers. They are all the way down at number 26 in bogey-or-worse percentage this year and 18th in par-5 scoring. However, their top-three players in Lopez-Chacarra, Chloe Kovelesky (above), and Macy Pate are good enough to go up against anybody. Their ACC and Sedgefield familiarity might just be the straw that breaks the Cardinal’s back.
One thing’s for sure: college golf is loaded with talent right now and plenty of programs are hungry for a title. Best of luck to all players and coaches over the next couple of weeks!