BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The fourth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's golf team is set to officially kick off its season at the Transylvania "WildBat" Invite this Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 5-6. Both rounds will be played at the University Club of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., with tee times beginning at 8:15 a.m.
The Titans are coming off of a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championship and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Division III Championships in the 2025-26 season. Going into the 2026-27 season, the Green and White are ranked fourth in the Golf Coaches Association preseason poll. IWU received one first-place vote and accrued 332 points. Reigning champion, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps sat No. 1 in the rankings, while Huntingdon and Carnegie Mellon rounded out the top-three.
Illinois Wesleyan will be one of 17 teams in the field that includes Trine, Transylvania, Millsaps, Central (Iowa), Mount Union, Hanover, Mount St. Joseph, Centre, Randolph-Macon, Greensboro, Rose-Hulman, Maryville (Tenn.), Webster, Spalding, Roanoke, and Asbury.
The Titans will take one team and three individuals. Making up the Titans starting five will be junior Pablo Castro (Palatine, Ill.-Palatine), sophomores Ryan Andrews (Libertyville, Ill.- Libertyville), Ben Gelven (St. Louis, Mo.-Mary Institute and Country Day School), and Alex Rollman (Cincinnati, Ohio-Turpin), along with freshman Finley Tyrell (La Grange, Ill.-Lyons Township). Junior Lane Ludwig (Effingham, Ill.-St. Anthony) and sophomore Kevin Schuh (Glenview, Ill.-Glenbrook South) will compete as individuals along with freshman Sam Uutala (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington), who will make his official collegiate debut.
IWU's tee times on Saturday will begin at 8:15 a.m. Live scoring will be available via Scoreboard and can be found here.
Preseason 2026-27 Bushnell/Golfweek DIII Coaches Poll - September 4
RANK UNIVERSITY (FIRST-PLACE VOTES) POINTS
1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (9) 387
2 Huntingdon (5) 355
3 Carnegie Mellon (1) 345
4 Illinois Wesleyan (1) 332
5 Methodist 325
6 Emory 323
7 Sewanee 310
8 Washington and Lee 278
9 Kenyon 263
10 Aurora 245
11 Mary Hardin-Baylor 223
12 Oglethorpe 217
13 LeTourneau 189
14 Piedmont 164
15 Trinity (TX) 151
16 Transylvania 143
17 Rochester 139
18 Willamette 120
19 Southwestern (TX) 110
20 Babson 94
21 Lynchburg 87
22 Guilford 68
T-23 Gustavus Adolphus 46
T-23 Whitman 46
25 Pomona-Pitzer 44
Receiving Votes (Points): Dubuque (27), Carleton (26), Bethel (MN) (16), UW-Eau Claire (16), John Carroll (14), Hampden-Sydney (11), Franklin & Marshall (8), Gettysburg (8), Greensboro (8), Wittenberg (8), Bowdoin (7), Drew (7), Nebraska Wesleyan (7), Amherst (6), Swarthmore (5), Williams (5), NYU (4), Berry (3), Tufts (3), Grinnell (2), Redlands (2), Bridgewater (1), Linfield (1).
About the GCAA
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. For more information, please visit gcaa.coach.
