MAGNOLIA, Ark. - For the second-straight season and third time overall as a team, Southern Arkansas Men's Golf will compete in the NCAA postseason. The Muleriders, who most recently finished as runner-up at the Great American Conference Tournament, represent the Central Region as the No. 7 seed and are set for 54-hole action at the NCAA Central/Midwest Regional Championship from The Bridges Golf Course hosted by Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota. The tournament takes place Thursday, May 11 through Saturday, May 13 from a par 71, 6,778-yard course.
The Muleriders previously made regional appearances as a team in 2019 and 2022 with a pair of individuals competing regionally in 2021. SAU's best 54-hole effort in a postseason tournament came in '19 with a 303-305-297 for a 905 and tied for 13th.
SAU will be joined in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes by several familiar foes in conference opposition and GAC Tournament Champion No. 1 Henderson State, No. 3 Harding and No. 6 Southwestern Oklahoma.
CENTRAL/MIDWEST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT FIELD
Central Region
Henderson State [Great American Conference]
Northeastern State
Harding
Washburn
Central Oklahoma
Southwestern Oklahoma State
Southern Arkansas
Missouri Southern State [Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association]
Central Missouri
Bemidji State [Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference]
Individuals
Marius Dosiere, Missouri Western
Alessandro Trenta, Winona State
Daniel Robles, Rogers State
Brandon Sperling, Concordia St. Paul
Midwest Region
Grand Valley State [Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference]
Missouri-St. Louis
Missouri S&T
Findlay
McKendree [Great Lakes Valley Conference]
Wayne State (Michigan)
Maryville (Missouri)
Ashland [Great Midwest Athletic Conference]
Davenport
Ferris State
Individuals
Connor Curry, Malone
Johan Widal, Tiffin
Kyle Buzaki, Walsh
Alex Bishop, Purdue Northwest
Grand Valley State (#7), Missouri-St. Louis (#27) and Henderson State (#28) are all ranked inside the GolfStat Top 30 entering the tournament with Missouri S&T (#33) ranking just outside.
It will be an early morning for the Muleriders on Thursday with a 7:30 a.m. tee time from the par-4, 377-yard No. 1. Southern Arkansas will partner with the Midwest Region's No. 7 Maryville and No. 8 Ashland; Great Midwest Athletic Conference Champions.
As a team, the Muleriders head into NCAA postseason play averaging 298.7 over nine tournaments totaling 26.0 rounds. The team holds a +11.15 vs par. SAU is on a hot streak having placed 4th of 14 (DBU Men's Classic), 2nd of 10 (Natural State Golf Classic) and 2nd of 9 (GAC Championship) in its previous three tournaments.
SAU has combined to win a total of a dozen times against Central Region opponents that will be teeing off this weekend.
The Muleriders have been led by a trio of All-GAC performers in first teamer Caleb Miller (leads team in avg. score, score vs. par, finish percentage) and honorable mention selections Connor Harrington (19 rounds at 75 or better) and Logan McDonald (three top 5 finishes). True freshman Luke Cote (top 15 finish at GAC Championship) and senior Brendan Little (pivotal play down the stretch in league championship to help SAU grab second) round out the bags for SAU.
A round at par or better for both Miller and McDonald would make the duo the first pair of teammates to record ten rounds at par or better in a single season. Miller (26), Harrington (25) and McDonald (24) all have an opportunity to top the current program record in counting scores which stands at 27 by Roman Timmerman (2021-22) and Miller (2021-22).
McDonald is 14 birdies back of overtaking the single season program record, while SAU is 18 birdies back as a team from becoming just the third team to reach 300 birdies in a single season.
As a team, the Muleriders currently hold top three single season marks in par-3 scoring (3.3308) and par-4 scoring (4.2684) and are seventh in par-5 scoring (4.9822).
Fans can follow all of the action via live scoring at Team - NCAA D2 Midwest/Central Region - 2023-05-11 (golfstat.com).
