Big Ten Team Previews
Michigan State Men
By Michael Carey
This year’s edition of the Green & White will have a decidedly different look than its representation at the last 8 consecutive NCAA finals, but one that head coach Casey Lubahn is excited about as the season gets underway. Graduation took away three of the team’s top four players – with All-Big Ten honorees Drew Hackett, August Meekhof and Brad Smithson – but the cupboard is not bare for the Spartans.
Leading the way is senior Ashton McCulloch, the 2023 Canadian Amateur Champion who led the team with a 70.89 scoring average that was the best single-season mark in program history, besting the mark of 71.33 set by former U.S. Amateur champ James Piot in 2021. He enters his senior year with a 71.74 career scoring average that ranks as the top mark in program history.
McCulloch is also coming off a stellar summer, advancing to the Round of 16 in the U.S. Amateur, finishing as the runner-up at the Canadian Amateur, posting top-10 finishes in two other top amateur events, while also qualifying to play in the U.S. Open and the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA Tour.
Sophomores Lorenzo Pinili, the former Mr. Golf Michigan, appeared in all 13 tournaments and carried a 74.35 scoring average, while Lucas Acevedo made eight appearances, including the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional.
Lubahn also welcomes Caleb Bond, a native of nearby Williamston, who spent his first two years at Ferris State and helped lead the Bulldogs to a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Division II National Championships last season.
They will all get a push from a talented group of freshmen: East Lansing native Drew Miller, the 2022 Michigan Player of the Year; and Joe Canitano, a native of the Atlanta area who helped lead Rivers Academy to three national titles and two state titles in Georgia. Julian Menser, a product of Detroit Catholic Central, won the Michigan Division I boys golf state final and qualified to play in the U.S. Amateur. Juan Carlos Velasquez, a native of Colombia, comes to East Lansing with a wealth of international experience and played in the USGA Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills in July.
Michigan State Women
By Michael Carey
Michigan State made a run through the postseason last spring and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the 16th time in program history and the 14th under Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, who is going on 30 years at the helm – and is fresh off another GAM Women’s Senior championship title as her competition career continues.
Expectations for the coming season will be no different for the Spartans – who return two of the team’s top three scorers – seniors Katie Lu and Brooke Bierman – and four of the five scoring players from a team that finished as the runner up at the Big Ten Championships, placed third in the NCAA East Lansing Regional and tied for 17th at the NCAA Championships, narrowly missing a chance to advance to the final match round.
Lu had one of the best seasons in program history, earning honorable mention All-America honors after leading the team with a 71.54 scoring average, the second-best single-season mark in program history. A First Team All-Big Ten selection, Lu won two events and posted 11 top-20 finishes in 13 events last year. Lu was one of three Spartans to play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur over the summer.
Classmate Biermann has been one of the program’s most consistent scorers in her career. She was third on the team last year with a 73.16 average, winning one event and posting six top-20 finishes. Biermann, who won the Missouri state amateur title and played in the U.S. Women’s Amateur, ranks third all-time at Michigan State with a 73.31 career scoring average.
Senior Shannon Kennedy, who won Michigan Women’s Amateur and also played in the U.S. Amateur, appeared in all 13 tournaments last year and carried a 75.70 scoring average.
Paula Balanzategui had a breakout sophomore year for the Spartans, finishing fourth on the team with a 74.37 scoring average. She was second on the team in rounds played (38) and had four top-20 finishes. Sophomores Ana Sofia Murcia and Ella Weber each made four tournament appearances in their first year on campus and are expected to push for spots in the lineup this year.
University of Michigan Men
By Tom Wywrot
The University of Michigan men's golf team continued its upward trend under the guidance of head coach Zach Barlow. With a solid mix of veteran experience and six underclassmen hungry to crack the line-up, the 2024-25 season is shaping up to be another step forward. The Wolverines are led by All-Big Ten first-teamer Hunter Thomson, who helped the Wolverines return to the NCAA postseason with his regional invitation in 2024.
With his 70.56 scoring average, Thomson set a new Wolverine single-season record, topping Kyle Mueller's 70.76 average in the 2017-18 season. They are the only two Wolverines to average below 71 in program history. He won his first collegiate event at the Palmas del Mar Collegiate with a career-low 201 (68-69-64) 54-hole total.
Ben Hoagland returns after a career year in 2023-24. His 72.61 scoring average was a career-low by just over two shots (74.96; 2022-23) and he posted five sub-par 54-hole totals, including a career-low 206 (-10) at the Island Resort Intercollegiate. Adding to U-M's veteran list is Yuqi Liu, one of four Wolverines to play in every event, who finished with a career-low 73.81 per round average.
U-M Head Coach Zach Barlow
"We have a great mix of players. The roster is mainly comprised of underclassmen, however, we have a ton of experience with four seniors. So, we feel we cover all aspects of a solid roster from top to bottom. I’m excited to watch those seniors leave their legacy in this program. They’ve done a great job buying in and laying the groundwork for us to have some success this year and in the future. We hit the ground running, as we play every week in September. So, they will have the competitive juices flowing at a high level. We can't wait for that."
Key Tournaments
Sept. 9-10: Inverness Intercollegiate (Toledo, Ohio)
Sept. 16-17: Canadian Collegiate Invitational (MacTier, Ontario)
Sept. 20-22: Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational (Olympia Fields, Ill.)
Feb. 9-11: Puerto Rico Classic (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico)
March 7-8: Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
University of Michigan Women
By Tom Wywrot
Coach Jan Dowling and her University of Michigan women's golf team turn the page in 2024-25 as the Wolverines move on to a new chapter following the departure of U-M greats Monet Chun and Hailey Borja and three experienced veterans. However, with an influx of experience, four signees, and the return of assistant Mandi Unruh, Dowling's Wolverines are looking forward to the next legacy moment.
Last season, Michigan made its fifth straight trip to an NCAA regional and celebrated Chun, who won her second Big Ten title, was named the Big Ten Golfer of the Year, and earned WGCA All-American honors. Now, juniors Lauren and Sydney Sung return to guide U-M. Lauren started eight of her 10 events while setting a new career-best scoring average (75.23), while her twin sister, Sydney, started seven of her nine events and lowered her prior best scoring average by nearly a stroke and a half (76.00).
Fresh off a summer trip to her first U.S. Women's Amateur and advancement to match play, Mara Janess is ready to carry the confidence gained from the USGA event into her second full season. Another key for Michigan will be the addition of a strong freshman class -- Thomasine Bartholdson (Sweden), Mimi Guo (New Zealand), Jenna Shilts (Illinois), and Suzie Tran (Washington). All four will have opportunities to contribute from the first day.
Head Coach Jan Dowling
"This upcoming season is turning over a new leaf for our program. With five players departing, four incoming freshmen, and the return of assistant coach Mandi Unruh, it is an exciting time for our program! This season is a chance to relish our well-earned history, yet write new chapters and a year of opportunity. With Hailey Borja and Monet Chun departing as two of the greatest all-time golfers at Michigan, we certainly will lean on our upperclassmen to set their tone while they honor and use the lessons they learned from such great team members. We … believe our freshmen class brings a pretty powerful punch."
Key Tournaments:
Sept. 22-23: Mary Fossum Invitational (East Lansing, Mich.)
Oct. 11-13: Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Oct. 28-30: Nanea Tournament (Kailua Kona, Hawaii)
March 7-9: Gators Invitational (Gainesville, Fla.)
March 28-30: Chattanooga Classic (Ooltewah, Tenn.)
