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Cameron Jourdan

Meet the golfers on the 2023-24 Haskins Award preseason watch list

College golf is back, which means it’s time to look at Player of the Year candidates.

The Haskins Award presented by Stifel honors the player of the year in college men’s golf, as selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media.

Last year, Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg took home the honor. This season, a new host of players will vie for the Heisman Trophy of college golf, including the world’s top-ranked amateur and the reigning U.S. Amateur champion.

On Tuesday, the Haskins Foundation announced its 2023-24 Haskins Award preseason watch list. The players are listed alphabetically. Players on the Haskins Award Watch List were selected by a panel of Golfweek and Golf Channel writers.

Here’s a look at the 25 golfers on the preseason watch list.

Cole Anderson, Florida State

Amateur Cole Anderson plays his shot from the 12th tee during the final round of the Live and Work in Maine Open at Falmouth Country Club on June 26, 2022 in Falmouth, Maine. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

A 2023 second-team All-American, Anderson heads into his senior year off a summer where he appeared in the Arnold Palmer Cup and made it to the Round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur.

Josele Ballester, Arizona State

Arizona State golfer Jose Luis Ballester plays his tee shot on the first hole during the first round of the 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-Arizona Republic)

Ballester will be a focal point in a strong Arizona State lineup this fall, as he’s coming off a summer where he won the European Amateur Championship and was a member of the International Palmer Cup team.

Michael Brennan, Wake Forest

Michael Brennan motions to his putt on hole 15 during the second round of stroke play of the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills C.C. in Cherry Hills Village, Colo. on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. (Kathryn Riley/USGA)

Last spring, Brennan captured the individual ACC title and has won six times in his career. He also played in the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. 

Luke Clanton, Florida State

Florida State’s Luke Clanton. (Photo: Florida State Athletics)

Clanton, 12th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, finished third at the Northeast Amateur, fourth at the Sunnehanna Amateur and made match play at the U.S. Amateur. He’ll be a sophomore, and he won the NCAA Regional as a freshman in the spring.

Nick Dunlap, Alabama

Nick Dunlap holds up the Havemeyer Trophy after winning the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills C.C. in Cherry Hills Village, Colo. on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (Kathryn Riley/USGA)

Dunlap claimed his throne on top of the amateur golf world this summer, winning the U.S. Amateur after wins at the Northeast Amateur and North & South Amateur. The sophomore was also on the 2023 Walker Cup team. 

Mats Ege, East Tennessee State

Mats Ege of Norway plays his tee shot on the 9th hole during Day Three of the 2022 World Amateur Team Golf Championships – Eisenhower Trophy competition at Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Breteche on September 2, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

The fifth-year senior earned Southern Conference Player of the Year last season and set the single-season program record for scoring average (70.00). Was also a member of the International Palmer Cup team.

Caden Fioroni, UNLV

Caden Fioroni hits an approach shot on hole two during the second round of stroke play of the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills C.C. in Cherry Hills Village, Colo. on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. (Kathryn Riley/USGA)

Fioroni made match play at both the Western Amateur and the U.S. Amateur. Last year, he won the Patriot All-America Invitational in Arizona, as well.

David Ford, North Carolina

David Ford watches his tee shot on hole 16 during a practice round ahead of the 2023 Walker Cup at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Chris Keane/USGA)

Ford, ranked fourth in WAGR, enters his junior season off a Round of 16 appearance at the U.S. Amateur and appearances on the 2023 Walker Cup and Palmer Cup teams. 

Nick Gabrelcik, North Florida

Nick Gabrelcik won the 117th Southern Amateur shooting 8-under 64 in the final round. (Photo: Southern Golf Association)

Gabrelcik begins his senior year at North Florida as the most decorated golfer in school history, and he had a strong summer, making the Round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur and playing in the Walker Cup.

Ian Gilligan, Florida

Ian Gilligan has two wins this fall for Long Beach State. (Photo: LBSU Athletics)

One of the biggest transfers of the offseason, Gilligan heads to the defending national champs from Long Beach State, where he earned second-team All-America honors as a sophomore. 

Andrew Goodman, Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s Drew Goodman putts during the final round of the NCAA Norman Regional at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Okla., on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. (Photo: Nathan Fish, The Oklahoman)

Goodman, a junior, looks to become the focal point of the Sooners’ lineup. He’s coming off a semifinal appearance at the Western Amateur and making match play at the U.S. Amateur.

Austin Greaser, North Carolina

Austin Greaser hits an approach shot on hole 16 during a practice round ahead of the 2023 Walker Cup at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Chris Keane/USGA)

Greaser decided to return to North Carolina for his fifth year, and after an injury hampered much of his spring, he’s back, coming off a Round of 32 appearance at the U.S. Amateur and playing in the Walker Cup.

Ben James, Virginia

Ben James hits his second shot on hole two during a practice round ahead of the 2023 Walker Cup at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Chris Keane/USGA)

James, the reigning Phil Mickelson Award winner for freshman of the year, won five times last season for Virginia. He made the quarterfinals at the U.S. Amateur and was on the Walker Cup team. 

Tobias Jonsson, Mercer

Tobias Jonsson of Sweden plays their second shot on the twelfth hole during Day Two of the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed at Ullna Golf & Country Club on June 09, 2023 in Sweden. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

Another star in the Southern Conference, Jonsson made match play at both the U.S. Amateur and Amateur Championship, the latter culminating in a quarterfinals appearance. 

Christo Lamprecht, Georgia Tech

Amateur Christo Lamprecht waves his ball on the 17th green on Day One of The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on July 20, 2023 in Hoylake, England. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Lamprecht was in the headlines plenty this summer. The senior won the Amateur Championship, and a month later he held a share of the first-round lead at the Open Championship, winning low am honors. 

Christiaan Maas, Texas

Texas’ Christiaan Maas at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup. (Photo: Arnold Palmer Cup)

Maas had a strong freshman season at Texas, and he built on that this summer with a runner-up finish at the Western Amateur and appearance in the Palmer Cup. 

Dylan Menante, North Carolina

Dylan Menante watches his tee shot on hole four during a practice round ahead of the 2023 Walker Cup at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Chris Keane/USGA)

The third Tar Heel on the preseason watch list, Menante finished runner-up at the Southern Amateur and made match play at the U.S. Amateur before representing the U.S. in the Walker Cup. 

Maxwell Moldovan, Ohio State

Maxwell Moldovan watches his tee shot on hole 16 during the first round of stroke play of the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills C.C. in Cherry Hills Village, Colo. on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. (Kathryn Riley/USGA)

Moldovan was one of the alternates for the Walker Cup team. He won the NCAA Auburn Regional, and this summer he made match play at the U.S. Amateur.

William Moll, Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt’s William Moll at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate on Nov. 10, 2020. (Photo: David Gray)

Moll looks to play a big piece for Vanderbilt this year, and he’s coming off a strong summer with a fourth at the Sunnehanna, seventh at the Southern and eighth at the Trans-Mississippi Amateur.

Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt

Gordon Sargent lines up his putt on hole six during a practice round ahead of the 2023 Walker Cup at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Chris Keane/USGA)

The top-ranked amateur in the world, Sargent was one of the finalists for the Haskins Award last year. He fell to Dunlap in the Round of 64 at the U.S. Amateur, was on the Walker Cup and Palmer Cup teams and won low amateur honors at the U.S. Open. 

Cole Sherwood, Vanderbilt

Cole Sherwood hits his tee shot on hole 18 during the first round of stroke play of the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills C.C. in Cherry Hills Village, Colo. on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. (Kathryn Riley/USGA)

Sherwood, the third Vanderbilt golfer on the preseason watch list, is ranked 11th in WAGR. He made match play at the Western Amateur and finished sixth at the Northeast Amateur. 

Preston Summerhays, Arizona State

Preston Summerhays watches his tee shot on hole 16 during a practice round ahead of the 2023 Walker Cup at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Chris Keane/USGA)

Summerhays made match play at the U.S. Amateur and then got the call to be a member of the Walker Cup team. He also played in the U.S. Open.

Caleb Surratt, Tennessee

Caleb Surratt watches his tee shot on hole two during a practice round ahead of the 2023 Walker Cup at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Chris Keane/USGA)

Surratt made the Round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur and also finished runner-up at the Northeast Amateur. Additionally, he was a member of the Walker Cup team. 

Michael Thorbjornsen, Stanford

Stanford golfer Michael Thorbjornsen plays his tee shot on the first hole during the first round of the 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-Arizona Republic)

Thorbjornsen’s summer was spoiled because of a back injury, but the World No. 2 made match play at the Western Amateur and finished T-17 at the John Deere Classic. 

Karl Vilips, Stanford

Karl Vilips of Stanford plays his second shot on the 15th hole during the 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Division I Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Vilips is coming off an honorable mention All-America season where he had three top 10s and five top 20. The senior from Australia played in the U.S. Open this summer, as well.

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