Coming off momentous seasons, much has changed for CU and Colorado Christian men’s squads — as well as for other Colorado-based college golf teams
By Gary Baines 9/1/2025
The last three seasons have produced quite a memorable run for Colorado-based college golf.
In 2024, Colorado Christian University scored the first NCAA golf national team title for a school based in the Centennial State, prevailing in men’s Division II. And this past spring, the Cougars came ever so close to repeating, losing in a team playoff to West Florida in the championship finals. It was their only tournament all season in which they lost to a Division II opponent. Quite a feat indeed.
Two years ago, Colorado State qualified a team for the NCAA Division I national championships for the first time since 2011, and the University of Colorado for the first time since 2002. Never before in the 21st century had two schools from the Centennial State advanced teams to the men’s golf DI nationals.
And in the spring of 2025, CU made it two top-25 national finishes in the past three seasons as the Buffs were 21st in 2023 and 23rd this year.
But every season is new and different, and in this instance that’s more true than ever. For instance, CU lost its top two players from last season, Justin Biwer and Dylan McDermott, to graduation. As for Colorado Christian, the 2024 DII national champs, the turnover is far more dramatic as the Cougars’ longtime head coach retired and only one player returns from the group that went to nationals in May.
Coach Mark Hull, the national DII men’s golf coach of the year in the 2024-25 season, announced his retirement in June, concluding a 21-season run at the Cougars’ helm. CCU won team titles in 14 of the last 18 tournaments Hull coached. He’s been succeeded by Cameron Sandland, who played for CCU and graduated just over a year ago.
Als since last season, Colorado Christian lost the national DII men’s golfer of the year, Adam Duncan, as well as three other players who each won at least two individual titles last season — Xavier Bighaus, Sungyeop Cho and Sangha Park. Only senior Peyton Jones returns from the national runner-up squad.
Despite those key losses, CCU, CU and other Colorado-based schools are ranked nationally in the preseason polls. (The season for all the Colorado programs start this month, some with tournaments as soon as Sept. 8.)
Colorado Christian sits at No. 8 in the men’s national Division II Coaches Poll, while Colorado Mesa is 27th, Colorado School of Mines 28th and CSU Pueblo 29th. But CCU is sixth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men’s golf poll, while Colorado Mesa was picked to finish first, with Mines and CSU Pueblo tied for second.
Meanwhile, the CU men are ranked No. 26 in Division I according to Golfweek, and 32nd in the Coaches rankings. (The first Scoreboard rankings won’t be published until October.)
As usual, almost all of the Colorado-based college tournaments will take place during the fall portion of the 2025-26 schedule. The time from Sept. 20-24 is particularly busy, with four tournaments taking place in the Centennial State.
Here are the Colorado-based college tournaments on the schedule this season — both for Division I and II:
Sept. 11-12 — Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC. (Men’s DI; local teams competing: CSU and DU)
Sept. 20-22 — Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower Golf Club at Air Force Academy (Men’s DI; local teams competing: Air Force, UNC, DU)
Sept. 22-23 — Ptarmigan Ram Classic, Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins (Women’s DI; local teams competing: CSU, CU)
Sept. 22-23 — San Juan Intercollegiate, Bridges Golf & Country Club in Montrose (Men’s DII; hosted by Fort Lewis and Colorado Mesa)
Sept. 22-24 — Golfweek Red Sky Classic, Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott (Women’s DI; local team competing: DU)
Sept. 29-30 — Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Colorado National GC in Erie (Men’s DI; local teams competing: CU, UNC and DU)
Sept. 29-30 — Les Fowler Colorado Individual, Broadlands GC in Broomfield (Men’s DI)
Oct. 3-5 — Ron Moore Intercollegiate, DU Golf Club in Highlands Ranch (Women’s DI; local teams competing: DU, CU, CSU and UNC)
Oct. 5-7 — The Writz at Mile High, Bear Creek Golf Club (Men’s DII; hosted by Colorado School of Mines)
March 30-31 — Sam Proal Insurance Invitational, Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo (Men’s DII; hosted by CSU Pueblo)
Here’s a brief look at the Colorado-based NCAA Division I golf teams heading into the 2025-26 season:
CU MEN
Season Opener: Sept. 9-10 Palouse Collegiate in Pullman, Wash.
Colorado-Based Tournaments: Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational Sept. 29-30, Colorado National GG in Erie; Les Fowler Colorado Individual, Sept. 29-30, Broadlands GC in Broomfield
Conference Tournament: Big 12, April 27-29 in Hutchinson, Kan.
Coloradans on Roster: Ty Holbrook, Boulder; Tyler Long, Evergreen; Hunter Swanson, Superior.
Notable: The Buffs will defend their team title at the William Tucker Intercollegiate Sept. 19-20 in Albuquerque. … CU finished 23rd at the NCAA Division I nationals in May. … Swanson had the top 2024-25 scoring average for any of the CU returnees (71.15). … Long, a freshman from Evergreen, is ranked No. 12 nationally/internationally by the AJGA.
CU WOMEN
Season Opener: Leadership and Golf Invitational, Sept. 15-16, University Place, Wash.
Colorado-Based Tournaments: Ptarmigan Ram Classic, Sept. 22-23, Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins; Ron Moore Intercollegiate, Oct. 3-5 in Highlands Ranch
Conference Tournament: Big 12, April 23-25 in Dallas.
Coloradans on Roster: Brenna Higgins, Centennial
Notable: Carolyn Fuller, a junior from Phoenix, won the CGA Women’s Stroke Play over the summer. … CU’s roster includes players from Ireland (Ellen O’Shaughnessy), Thailand (Teemapat Pateetin) and India (Ananthi Vivek), in addition to the U.S. … Higgins, a two-time 5A state individual champion from Valor Christian and a Team Colorado member, is a CU newcomer.
CSU MEN
Season Opener: Ram Masters Invitational, Sept. 11-12 at Fort Collins Country Club.
Colorado-Based Tournaments: Ram Masters Invitational, Sept. 11-12 at Fort Collins CC.
Conference Tournament: Mountain West, April 24-26 in Creswell, Ore.
Coloradans on Roster: Charlie Doyle, Colorado Springs; Charlie Tucker, Castle Pines; Matthew Wilkinson, Centennial
Notable: CSU’s Ram MastersInvitational has traditionally been held on Monday and Tuesday, but this year it’s set for Thursday and Friday (Sept. 11-12). … CSU’s international roster includes Florentin Meller (Germany), Owen Mullen (Canada), Allessandro Trenta (Switzerland) and Roy Willemsen (Netherlands). … The Rams claimed team titles in their first three tournaments last season — the Ram Masters, the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational and Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational. … CSU will play its first three 54-hole tournaments in the course of 10 days (Sept. 11-20).
CSU WOMEN
Season Opener: Badger Invitational, Sept. 14-16 in Madison, Wis.
Colorado-Based Tournaments: Ptarmigan Ram Classic, Sept. 22-23, Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins; Ron Moore Intercollegiate, Oct. 3-5, DU Golf Club at Highlands Ranch.
Conference Tournament: Mountain West, April 21-23 in Palm Springs, Calif.
Coloradans on Roster: None.
Notable: CSU’s season opener is at Wisconsin, where Coloradan Hadley Ashton is an incoming freshman. … By February, CSU will have competed in three tournaments in the eastern half of the U.S. — in Madison, Wis. (Sept. 14-16); Virginia Beach, Va. (Oct. 16-18); and Boca Raton, Fla. (Feb. 2-4). … CSU’s roster features four international players — Inje Natchanun (Thailand), Gabie Rosca (Philippines), Chiara Sola (Switzerland) and Abba Thalen (Sweden).
UNC MEN
Season Opener: Whirlwind Invitational, Sept. 8-9 in Maricopa, Ariz.
Colorado-Based Tournaments: Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Sept. 20-22, Eisenhower Golf Club; Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Sept. 29-30, Colorado National GC in Erie.
Conference Tournament: Big Sky, April 27-29 in Litchfield Park, Ariz.
Coloradans on Roster: Talan Gover, Lafayette; Brad Weinmaster, Brighton.
Notable: With the Big Sky re-adding men’s golf after a one-year hiatus, UNC will return to the conference after winning the league title in 2023. The Bears played in the Summit League tournament in April. … UNC has numerous international players on its roster — Thomas Barnes Grimes (England), Takato Imoto (Japan), Matias Koropeski (Argentina), Rowan MacDonald (Canada) and Lucas Raoul (France).
UNC WOMEN
Season Opener: Sept. 15-16, Clerico Women’s Invitational, Bartlesville, Okla.
Colorado-Based Tournament: Oct. 3-5, Ron Moore Intercollegiate, DU Golf Club at Highlands Ranch.
Conference Tournament: Big Sky, April 20-22, Litchfield Park, Ariz.
Coloradans on Roster: Shae Maiorana, Highlands Ranch; Timbre Shehee, Mead.
Notable: Timbre Shehee finished third at the CGA Women’s Stroke Play this summer.
DU MEN
Season Opener: Sept. 11-12, Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC.
Colorado-Based Tournaments: Sept. 11-12, Ram Masters Invitational, Fort Collins CC; Sept. 20-22, Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC; Sept. 29-30, Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Colorado National GC.
Conference Tournament: Summit League, May 3-5, Phoenix.
Coloradans on Roster: None.
Notable: DU’s first three tournaments of the season are in Colorado — at Fort Collins (Sept. 11-12), the Air Force Academy (Sept. 20-22) and in Erie (Sept. 29-30).
DU WOMEN
Season Opener: Sept. 14-16, Wisconsin Badger Invitational, Madison, Wis.
Colorado-Based Tournaments: Sept. 22-24, Red Sky Classic, Red Sky GC in Wolcott; Oct. 3-5, Ron Moore Intercollegiate, DU Golf Club at Highlands Ranch.
Conference Tournament: Summit League, April 26-28, Phoenix.
Coloradans on Roster: Logan Hale, Erie; Kaitlin Zingler, Lakewood.
Notable: DU lost No. 1 player Emma Bryant of Aurora to graduation. … The Pioneers will play four tournaments in the eastern half of the U.S. this season — Madison, Wis. (Sept. 14-16); Boca Raton, Fla. (Feb. 2-4); Aiken, S.C. (March 2-4); and West Lafayette, Ind. (April 10-11). … DU has three European players on its roster — Maren Farbu (Norway), Holly Hamilton (Northern Ireland) and Anna Neumayer (Austria).
AIR FORCE ACADEMY MEN
Season Opener: Sept. 8-10, Folds of Honor Collegiate, Grand Haven, Mich.
Colorado-Based Tournament: Sept. 20-22, Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, Eisenhower GC.
Conference Tournament: Mountain West, April 24-26 in Creswell, Ore.
Coloradan on Roster: Grant Samuelson, Fort Collins.
Notable: Air Force’s Brooks Morrell has been selected to compete individually in the Golf Channel-televised Jackson T. Stephens Cup Sept. 15-17 in Lake Bluff, Ill.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (NCAA DIV. II)
Notable: The preseason All-RMAC men’s selections include Peyton Jones of Colorado Christian; Marius Dosiere, Archie Wyatt and Agustin Pizzorno of CSU Pueblo; Timmy Cavarno of Colorado Mesa; Traejan Andrews of Fort Lewis; and Lucas Schulte and Colt Tenpenny of Colorado School of Mines. … Mines senior Lukas Taggart last month won the Northern California Golf Association Amateur Championship in Pebble Beach, Calif. Earlier, Taggart was runner-up in the CGA Amateur. … Cavarno finished low amateur at last month’s Sinclair Rocky Mountain Open, while incoming CMU teammate Henry Starr won the AJGA Junior Open at the Bridges in Monrose. … The San Juan Intercollegiate, set for Sept. 22-23 at The Bridges in Montrose, is a new men’s event hosted by Colorado Mesa and Fort Lewis. … In the RMAC preseason women’s poll, CSU Pueblo was selected to finish first, Colorado Christian second, Westminster third, Colorado Mesa fourth and Fort Lewis fifth. … Players from Colorado-based programs picked for the All-RMAC preseason team: Raya Schulz, Makenna Brown and Kylee Hughes of Colorado Christian; Freya Constable, Lisa Ekberg and Yale Lee of CSU Pueblo; and Payton Panzeri of Colorado Mesa.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com