A-State senior golfer Luka Naglic set to compete in 2023 NCAA Regional, team to compete in NGI
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/5EJCNNMC4RFJXNS4CNRAOCEIHY.png)
Arkansas State senior and four-time All-Sun Belt Conference selection Luka Naglic was selected Wednesday by the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Committee to compete as an individual in one of six NCAA Regional golf tournaments set for May 15-17, marking the fifth time in the last six NCAA postseason competition the Red Wolves are represented.
Naglic will tee off with nine other individuals and players from 13 teams at the Auburn University Club, in the three-day event hosted by Auburn. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams will advance to the finals.
Marking the fifth time in the last six NCAA postseason competitions a Red Wolf will compete, Naglic is the sixth A-State men’s golfer to ever compete as an individual. Naglic’s selection comes after he competed with the team in the 2019 NCAA Regional hosted by Louisville and the 2021 NCAA Regional hosted by Ball State. Naglic is the first individual qualifier since Tanner Napier at the 2018 NCAA Regional hosted by Oklahoma. Zan Luka Stirn (2017), Lloyd du Preez (2010) and Zoltan Veress (1998, 1999) also participated in NCAA Regionals as individual qualifiers.
The Zirovnica, Slovenia, native competed in all 10 tournaments this season for the Red Wolves, compiling a 71.77 stroke average, fifth-best in single-season program history. He collected eight top-25 showings and recorded 17 rounds with a score of par or better.
The NCAA Championships’ finals will be conducted May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Arkansas State men’s golf team will continue its season having accepted an invitation to play in the inaugural Golfweek National Golf Invitational (NGI) May 18-21 at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Arizona.
With the announcement of the NCAA Men’s Golf regional field announced earlier Wednesday, organizers including tournament director Lance Ringler of Golfweek are working to finalize the full 18-team field for this inaugural tournament. The 54-hole tournament follows the standard play five, count four score format with a team and individual champion.
“We’re excited to be selected for the inaugural NGI,” said A-State head coach Mike Hagen. “Our goal each year is to compete in the postseason and while the NCAA’s is the ultimate goal, this is a testament to the success of our season and where our program stands on a national level. I’m sure Lance and the committee will run a first-class championship and we look forward to competing and having a chance to bring home one more trophy.”
Organizers view the NGI as akin to the NIT of college golf. Invitations are extended to those teams that did not secure automatic bids or earn at-large bids into the NCAA golf regional field. The NGI committee used a cumulative average of the Golfweek/Sagarin and Golfstat rankings, along with a committee decision on teams that have strong regular season performances and head-to-head records.
A-State, ranked No. 76 in the latest Golfweek rankings and No. 79 in the latest Golfstat rankings, finished sixth at the Sun Belt Conference championship to cap the season with a 92-40-3 record. The Red Wolves had a remarkable spring going 61-23-1 and finished with two tournament wins on the season. A-State has a 287.53 scoring average this season, second-best in program history, and posted 16 par or better rounds, second-most in a single-season in program history.
For the latest on A-State men’s golf, follow the team on Twitter (@AStateMGolf), Facebook (/AStateMGolf) and Instagram (@astatemensgolf).
Auburn University Club – Auburn, Alabama
Hosted by Auburn University
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Vanderbilt
2. Tennessee
3. Auburn
4. Colorado State
5. Ohio State
6. Washington
7. TCU
8. Chattanooga
9. Houston [American Athletic Conference]
10. Marquette [Big East Conference]
11. Indiana
12. Augusta University [Southland Conference]
13. Siena [Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference]
Individuals (seeded in the following order):
1. Alex Goff, Kentucky
2. Brantley Scott, Troy
3. Erik Jansson, Jacksonville State
4. Tobias Jonsson, Mercer
5. Cameron Clarke, Southern Miss
6. Brian Ma, Harvard
7. Jackson Skeen, Tennessee Tech
8. Luka Naglic, Arkansas State
9. Hugo Thyr, South Alabama
10. Killian McGinley, Fairfield
Copyright 2023 KAIT. All rights reserved.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/R7BCQNH7Z5E4DBBPHCJR33WNB4.jpeg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/W3TH4JY4PNDW3CVCEXS4USGVCA.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/QL5LYQJEWZCG3BVAN4DDVPFPGA.bmp)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/34QNWQT3LJGQFE54CD5H7XZSZA.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/YAJFNT5DFRAD3OSYNVOQJYCFKY.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/4GTP64N7FVFBZCVOSLRHO6CFPA.png)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/QPQUM6NC2JEBLI47MKPYJYRLCE.png)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/KGINCMFCS5FH3E4Q2OBMBBZTPM.jpg)
/do0bihdskp9dy.cloudfront.net/09-22-2023/t_5d1ddc2a0c364eeda357670fcbe7fea4_name_file_1280x720_2000_v3_1_.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/C24XGMAAK5EYHOAC4GPYDL4VLI.png)