HARTFORD – SwingU, the golf technology and media company, announced today the seven divisional winners of the SwingU College Player of the Month Award for February 2024 in partnership with the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Ian Gilligan of Florida (Division I), Mike Hay of Nova Southeastern (Division II), Marcus Taylor of Florida A&M (HBCU), Tobey Wills of Texas Lutheran (Division III), Isac Wallin of Keiser (NAIA), Gunnar Green of Central Alabama (NJCAA Division I), and Andrew Zielinski of Mississippi Gulf Coast (NJCAA Division II) are the February 2024 SwingU College Player of the Month recipients as announced in partnership by SwingU and the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Gilligan won his fifth collegiate event and first at Florida at the Southern Highlands Collegiate on February 27, earning an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s 2024 Shriners Open this coming October. The junior from Reno, N.V., made 15 birdies and one eagle en route to his eight-under 208 (67-71-70). Gilligan, who leads the Gators in 15 different statistical categories, finished T3 at the Gators Invitational on February 17 (69-62-69, -10) after 14 birdies, one eagle, and a program record-tying and bogey-free 62 (-8) in the second round. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) recognized Gilligan with back-to-back Golfer of the Week honors.
Hay earned the first win of his collegiate career while guiding the Sharks to a second-place finish at the Matlock Collegiate Classic on February 6. The graduate student from Middlesbrough, England, shot a three-under 213 (70-72-71) with 12 birdies for the two-stroke victory that earned himself Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Golfer of the Week honors. At the Saint Leo Invitational two weeks later, Hay recorded 14 birdies, including 12 in the final two rounds, and a seven-under 209 (74-68-67) for a T5 finish.
Taylor used a four-under 212 (70-71-71) with 12 birdies to grab a five-stroke win at the Arcis HBCU Championship on February 26, leading the Rattlers to a two-shot team victory. The redshirt senior from Johannesburg, South Africa, was named Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Golfer of the Week for his performance. Taylor also vaulted from his second-round T82 position to his T23 finish at the World Golf Village Collegiate the week earlier with a six-under 66 in the final round that included seven of his 13 birdies on the tournament (74-79-66, +3).
Wills carded 10 birdies and 37 pars for a one-under 211 (70-71-70) to win the Space City Classic by two strokes on February 27 in the only tournament he and his Bulldog teammates played in during the month. After clinching his third collegiate victory, the junior from Richmond, Texas, was named Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Golfer of the Week for the fifth time in his career.
In a 20-team field filled with 19 NCAA Division II programs, four of whom were ranked in the top 17 nationally by the Bushnell/Golfweek DII Coaches Poll, Wallin shot a school-record 54-hole total of 199 (65-67-67, -17) for the six-stroke victory that led the Seahawks to a second-place finish at the Saint Leo Invitational on February 20. For his play, the junior out of Kungsangen, Sweden, was named the Sun Conference Golfer of the Week for the first time this season and third in his career. The win also earned him 251.23 points in the Scoreboard powered by Clippd rankings, boosting his new NAIA national ranking to No. 1. A week earlier, Wallin notched a third-place finish (72-71-76, +3) at the Coastal Georgia Invitational as Keiser claimed the tournament crown.
Green won his first collegiate tournament at The Lioneer Invitational on February 13. The freshman from St. Cloud, Fla., recorded a two-under 140 (68-72) with 10 birdies and one eagle en route to being named Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) Men’s Golfer of the Week for the first time. Green then carded four birdies and one eagle for a T15 finish at the ABAC Spring Invitational (73-78-77, +12) on February 27.
Zielinski used eight birdies and a three-under 141 (71-70) to earn his first collegiate win by two strokes at the Gulf Coast Invitational on February 6 that led the top-ranked Bulldogs to their 31-shot team victory. The sophomore from Ocean Springs, Miss., received Bulldog of the Week honors from Mississippi Gulf Coast Athletics for his performance. Zielinski concluded his month with five birdies, a two-under 68, and a second-place finish at the MACCC Showcase two weeks later, leading the Bulldogs to their 13-stroke victory for their seventh straight tournament win.
The SwingU College Player of the Month is awarded to players from seven divisions – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, HBCU, NCAA Division III, NAIA, NJCAA Division I, and NJCAA Division II – based on a voting committee made up of coaches from their respective divisions. For more information on the award, please visit www.swingu.com/potm.
PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS
Fall 2023
NCAA Division I: Christo Lamprecht, Georgia Tech
NCAA Division II: Sangha Park, UT Permian Basin
HBCU: Gonzalo Moreno, Alabama State
NCAA Division III: Jackson Klutznick, Emory
NAIA: Tom Scullion, Cumberland (TN)
NJCAA Division I: Gaspar Glaudas, Indian Hills
NJCAA Division II: Will Burnham, Mississippi Gulf Coast
October 2023
NCAA Division I: Omar Morales, UCLA
NCAA Division II: Sam Tandy, Harding
HBCU: Gonzalo Moreno, Alabama State
NCAA Division III: Cameron Cappuzzo, Methodist
NAIA: Tom Scullion, Cumberland (TN)
NJCAA Division I: Gaspar Glaudas, Indian Hills
NJCAA Division II: Will Thompson, East Central
September 2023
NCAA Division I: Christo Lamprecht, Georgia Tech
NCAA Division II: Sangha Park, UT Permian Basin
HBCU: Micah Stangebye, Kentucky State
NCAA Division III: Jackson Klutznick, Emory
NAIA: Jack Whaley, Dalton State
NJCAA Division I: Oscar Holm Bredkjaer, Midland
NJCAA Division II: Lucas Park, Parkland
April 2023
NCAA Division I: Caleb Surratt, Tennessee
NCAA Division II: Charles DeLong, Grand Valley State
HBCU: Patrick Mwendapole, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
NCAA Division III: J.F. Aber, Wittenberg
NAIA: Jakob Stavang Stubhaug, Keiser
NJCAA Division I: Gaspar Glaudas, Indian Hills
NJCAA Division II: Kolby Shackelford, Kirkwood
March 2023
NCAA Division I: Ben Carr, Georgia Southern
NCAA Division II: Beck Burnette, Lee
HBCU: Caden Hodges, Fayetteville State
NCAA Division III: Alex Price, Christopher Newport
NAIA: Kade Cannon, St. Thomas (FL)
NJCAA Division I: Matthis Lefèvre, New Mexico JC
NJCAA Division II: Chase Kaiser, Mississippi Gulf Coast
February 2023
NCAA Division I: Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt
NCAA Division II: Reece Coleman, Anderson (SC)
HBCU: Gregory Odom Jr., Howard
NCAA Division III: Vikram Chatterjee, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
NAIA: Isac Wallin, Keiser
NJCAA Division I: Matthis Lefèvre, New Mexico JC
NJCAA Division II: Chase Kaiser, Mississippi Gulf Coast
About SwingU
Headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, SwingU is a sports technology and media company focused on golf game improvement. The company owns and operates the top-rated golf game-improvement app across GPS, scorecard, statistics and instruction. SwingU Clubhouse publishes an email newsletter reaching hundreds of thousands of golfers daily. Lastly, SwingU Coach offers the ultimate coaching & statistics platform for both golf teams and academies. For more company information, please visit www.swingu.com.
About Golf Coaches Association of America
Established in 1958, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) is the professional organization of men’s collegiate golf coaches. The GCAA’s mission is to support its member coaches from six divisions, including the NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA, by creating educational opportunities, providing resources, and promoting its members with the purpose of enhancing their overall performance as coaches, mentors, and teachers. The GCAA also recognizes the excellence and achievements of its members and their student-athletes in academic, athletic, and civic endeavors.
