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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
