ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Illinois State Redbirds – the runner-up at the 2021 MVC Championship – put three golfers on the MVC Scholar-Athlete team, as David Perkins and Andrew O'Brien each earned First Team honors, while Dan Anfield was named to the Honorable Mention squad.
Nominees must have at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (4.0 scale), while the student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institutions and must have participated in at least 50 percent of his team's rounds. Golf sports information directors in the conference voted on the team, comprised of 14 total golfers.
Perkins, a two-time MVC Golfer of the Year, earned Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors a year ago, and this season was named to the Scholar-Athlete First Team for the second consecutive season. The East Peoria, Illinois, native has a 3.36 GPA in exercise science, and just earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Regionals.
Becoming just the fifth golfer in MVC history to earn back-to-back Golfer of the Year honors, Perkins led the Redbirds with a 72.4 stroke per round average, including three top-10 finishes in seven total events. In his 21 rounds during the spring season, 11 of those were at or under par.
His top finish came at the Missouri Tiger Intercollegiate where he took second in a strong field, finishing 12 strokes under par. A week later he capped a third consecutive top-10 tournament finish at the Boilermaker Invitational, placing in a tie for ninth overall with a two-under final score.
O'Brien was the top finisher for the Redbirds at the 2021 MVC Championship, placing fourth, while finishing second on the team in scoring average at 74.2 strokes per round. He played in six events and 18 total rounds, with a third of the rounds standing at or under par. The Waukee, Iowa, native has a 3.66 grade point average in exercise science.
He closed his season strong, with top-20 finishes in each of his last three tournaments – the Missouri Tiger Intercollegiate, the Boilermaker Invitational, and the MVC Championship. He had two rounds during the season with a score under 70, a 68 at the Boilermaker Invitational, and a single-round tournament-low 69 at the MVC Championship.
Anfield averaged 74.6 strokes per round on the season – and closed his Redbird career with a career scoring average of 74.7. He played in all seven tournaments and 21 total rounds, with a third of the rounds at or under par, and a top-10 finish. The Minooka, Illinois, native has a 3.45 grade point average in finance.
He finished inside of the top-25 in each of the team's last three tournaments, including a career-low round of 68 at the Boilermaker Invitational, where his three-over tournament saw him finish 23rd. His season-best finish came at the MVC Championship, tying for eighth overall in the field.
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