NAIA Men
2024/2025 Awards Winners

June 17, 2025 • by Scoreboard / PhotoMediaDB / Dalton State Athletics

Rounding up the NAIA men's award winners from the 2024/25 season. Congratulations to all those listed below on a fine season.


Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Workday

Jack Whaley (Dalton State)

Jack Whaley won five times this season, including the 2025 NAIA Championship that saw him set a tournament record with an opening-round 61. The sophomore from Doncaster, England, finished inside the top three in all nine tournaments for the Roadrunners and tallied a 69.52 scoring average with 14 rounds in the 60s en route to PING First Team All-American and Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Player of the Year honors for the second straight season. 

Whaley, ranked No. 1 via Scoreboard powered by Clippd since at least October 16, is Dalton State’s fourth Nicklaus Award recipient since 2015, joining Ben Rebne (2020), SM Lee (2017-18), and Sean Elliott (2015).

NAIA Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award presented by StrackaLine

Adam Buchanan (Keiser)

Adam Buchanan of Keiser has been named the recipient of the 2025 NAIA Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award presented by StrackaLine.

Ranked 12th via Scoreboard powered by Clippd, Buchanan finished inside the top 10 five times, including winning the Sun Conference Championship by three strokes, and recorded a 72.2 scoring average. 

The Ballyclare, Northern Ireland, native earned Sun Conference Freshman of the Year, All-Sun Conference, PING All-South Region, and PING First Team All-American honors. Buchanan, a member at Royal Portrush Golf Club, finished T21 at the NAIA National Championship.

Dave Williams National Coach of the Year Award presented by Golf Pride Grips

NAIA: Chris Butler (Lindsey Wilson)

Lindsey Wilson collected an NAIA-high eight team victories and 10 top-five finishes in Chris Butler’s second season at the helm. Their wins included the program’s first national championship and second straight Mid-South Conference (MSC) Championship. 

The Blue Raiders and MSC Head Coach of the Year Butler were led on the course by five First Team All-MSC golfers, including PING All-Midwest Region selections Johan Bredenkamp, Rio Saigal, Stanley White, and Toby White. Saigal was named MSC Player of the Year and PING First Team All-American while Stanley White was the MSC Freshman of the Year.

NAIA PING All-Americans

First Team

Adam Buchanan (Keiser), Sam Dykema (Indiana Wesleyan), Grant Ferreira (Southwestern Christian), Tres Hill (Oklahoma City), Jonathan Larson (The Master’s), Patrick Neal (MidAmerica Nazarene), Colin Price (Texas Wesleyan), Rio Saigal (Lindsey Wilson), Vedant Sirohi (Webber International), Jack Whaley (Dalton State)

Second Team

Johan Bredenkamp (Lindsey Wilson), Juan Ignacio Dubra (SCAD Atlanta), Nateesh Ganesh (Keiser), Kevin Latchayya (Campbellsville), Benjamin Lubker (Wayland Baptist), Weston Ogden (Marian (IN)), Lorenzo Santinelli (Oklahoma City), Kolby Shackelford (OUAZ), William Brun Solum (Keiser), Christian Yanovitch (Oklahoma City)

Third Team

Theo Baker (Mount Mercy), Seth Bishop (The Master's), Sacha Brendle (Wayland Baptist), Gavin Dines (Baker), Nick Erickson (OUAZ), Grant Greazel (OUAZ), Joshua Killingsworth (MidAmerica Nazarene), Tyler Latimer (Dalton State), Leonard Lebrun (Wayland Baptist), Liam McEvoy (Lawrence Tech), Ben McFadden (Dalton State), Brady Meek (Texas Wesleyan), Trinton Nobles (Friends), Pontus Nordstrom (Blue Mountain College), Michael Robson (Oklahoma City), Gustav Sandström (OUAZ), Stanley White (Lindsey Wilson)

NAIA All-Freshman Team

Adam Buchanan (Keiser), Nateesh Ganesh (Keiser), Ben McFadden (Dalton State), Brady Meek (Texas Wesleyan), and Stanley White (Lindsey Wilson).