The 2024-25 college golf season is here, which has our minds looking ahead to the postseason awards.
It’s never too early to look ahead and project who the best players in the country will be this season
Highlighting Golfweek’s 2024-25 preseason men’s college golf All-Americans is Luke Clanton, the junior at Florida State who had a summer to remember. After winning three straight events in the spring, he helped Florida State to a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship. Then, over the summer, he finished in the top 10 three times on the PGA Tour, the first amateur to do so since Jack Nicklaus in 1961, and he made the Round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur.
Here’s a look at Golfweek’s 2024-25 preseason men’s college golf All-Americans.
Josele Ballester, Arizona State
As if Ballester’s stock couldn’t go any higher, he won the 2024 U.S. Amateur this summer at Hazeltine National in Minnesota. He remains in search of his first collegiate win, but Ballester has been one of Arizona State’s best player for three years.
Jackson Buchanan, Illinois
Buchanan is another player who made a run at the 2024 U.S. Amateur, making it to the semifinals. He has been a stalwart for Illinois throughout his entire career, but as a senior, he’s set up for his best season yet.
Luke Clanton, Florida State
What more can you say about Clanton? He won three times in the spring (in three straight events) and then had one of the best summers by an amateur in the professional ranks ever. Don’t expect a drop-off from the World No. 1.
David Ford, North Carolina
Ford has been a prominent force in North Carolina’s lineup since his first day on campus. Now a senior, he has one more season to prove his worth in preparation for the professional game.
Ian Gilligan, Florida
Gilligan, who transferred to Florida from Long Beach State ahead of his junior year, won the Western Amateur this summer in a 29-hole marathon. He remains one of the best players in college, and don’t expect that to change this season.
Ben James, Virginia
James, the 2023 Phil Mickelson Award winner, didn’t have a sophomore season like he would’ve preferred. Expect him to have a year closer to his five-win freshman season as a junior.
Jackson Koivun, Auburn
Koivun was the consensus national Player of the Year as a freshman, and for good reason. He also helped the Tigers win their first NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, and now he returns for more as a sophomore.
Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt
Sargent is back for one final ride in college golf, and with a PGA Tour card waiting for him after the NCAA Championship, don’t expect Sargent to leave anything on the table the next eight months as he closes his amateur career.
Preston Summerhays, Arizona State
Summerhays has plenty to play for this spring. He’s No. 1 in the PGA Tour University rankings for the Class of 2025, meaning a Tour card is on the line come season’s end.
Brendan Valdes, Auburn
Valdes was another key piece for the Tigers in their national championship run, and he had a strong summer that included a run into the quarterfinals at the U.S. Amateur.
Second team
Andrew Goodman, Oklahoma
Michael La Sasso, Ole Miss
Bryan Lee, Virginia
Christiaan Maas, Texas
Phichaksn Maichon, Texas A&M
Omar Morales, UCLA
Tommy Morrison, Texas
Calum Scott, Texas Tech
Hiroshi Tai, Georgia Tech
Jackson Van Paris, Vanderbilt
Third team
Jack Bigham, Florida State
Maxwell Ford, North Carolina
Josiah Gilbert, Auburn
Max Herendeen, Illinois
Jackson Herrington, Tennessee
Filip Jakubcik, Arizona
Michael Mjaaseth, Arizona State
Luke Potter, Texas
Jase Summy, Oklahoma
Wells Williams, Vanderbilt
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Golfweek’s 2024-25 preseason men’s college golf All-Americans
