Men's Golf All-SoCon Postseason Honors Announced

SPARTANBURG, SC – Western Carolina’s Tyler Jones was named 2026 Southern Conference Player of the Year, Chattanooga’s Evan Rogers was named SoCon Freshman of the Year and Chattanooga head coach Blaine Woodruff was named SoCon Coach of the Year Tuesday. 

Voting was conducted among the conference’s eight head coaches. A 10-man All-Conference team and a five-man All-Freshman team were also selected.

Jones (Jacksonville, NC / Jacksonville HS) paced the SoCon this season with a 70.31 stroke average. He finished in the top-3 individually six times during the regular season, including medalist honors at the JT Poston Invitational, the Compadres Collegiate, and the Wofford Invitational. Jones is one of three SoCon golfers ranked inside the top-200 nationally and was named SoCon Player of the Week a league-high four times this season – winning the first week on September 10 and the final week on April 15. Jones is the third Catamount to earn SoCon Player of the Year honors, joining J.T. Poston (2014) and Bruce Kullman (1991).

Rogers (Duluth, GA / Hebron Christian Academy) was the top freshman on the SoCon tour and ranked as the top golfer nationally among all SoCon golfers at No. 178 after the conference championship. Rogers played 30 rounds this season, recording a strong 71.93 stroke average. He won the 2026 Racer Intercollegiate in Kentucky with a 7-under par 209 and earned SoCon Golfer of the Week honors following that medalist performance. Rogers finished third at the recent SoCon Men’s Golf Championship at Solina Golf Club in West Columbia, SC, leading the Mocs to their first team championship since 2013. Rogers was the lone golfer, regardless of class, to finish each of the three rounds under par (68-70-69). Rogers is the fourth Chattanooga golfer to earn SoCon Freshman of the Year honors and is the first since Andrew Weathers did so in 2015.

Woodruff is the sixth Chattanooga head coach to earn the SoCon Coach of the Year award, and the first since Mark Guhne was chosen in 2012. Woodruff strategically positioned the Mocs for success with a challenging regular season schedule, which included a pair of sixth-place finishes in March at the Collegiate River Collegiate and Hootie Intercollegiate and a first-place effort at the Racer Intercollegiate on April 7. The Mocs were ranked No. 66 nationally in the most recent Scoreboard tabulation, 20 spots higher than the next closest SoCon team. Woodruff led the Mocs to their first SoCon team title since 2013 and seventh championship overall. Chattanooga will make its 10^th appearance in an NCAA Regional.

Chattanooga led the way with three All-SoCon selections, with sophomore Ward Harris and junior Camden Braidech joining Rogers. Classmate Griffin Law joined Rogers on the All-Freshman team, with three ETSU golfers rounding out that quintet.

SoCon Player of the Year

Tyler Jones, R-So., Western Carolina (Jacksonville, NC / Jacksonville HS)

SoCon Freshman of the Year

Evan Rogers, Fr., Chattanooga (Duluth, GA / Hebron Christian Academy)

SoCon Coach of the Year

Blaine Woodruff, Chattanooga

SoCon All-Conference Team

Tyler Jones, R-So., Western Carolina

Evan Rogers, Fr., Chattanooga

Ward Harris, So., Chattanooga

Harris Barth, Sr., Furman

Kelvin Hernandez, Jr., UNC Greensboro

Gavin Isbell, So., Samford

Gavin Tiernan, So., ETSU

Henry Robards, So., Mercer

Camden Braidech, Jr., Chattanooga

Yannick Malik, Sr., ETSU

SoCon All-Freshman Team

Evan Rogers, Fr., Chattanooga

Richard Saunders, Fr., ETSU

Oliver Blackadder, Fr., ETSU

Griffin Law, Fr., Chattanooga

Veigar Heidarsson, Fr., ETSU