INDIANAPOLIS – For the third time in the last four seasons, the Illinois State men's golf team is headed to an NCAA Regional, as the Redbirds will make the trek to Columbus, Ohio, for the Regional, hosted by Ohio State University.
The Regional will be conducted from May 18-20, and ISU's regional will also include Florida, Arizona State, Stanford, Long Beach State, Florida State, Utah, South Carolina, California, South Florida, Memphis, Oregon, and Wright State.
The NCAA Regional Appearance is ISU's second in the last three years, after competing in the Urbana Regional last year. This season is the sixth time that the team has qualified to the Regional, joined by 2025, 2023 (Bath, Mich.), 2007 (Sugar Grove, Ill.), 2005 (Stanford, Calif.), and 2002 (Albuquerque, N.M.).
ISU advanced to the regional by virtue of winning the 2026 MVC Crown, winning via a two-team playoff, just the second in MVC golf history, and the first since 1971.
This season the team is led by redshirt senior TJ Barger who averages 71.0 strokes per round, while Max Faucquez is second on the squad at 72.8. MVC Medalist Francis Bautista averages 73.2 strokes per round. Pietro Pontiggia and Sam Ottwell averaged 73.3 and 74.0 strokes per round, respectively.
Barger, Faucquez, and Bautista all were named to the All-MVC squad, Ottwell the MVC Freshman of the Year, and Pontiggia to the MVC All-Academic Team.
