Arkansas State men’s golf tees off in 2026 NCAA Championship

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JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT and A-State Athletics) - We have howl history on the links.

Arkansas State men’s golf is in the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history.

Playing among the nation’s best, the No. 39 Arkansas State men’s golf team wrapped up their first round of the 2026 NCAA Championship carding a 7-over par 295 Friday at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.

Senior Thomas Schmidt led the way for the Red Wolves, turning in an even-par 72 through the first 18. Jake Wallis posted a 1-over par 73, Milan Reed was 2-over par 74, Jake Lile was 4-over par 76 and Cole Kirby was 7-over par 79.

Among teams that were in the morning wave of tee times Friday, the Red Wolves were eighth with the 295 total. No. 30 UCLA posted the morning wave lead of 8-under par 280 while No. 29 Duke and No. 42 San Diego were 2-under par 286. No. 23 Georgia and No. 18 Tennessee posted 4-over par 292 while No. 33 Louisville and Chattanooga turned in 6-over par 294 rounds. The Red Wolves were better than No. 40 Purdue (+8), No. 22 BYU (+8), No. 28 USC (+9), No. 37 Mississippi State (+10), No. 20 Texas A&M (+11), Memphis (+13) and No. 26 Florida State (+19) in the morning wave.

The final pairing in the afternoon hit their first tee shot at 2:24 p.m. (PT) and the latest individual and team standings are available on Scoreboard. A-State plays in the afternoon wave Saturday with the first tee time set for 1:07 p.m. (PT) off the 10th tee. Live scoring is available on Scoreboard with FREE live streaming coverage available on Babygrande Golf.

The tournament features three rounds of stroke play. Following Sunday’s play, the top 15 teams and the top nine individuals not on an advancing team will advance to a fourth stroke play round on Monday. Following the fourth and final round of stroke play, an individual champion will be crowned, and the top eight teams will advance to the match play quarterfinals in the quest for a team national title.

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