INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Announced by the NCAA, the Illinois State men's golf team will compete in the Urbana, Illinois, Regional, hosted by the University of Illinois on their Atkins Golf Club Course from May 12-14.
Joining the 136th-ranked Redbirds in the 13-team field include Oklahoma State (#2 Nationally), North Carolina (10), Illinois (14), Texas Tech (23), Long Beach State (26), UNLV (35), Houston (38), Marquette (47), Troy (51), Pacific (60), NC State (64), and Wright State (163).
The NCAA Regional Appearance is ISU's first since they appeared at the 2022 NCAA Bath Regional in Bath, Michigan, and this season is the fifth time that the team has qualified to the Regional, joined by 2022, 2007 (Sugar Grove, Ill.), 2005 (Stanford, Calif.), and 2002 (Albuquerque, N.M.)
ISU advanced to the regional by virtue of winning the 2025 MVC Crown, coming back from a one-stroke deficit coming into the final round to win the tournament by three strokes overall.
This season the team is led by TJ Barger – an Illinois transfer – who averages 72.9 strokes per round while Alex McCulla (73.1), Will Troy (74.1), and Pietro Pontiggia (74.6) have all played in all 35 rounds for ISU this season. Barger and McCulla were both named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference team.
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