5 Men’s Golfers Named to 2026 NCAA Division I PING All-Northeast Region Team
May 30 | Men's Golf
Big Ten finish headlines banner season for RU, tied for most nominees in the nation
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Five Rutgers men's golfers have been named to the 2026 NCAA Division I PING All-Northeast Region Team, as announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), capping the most successful season in program history since joining the Big Ten in 2014.
Rutgers finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships in Oregon — the program's best-ever finish in conference — with all five contributors placing inside the top-40. The Scarlet Knights also produced four Big Ten Golfers of the Week this season in Jeffrey Zatorski, Luke Koenig, Argyle Downes and Lucas Politano, a testament to the depth that carried Rutgers throughout the year.
"I think the biggest takeaway for me is just how special this group is," head coach Rob Shutte said following the Big Ten Championships. "They had a lot of different opportunities this year, some that didn't go our way, but also a lot of success. We had four different Big Ten Players of the Week, and we knew we had it in us to put it all together. It was a great season for our program as we continue to establish Rutgers on the Big Ten and national stage."
Jeffrey Zatorski, a graduate student from Houston, Texas, led the way with a 71.4 stroke average — posting 12 rounds under par, three rounds in the 60s, and a victory at the Pioneer Creek Classic. He also earned Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors.
Bennett Espenshade, a sophomore from Maryland, posted a 71.3 stroke average with six rounds in the 60s and 12 rounds under par. The reigning Maryland State Amateur Champion finished T-9th at the Big Ten Championships and was a Dean's List honoree as a freshman.
Argyle Downes, a sophomore from West Virginia, finished with a 71.5 stroke average and 12 rounds under par, including a T-3rd finish at the Palmas Del Mar Collegiate and Big Ten Golfer of the Week recognition.
Lucas Politano, a freshman from Vermont, ranked among the team's best with a 71.0 stroke average and seven rounds in the 60s. He broke two program records at the Canadian Intercollegiate — setting new Rutgers marks for lowest 54-hole score (18-under) and lowest single round (9-under) — and earned Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors.
Luke Koenig, a senior from Georgia, posted a 71.8 stroke average with four rounds in the 60s and a T-2nd finish at the Steelwood Collegiate, also earning Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors during the season.
The five honorees were selected from among 150 players across six regions and 81 schools nationally. Rutgers' five All-Northeast selections are tied for the most of any program in the country, along with Illinois.
Division I PING All-Region TeamsNortheast
Manuel Barbachano, George Washington
Barnes Blake, Georgetown
Alex Creamean, Penn State
Chip Deegan, Navy
Rasmus Ditzinger, Fairfield
Argyle Downes, Rutgers
Bennett Espenshade, Rutgers
Riccardo Fantinelli, Princeton
Will Gregware, Maryland
Reed Greyserman, Princeton
Ieuan Jones, Harvard
Luke Koenig, Rutgers
Markus Lam, Boston College
Will Lodge, Yale
William Ma, Harvard
Ryan Pamer, Villanova
Lucas Politano, Rutgers
Emil Riegger, Maryland
Bradley Sawka, UConn
Tyson Sparks, Army
Eli Spaulding, Loyola Maryland
Luke Stennett, Rhode Island
Jack Tarzy, Navy
Jeffrey Zatorski, Rutgers
Barry Zhang, Harvard
East
Lucas Augustsson, Clemson
Carson Bertagnole, North Carolina
Morgan Blythe, Georgia Southern
Oscar Valdemar Holm Bredkjær, Clemson
Seb Cave, Charlotte
Paul Chang, Virginia
Josh Duangmanee, Virginia
Miles Eubanks, College of Charleston
Ethan Evans, Duke
Albert Hansson, Georgia Tech
Ben James, Virginia
Frazer Jones, Charlotte
Bryan Kim, Duke
Bryan Lee, Virginia
William Love, Duke
Michael Lugiano, Liberty
Justin Matthews, Charlotte
Jakob Melin, Wake Forest
Nicholas Prieto, Wake Forest
Andrew Riley, North Carolina
Grant Roscich, North Carolina
Niall Sheils Donegan, North Carolina
Hiroshi Tai, Georgia Tech
Aidan Tran, Georgia Tech
Yixiang Wang, Memphis
Southeast
Jake Albert, Auburn
Garrett Endicott, Mississippi State
Tom Fischer, Ole Miss
Josiah Gilbert, Auburn
Frankie Harris, South Carolina
Josh Hill, Tennessee
William Jennings, Alabama
Jackson Koivun, Auburn
Matthew Kress, Florida
Carter Loflin, Georgia
Noah McWilliams, LSU
Jay Mendell, LSU
Cayden Pope, Auburn
Luke Poulter, Florida
Wilhelm Ryding, USF
Parker Sands, Florida
Lance Simpson, Tennessee
Jon Ed Steed, Vanderbilt
Gunnlaugur Árni Sveinsson, LSU
Zack Swanwick, Florida
Cameron Tankersley, Ole Miss
Cohen Trolio, Ole Miss
Jack Turner, Florida
Tyler Weaver, Florida State
Wells Williams, Vanderbilt
Midwest
RJ Arone, Michigan
TJ Barger, Illinois State
Caleb Bond, Michigan State
Cooper Claycomb, Louisville
Anthony De Schutter, Southern Illinois
Sam Easterbrook, Purdue
Ryan Ford, Cincinnati
Max Herendeen, Illinois
Dane Huddleston, Illinois
Trey Marrion, Illinois
Ashton McCulloch, Michigan State
Jacob Modleski, Notre Dame
Cayse Morgan, Xavier
Calen Sanderson, Notre Dame
Rudy Sautron, Nebraska
Ryan Shellberg, Iowa
Brady Smith, Louisville
Nate Stevens, Notre Dame
Rowan Sullivan, Northwestern
Daniel Svärd, Northwestern
Warren Thomis, Louisville
Freddie Turnell, Illinois
Ryan Voois, Illinois
Kaleb Wilson, West Virginia
Chun-Ta Wu, Minnesota
Central
Daniel Bennett, Texas
Lukas Boandl, Rice
Adam Bresnu, Texas Tech
Ryder Cowan, Oklahoma
Wheaton Ennis, Texas A&M
Ethan Fang, Oklahoma State
Erich Fortlage, Arkansas
Gerardo Gomez, Arkansas
Connor Graham, Texas Tech
Gaven Lane, Oklahoma State
Eric Lee, Oklahoma State
Christiaan Maas, Texas
Tommy Morrison, Texas
Shiv Parmar, Texas A&M
Alvaro Pastor, Tarleton State
Malan Potgieter, Louisiana
Luke Potter, Texas
Aaron Pounds, Texas A&M
Thomas Schmidt, Arkansas State
Will Sides, SMU
Preston Stout, Oklahoma State
Jase Summy, Oklahoma
Sam Udovich, TCU
Hudson Weibel, Houston
Tim Wiedemeyer, Texas Tech
West
Kihei Akina, BYU
Nguyen Anh Minh, Oregon State
Jack Buchanan, USC
Mahanth Chirravuri, Pepperdine
Johnnie Clark, New Mexico
Alejandro de Castro Piera, Long Beach State
Jaden Dumdumaya, USC
Mesa Falleur, New Mexico
Dean Greyserman, Stanford
Filip Jakubcik, Arizona
Sergio Jimenez, Utah
Josh Kim, UCLA
Fifa Laopakdee, Arizona State
Baylor Larrabee, UCLA
Jay Leng, Stanford
Ian Maspat, San Diego
Michael Mjaaseth, Arizona State
Taishi Moto, Arizona
Zach Pollo, Arizona
Brady Siravo, Pepperdine
Harry Takis, San Diego State
Willy Walsh, Pepperdine
Connor Williams, Arizona State
Steen Zeman, Long Beach State
Ziqin Zhou, California
About PING
PING designs, manufactures and markets a complete line of golf equipment including metal woods, irons, wedges, putters and golf bags. The family-owned company was founded in 1959 in the garage of the late Karsten Solheim, a mechanical engineer with an extensive background in the aerospace and computer industries. His frustration with his putting inspired him to design his own putter, which created a "pinging" sound when striking a golf ball. This sound was the source of the name now synonymous with innovation, quality and service throughout the world of golf. Solheim and his company are credited with numerous innovations that became industry standards, including perimeter weighting, custom fitting and the use of investment casting in the manufacturing of golf clubs. His insistence on adhering to strict engineering principles and tight manufacturing tolerances raised the level of product performance and quality throughout the golf industry. Solheim is the only person to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as a golf club manufacturer. Today, the Phoenix-based company is under the direction of Solheim's grandson, John K. Solheim, who leads a team of more than 800 dedicated employees committed to helping improve the games of golfers around the world.
