Big South Announces 2024 Men's Golf Annual Award Winners
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (
www.BigSouthSports.com) -– Longwood junior
Justin LaRue was voted the 2024 Big South Men’s Golfer of the Year, while USC Upstate’s
Alec Prentice was voted Freshman of the Year by the league’s head coaches and announced this past Saturday afternoon as part of the Men’s Golf Championship Awards Ceremony. Radford head coach
Michael Grant was voted Coach of the Year by the panel, and High Point’s
Fred Roberts IV was tabbed Newcomer of the Year. Presbyterian College’s
Jimmy McCollum was voted Men’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Big South’s sports information directors.
LaRue (South Chesterfield, Va.) is the first Lancer to be named Big South Men’s Golfer of the Year. He was the Big South’s leader in stroke average at 70.07 entering the Conference Championship, and was in second-place after 36 holes at the conference tournament at 9-under par with four eagles before an injury prevented him from competing in the final round. The Big South’s top-ranked golfer nationally at 223, LaRue finished in the Top 10 in all nine of his starts this season to lead the league in that category, and had four of the Big South’s 10 lowest 54-hole under-par scores in 2023-24 –- including a season-best 10-under to win the Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate. LaRue also tied for first at the Irish Creek Intercollegiate before losing in a playoff for medalist honors, was a five-time Big South Golfer of the Week honoree, and carded a season-low 65 in the second round of the Big South Championship.
A freshman from Wellington, New Zealand, Prentice is the first Spartan to be voted Big South Freshman of the Year. He played all 28 of Upstate’s team rounds this year, and his 75.08 stroke average entering the Big South Championship was tops on the squad. He was named Big South Freshman of the Week twice, and also earned Golfer of the Week recognition after winning the Big South Preview last November with a 6-under 136. Prentice, who was also voted to the All-Freshman Team, was among the league leaders during the regular-season for lowest 18-hole score (65), and he finished the conference championship with a 5-over 218.
Grant secured his second Big South Coach of the Year honor in three seasons and his fourth overall, as he also earned the distinction in 2008 and 2014 to become just the fourth coach in Big South history with at least four Coach of the Year awards. He directed his squad to a Top 10 team finish in all nine regular-season events –- which included a win at the season-opening River Run Collegiate. The Highlanders finished second twice and posted three additional third-place finishes. Grant’s team led the Big South during the regular-season with a 285.04 average team round score, and was the top seed in this past week’s Big South Championship. His squad moved up from fifth after the second round of stroke play into a tie for third-place to clinch one of the four Match Play positions. Grant had four players in the conference’s top-5 for scoring average, and all four earned All-Conference honors.
Roberts (Richmond Hill, Ga.) is the first Big South Men’s Golf Newcomer of the Year, which recognizes the top non-freshman transfer playing in the Big South for the first time. In his first season with the Panthers, Roberts won Big South Medalist honors in a four-hole playoff after finishing tied atop the leaderboard with a 9-under 204 (69-63-72). He tied the Big South Men’s Golf Championship record for lowest 18-hole score with his second round 63, he rolled in a Championship-best 19 birdies, and was second on the High Point roster with a 74.67 stroke average prior to the Conference Championship. Roberts earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals with his conference victory.
McCollum (Greer, S.C.) is the Blue Hose’s second Men’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree. He carries a 3.82 GPA as a double major in biochemistry and mathematics, and is a two-time GCAA All-America Scholar. McCollum tied for 18th at the Big South Championship with a 5-over 218.
Also announced Saturday afternoon were the Big South Men’s Golf All-Conference and All-Freshman teams, which are listed below. Both squads are based on performance during the regular-season and conference championship.
2024 Big South Conference Men’s Golf Award Winners
All-Conference Team
First-Team
Justin LaRue, Longwood
Bryce Corbett, Radford
Gregor Meyer, High Point
Fred Roberts IV, High Point
Nick Mayfield, Winthrop
Second-Team
Mason Tucker, Winthrop
Nick Taliaferro, Radford
Nick Rakes, Longwood
Jack Wofford, Presbyterian
Patrick Gareiss, Radford
Honorable Mention
Scott Jordan, Longwood
Lleyton Renner, Presbyterian
Ben Carroll, Charleston Southern
Bobby Dudeck, Radford
Max White, Gardner-Webb
All-Freshman Team
Alec Prentice, USC Upstate
Logan Lutz, Winthrop
Jay Smith, High Point
Matthew Lyons, Longwood
Jules Gentil, Charleston Southern
All-Academic Team
Griffin Tarver, Charleston Southern
Max White, Gardner-Webb
Gregor Meyer, High Point
Daniel George, Longwood
Jimmy McCollum, Presbyterian
Bobby Dudeck, Radford
Panop Norasing, USC Upstate
Ian Faulconer, Winthrop
Golfer of the Year
Justin LaRue, Longwood
Freshman of the Year
Alec Prentice, USC Upstate
Newcomer of the Year
Fred Roberts IV, High Point
Coach of the Year
Michael Grant, Radford
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Jimmy McCollum, Presbyterian
All-Championship Team (Top 5 finishers plus ties)
Fred Roberts IV, High Point (Medalist)
Nick Mayfield, Winthrop
Gregor Meyer, High Point
Grady Newton, High Point
Bryce Corbett, Radford