NORMAN, Okla. – Three Illinois State men's golf student-athletes – TJ Barger, Max Faucquez, and Pietro Pontiggia – have been named to the 2025-26 NCAA Division I Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar list, announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
To be eligible for Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar nomination, an individual must be a sophomore, junior or senior both academically and athletically in NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA, or receiving their associate's degree and in their last year of athletic eligibility in the NJCAA. In addition, they must participate in 50% of their team's competitive rounds, have a stroke average under 76.0 in NCAA Division I, and maintain a minimum cumulative career grade-point average of 3.2. A recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at their college or university.
Barger, a Bloomington native, graduated from ISU with the program's career scoring record, averaging 72.28 strokes per round over his collegiate career, which includes his 71.2 stroke per round average during his final year with the Redbirds. This season he played in 38 rounds, with 25 of those coming in at or under par – an Illinois State single-season record.
Faucquez was second on the team in scoring average, at 73.0 strokes per round and played in each of the team's 38 rounds during the season. He had a career-low round of 66 at the Tiger Invitational on April 6, and his low tournament score of 207 at the season-opening Island Resort Intercollegiate is the 15th-lowest tournament score in Redbird men's golf history.
Pontiggia had the team's third-lowest scoring average, averaging 73.3 strokes per round with 13 of his rounds coming in at or under par. He shot a season-low round of 68 twice during the year, at the Ram Masters Invitational and at Louisville Classics. He graduated from ISU with a career scoring average of 74.16, which is the 14th-lowest in Redbird men's golf history.
In 2025-26 the Redbirds won their third MVC title in the last four years, including two consecutive, as the Birds won the 2026 title in a playoff at Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo, Illinois. The Birds won two tournaments during the year and have seven team tournament titles in the last five seasons.
