August 31, 2025 • by Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen
The increased impact of transfers in college golf is evident. All big schools are now using the portal actively in building their rosters. In addition to the increased impact of transfers, the pending case involving roster limits for men’s and women’s golf has strongly affected recruiting.
It’s been a strange year in college recruiting. Many coaches have made preparations for the potential roster limits throughout the year. The dynamics in the recruiting world have resulted in an occasionally chaotic picture of upcoming rosters.
Which teams have picked up transfers, and who are likely to be impact freshmen? I’ll try to point out a few schools with major movement, and also a few other newcomers catching my eye.
Calum Scott and Charlie DeLong.
Adam Bresnu of Morocco (below) will transfer from Odessa CC to Texas Tech this Summer. I fully expect Bresnu to be one of the better players in college golf right away. Last year, he made more birdies than anyone in college golf (179), regardless of division. The 117th-ranked amateur in the world won five times in 2024/25, and finished runner-up at the NJCAA DI Men’s Championship.
He was also awarded the Jack Nicklaus award as the best player in junior college. You might ask about the level at these junior college events. Well, Bresnu has performed on bigger arenas as well, proving his readiness for NCAA DI golf. For example, he’s coming off back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Northeast Am and the North & South Amateur Championships. Further, he also made a cut at the DP World Tour during last season, at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
Matthew Comegys is transferring to the University of Texas. Comegys struggled with injuries last season, but has been a proven player for the Red Raiders in the past. The 78th ranked player in the world (WAGR) was going to be a big piece for Greg Sands.
Sands has signed Brady McHenry and Simon Hovdal. Hovdal of Sweden is ranked in the top-200 in WAGR and is proven at the amateur level. I expect him to contribute to the Red Raiders right away.
I think the Red Raiders will be better this year. Yes, Greg Sands and James Vargas are losing a couple key pieces in Calum Scott and Matthew Comegys. However, they’re bringing in a player I think will be one of the best in the amateur game in not long, plus a good freshman class. The thing is, the proven players leaving didn’t have their best years last year (Comegys injured and Scott didn’t have as strong of a year as his Silver Medal year). Texas Tech finished the season ranked 21st in the Scoreboard rankings and 10th at the National Championship. How much better will the Red Raiders do this season?
Jackson Buchanan
Dane Huddleston and Freddie Turnell
Huddleston was an explosive player for Utah Valley University last year. He’ll be added to Mike Small’s roster with two years of eligibility left following a season where he won five times and finished as the 52nd-ranked player in the country. Huddleston tied for the 13th most rounds under par last year in Men’s DI (23). He’ll be ready to go for the Fighting Illini.
Freddie Turnell is transferring from University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he just completed his first year of collegiate golf. Albeit a bit inconsistent, Turnell impressed during his freshman year – in particular during the spring. He finished runner-up at the Prestige and won Stanford’s tournament, The Goodwin, both are among college golf's biggest and best fields. The Somerset, England native is currently ranked 131st in WAGR - a testament to the level of golf this underclassman is capable of.
Dujuan Snyman
I suspect the excellent Assistant Coach for the Illini, Ruben Sonjaja has been integral in the recruitment of Snyman, an Australian native. Although Snyman is currently ranked outside the top-2000 in WAGR, I suspect there might be some ranking deflation going on here.
Yes, Mike Small is losing a battle-tested player in Jackson Buchanan to graduation. However, the 13th-ranked team from last season will be stronger, in my opinion. Illinois won the NCAA Urbana Regional last year, but followed it up by a disappointing 18th place finish at the National Championship. They were also beaten at the Big Ten Championship by UCLA. Watch out for Illinois as they’ll be fueled by last year, loaded with talent, and coached hard all year.
Three notable superstars are all leaving college golf this Summer to start their PGA Tour careers: David Ford, Luke Clanton, and Gordon Sargent. Notably, all their college coaches are picking up transfers this Summer.
, who made such a memorable run in the US Amateur at Olympic, is transferring from Northwestern to UNC. Donegan is a top-100 ranked player in WAGR and has two years of eligibility left for the Tar Heels. Andrew DiBitetto’s team has lost last year’s National Player of the Year, David Ford, to graduation.
(above) has transferred from Dalton State to Florida State. The English player won five times last year including the 2025 NAIA Men’s Golf Championship. Whaley has struggled at home over the Summer, missing cuts at the St. Andrews Links Trophy and the Amateur Championship. However, it’s clear he is acclimatized to the States, and it will be interesting to see if he and the other Seminoles can pick up where they left off without Luke Clanton.
is transferring from Pacific to Vanderbilt. At the time of writing this article, Astiazaran is the 100th ranked amateur in the world. Astiazaran had the second most rounds under par last year (28), only bettered by WAGR number 1, Jackson Koivun. Without a doubt a very sought after player but can he fill the shoes of Gordon Sargent?
Just like Astiazaran, is headed to Nashville, TN to join the Commodores. The Enicinitas, CA native is the second-ranked 2025 graduate in Junior Golf Scoreboard. Death, taxes, and a super-competitive Scott Limbaugh team loading…
Maybe unsurprisingly, , son of Jonathan Byrd, signed to play for his uncle, Jordan – the Head Coach of the Clemson Tigers. As the top-ranked 2025 graduate in Junior Golf Scoreboard, Jackson will make an immediate impact on the Tigers, who missed Regionals last year.
from Texas is enrolling at defending National Champion Oklahoma State. Guan, who reclassified from 2026 to 2025, has mostly been playing amateur-level tournaments this year. The 115th ranked amateur in the world is a proven player at this level and will add to the depth of the young, incredible Cowboy squad. Confidence, tough coaching, high ambitions, and a deep roster will be the can’t miss recipe in Stillwater for the upcoming season.
The SEC-sharks are predictably well represented in the top-10 signing list according to Junior Golf Scoreboard. Second-ranked will strengthen the Auburn Tigers. JC Deacon is adding proven player and U.S. Junior Amateur Champion to the Florida roster.
University of Texas is also adding a couple top-10 players in the class in and .
Turning our heads to Europe, GCU is adding the highest-ranked 2025 from the European Golf Rankings (U18) that I could find in , who has countless top-10s in the last year, including a fourth-place finish at the Orange Bowl. Cox is outside the top-1000 in WAGR, but I think his quality of play has gone under the radar.
Another such player could be of France, the second-ranked U18 player in the European Golf Rankings. Carlier has signed with the University of Kansas and although his international experience is not too extensive, he has won four times in France in the last year.
I’m excited to follow the fall leaderboards in college golf. Each year, rosters turn over and new constellations are formed. This year, the dynamics in college golf are shifting more than possibly ever, and it will be exciting to see which elite teams will emerge. Stay tuned for my look at women’s DI in the next piece.