Big South Announces 2026 Men's Golf Annual Award Winners
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (
www.BigSouthSports.com) -- Presbyterian College’s
Jeep Patrick was voted the 2026 Big South Men’s Golfer of the Year, while Winthrop’s
Dylan Park was voted Freshman of the Year by the league’s head coaches and announced this past Tuesday afternoon as part of the Men’s Golf Championship Awards Ceremony. PC head coach
Thomas Addison was voted Coach of the Year by the panel, and Charleston Southern’s
Bailey Bjornson was tabbed Newcomer of the Year. Longwood’s
Hunter Swidzinski was voted Men’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Big South’s Golf Communications contacts.
Patrick (Hilton Head, S.C.) is the first Blue Hose to be voted Big South Men’s Golfer of the Year. He entered the Conference Championship second overall in stroke average at 71.50, was tied for the most Top 10 finishes during the regular-season with three, and won the Fripp Island Intercollegiate in November with a 6-under par 207. A three-time Golfer of the Week selection, Patrick posted a season-best 9-under par score in the season-opening Golfweek Fall Challenge. He carded rounds of 67 twice this year, and tied as the Runner-up earlier this week at the Big South Championship with a 5-under par 208. Patrick helped PC finish first in the stroke play portion of the Conference Championship, and won his two matches during Wednesday’s Match Play Semifinals and Finals.
A freshman from Easley, S.C., Park is the first Eagle to be voted Big South Freshman of the Year since 2014. He paced the conference in stroke average during the regular season at 71.30, and was one of four Big South golfers with three Top 10 finishes prior to the Conference Championship -- which included a runner-up finish at the Wofford Invitational with a 6-under par 207. Park was selected Big South Freshman of the Week five times during 2025-26, and earned Golfer of the Week accolades for his performance at the Wofford Invitational. He played all 27 of Winthrop’s team rounds during the regular-season, and recorded a round of 67 three separate times during the year. Park tied for fifth at the Conference Championship with a 4-under 209 to earn a spot on the All-Championship Team as well as help the Eagles qualify for Match Play.
Addison earned his first Big South Coach of the Year honor after leading the Blue Hose to the program’s first-ever Big South Championship title. Entering the Conference Championship as the No. 8 seed in the eight-team field, Addison guided his team to second on the leaderboard after the opening round with a 2-under 282, and then moved into the top position after 36 holes with an even-par 284 for a five stroke lead. PC finished the final round of stroke play with another 2-under 282 for first-place after 54 holes at 4-under 848 -- the program’s first-ever first-place standing in Big South Championship Stroke Play that earned the Blue Hose the No. 1 seed for Match Play. PC rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat No. 4 seed High Point in the Semifinals, 3-2, then captured the Big South crown over No. 2 seed USC Upstate with a two-hole sudden-death victory in the deciding match for the 3-2 triumph.
Bjornson (Surrey, British Columbia) is the third Big South Men’s Golf Newcomer of the Year, which was added in 2024 to recognize the top non-freshman transfer playing in the Big South for the first time. In his first season with the Buccaneers, Bjornson competed in all 26 of the team’s rounds and was second on the squad with a 73.58 scoring average through the regular-season. His best finish was a tie for runner-up at the Fripp Island Intercollegiate in Novemeber, and he was the squad’s top finisher in two events. Bjornson also tallied rounds of 68 on two occasions,
Swidzinski (Renfew, Pa.) is the Lancers’ first-ever Men’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree. He carries a 4.00 GPA as a Business Administration major, was ranked third on the conference’s regular-season stroke average leaderboard at 71.70, and was the co-champion of the Savannah Intercollegiate in February with a 1-under 215.
Also announced Tuesday 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.
2026 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE MEN'S GOLF AWARD WINNERS
All-Conference Team
First-Team
Jeep Patrick, Presbyterian
Dylan Park, Winthrop
Jack Boyer, Gardner-Webb
Hunter Swidzinski, Longwood
Jackson Stone, USC Upstate
Dewi John, Charleston Southern
Second-Team
Thomas Lamar, Winthrop
Jude Carper, Gardner-Webb
David Lafreniere, Longwood
Alec Prentice, USC Upstate
Burch Harrison, High Point
Honorable Mention
Ashton Eubanks, Winthrop
Theo Takman, Charleston Southern
Louie Stott, Radford
Cam Hardison, Longwood
Carter Pitcairn, High Point
All-Freshman Team
Dylan Park, Winthrop
Jude Carper, Gardner-Webb
Mason Kucia, Winthrop
CJ Peterson, Radford
Gabriel Mainella, Longwood
All-Academic Team
Bailey Bjornson, Charleston Southern
Reed Burton, Gardner-Webb
Tully Super, High Point
Hunter Swidzinski, Longwood
Spence Hagood, Presbyterian
Kieran McCarthy, Radford
Herman Holst, USC Upstate
Logan Lutz, Winthrop
Golfer of the Year
Jeep Patrick, Presbyterian
Freshman of the Year
Dylan Park, Winthrop
Newcomer of the Year
Bailey Bjornson, Charleston Southern
Coach of the Year
Thomas Addison, Presbyterian
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Hunter Swidzinski, Longwood
All-Championship Team (Top 5 finishers plus ties)
Dewi John, Charleston Southern (Medalist)
Alec Prentice, USC Upstate
Jeep Patrick, Presbyterian
Ashton Eubanks, Winthrop
Jack Boyer, Gardner-Webb
Dylan Park, Winthrop