NORMAN, Okla. - Academic awards continued to roll in Illinois Wesleyan University Tuesday, July 29, as the Golf Coaches Association of America unveiled its 2024-25 Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars for NCAA Division III. Five Titans garnered the honor, tying for second-most nationally.

Hauling in the distinction for the Green and White were seniors Quinn Clifford (Chicago, Ill.-Brother Rice) and Griffin Pohl (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township), as well as juniors Juney Bai (Mokena, Ill.-Lincoln-Way Central), Aidan Healy (New Lenox, Ill.-Lincoln-Way West), and Michael Spitzer (Hinsdale, Ill.-Hinsdale Central). In all, 202 NCAA Division III student-athletes from 78 schools were named Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars. Illinois Wesleyan's five honorees were second-most across Division III, sitting one behind Rhodes (6), and tied alongside Emory and Southwestern. Furthermore, IWU's five picks tied for seventh-most across all NCAA divisions, NAIA, and NJCAA.

To be eligible for Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar nomination, an individual must be 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 percent of their team's competitive rounds, have a stroke average under 79.0 in NCAA Division III, and maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.2. A recipient must also be of high moral character and in good standing at their college of university. 

Clifford, who became the first three-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-America in program history earlier this summer, graduated with a degree in business alongside a 4.00 GPA. Competing in 11 tournaments in his final season, Clifford posted an average of 72.8 strokes per round over 31 rounds. He placed inside the top-20 nine times and posted five top-10 finishes. The Chicago, Ill. native fired 13 rounds of par-or-better and picked up the fourth win of his career as he topped the 116-player field at the Take Back the Night Challenge, April 26. He earned his third straight All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and CCIW Elite 26 Award honors and was named to the GCAA PING All-Region squad. Outside of competition, Clifford was recognized as a NACDA Allstate Good Works Spring Team nominee and IWU's CCIW Merle Chapman Award recipient. He concludes his career with the fifth-best career scoring average, checking in at 73.45 over 98 career rounds.

One of two Titans to be named a GCAA PING Second Team All-American, Pohl put together one of the best seasons in IWU men's golf history as he wrapped up his storied career. He turned in a career-best 72.1 scoring average over 31 rounds and was named the CCIW Men's Golfer of the Year. Pohl tied the program's single-round to-par record with an eight-under 64 at the Take Back the Night Challenge, April 25, and notched a hole-in-one en route to taking home medalist honors at the Wabash Fall Invitational, Oct. 7-8. He posted nine top-20 finishes with six top-10 efforts and tied for the team lead with 16 rounds of par-or-better. After placing runner-up at the CCIW Championship to earn all-conference honors, Pohl grabbed seventh-place at the NCAA Division III Championship and was later named a CSC First Team Academic All-America selection. He graduated with a degree in finance while maintaining a 3.77 grade point average and concluded the season ranked 13th across Division III according to Clippd.

Bai, who has shared the CCIW Elite 26 Award with Clifford the past two years, is coming off a year in which he earned CSC First Team Academic All-America status. A business major with an impressive 4.00 GPA, he earned All-CCIW and GCAA PING All-Region honors in his junior season. Bai played in 11 tournaments, compiling an average of 73.4 strokes per round over 31 rounds of competition. He posted eight top-10 finishes and placed in the top-10 four times. The Mokena, Ill. native picked up the second win of his career, March 23, topping the field at the Jekyll Island Collegiate Individual Tournament, where he notched a career-low 54-hole tally of 213. Bai capped off a strong season with a 29th-place finish at the NCAA Division III National Championship, carding a career-best 72-hole score of 298 (70-78-74-76).

Earning Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar status for the first time in his career, Healy turned in a breakout junior campaign. Breaking into the lineup for the first time in his tenure, Healy held a scoring average of 73.4 strokes per round over 28 rounds and 10 events. He reeled in All-CCIW and GCAA PING All-Region honors, while finishing the year with four top-10 placements. He took runner-up at the Wabash College Fall Invitational and 12th at the NCAA Division III Preview behind a pair of four-under par showings. Healy holds a 3.48 GPA as a marketing major.

Spitzer, who ranked 19th across Division III in Clippd, carried a scoring average of 72.0 strokes per round over 11 tournaments and 31 rounds. He won the Heartland Fall Invite and later took home the individual title at the CCIW Championship, while concluding the year with five top-10 finishes. Spitzer posted a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championship, and like Pohl, was recognized as an All-CCIW, all-region, and GCAA PING Second Team All-American performer.

The Titans put together one of the best seasons in program history as IWU won a total of five tournaments on the season and finished with its best NCAA Championship performance since winning the 2021 national title. Illinois Wesleyan's national championship runner-up lineup featured all five of the Green and White's Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars.