NORMAN, Okla. – Anderson University standout men's golfer Reece Coleman has been named the February, 2023 SwingU College Player of the Month for NCAA Division II, as announced by SwingU and the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Coleman (Division II), Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt (Division I), Gregory Odom Jr. of Howard (HBCU), Vikram Chatterjee of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Division III), Isac Wallin of Keiser (NAIA), Matthis Levèvre of New Mexico JC (NJCAA Division I), and Chase Kaiser of Mississippi Gulf Coast (NJCAA Division II) were named as recipients across the collegiate spectrum by SwingU and the Golf Coaches Association of America, late Tuesday afternoon.
"We're thrilled to launch the SwingU College Player of the Month award in conjunction with the GCAA," said Charles Cox CEO of SwingU. "And we're excited to celebrate the achievements of these elite college golfers each month and look forward to developing long-term relationships with the GCAA membership."
Coleman claimed his first career outright victory with a 7-under 209 (70-69-70) at the Hurricane Invitational on February 28, competing against four top-10 and three other top-25-ranked teams. That 54-hole score matched the sixth-best three-round score in program history. The senior from Port Elizabeth, South Africa began the month by recording a T3 finish (71-71-70, -4) at Lincoln Memorial's Spring Kick-Off Intercollegiate to help top-ranked Anderson win their program-record fifth straight tournament.
Sargent began his spring at the John Hayt Intercollegiate that included a course record-tying 64 en route to a seven-stroke victory (70-64-67, -15) at Sawgrass Country Club. The sophomore from Birmingham, Al., followed with back-to-back 66s that catapulted him to finish T2 (71-66-66, -13) against a field that included six nationally-ranked teams at the Watersound Invitational on February 21. The No.1-ranked Commodores concluded each round at least tied for the lead before winning both tournaments.
Odom Jr. carded a 7-under 209 (70-70-69) at the Loyola Invitational to finish T6 at Palm Valley Golf Club. The senior from Memphis, Tn., led Howard to a top-10 finish in their only tournament of February. Thus far in 2022-23, Odom Jr. has recorded two victories, a top-five finish at the Daytona Beach Intercollegiate, a 71.33 scoring average in five tournaments, and a place on the 2023 Ben Hogan Award Watch List.
Chatterjee started the month with a four-stroke victory (68-72, -4) at the first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) regular season tournament, held at El Dorado Golf Course on February 12, helping lead ninth-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to an 18-stroke team victory. The senior from Irvine, Ca., then finished T6 (70-71-70, -5) at a stacked Las Vegas Shootout. Chatterjee received back-to-back SCIAC Men's Golfer of the Week honors for his efforts.
Wallin recorded a 9-under 207 (73-67-67) en route to the Coastal Georgia Invite individual title, his first collegiate win, on February 14. The career-low 54-round total for the junior from Kungsängen, Sweden, was a season-best for No.1-ranked Keiser, who won the tournament by 22 shots. Wallin finished the month with a T7 (71-71-69, -5) at the Saint Leo Invitational, including a team-best 14 birdies, and a Sun Conference Golfer of the Week honor.
Lefèvre used a final-round, bogey-free 66 to force a playoff at the Titan Winter Invitational, which he dramatically won with a two-putt birdie on the third playoff hole for his seventh-career collegiate victory (72-73-66, -5). His performance led top-ranked New Mexico JC to a five-shot win at Suntree Country Club. After a fourth-place finish at The Cactus Thaw, the sophomore from Hossegor, France, shared medalist honors with a 9-under 135 (65-70) at the T-Bird Invitational to conclude February.
Kaiser began his spring with a 5-under 139 (66-73) to win the Pearl River CC Wildcat Invite by five shots, leading Mississippi Gulf Coast to a 35-stroke victory on February 7 at The Oaks Golf Club in Pass Christian, Ms. The sophomore from Natchez, Ms., then carded a T7 finish that pushed the second-ranked Bulldogs to a four-stroke win at the Coastal Alabama Invitational the following week, their sixth tournament victory of 2022-23 thus far.
"The SwingU College Player of the Month is absolutely a wonderful thing for college golf with the opportunity to recognize our best players in all divisions each month," said Charlotte head coach and GCAA president Ryan Cabbage. "Certainly a huge thank you to SwingU for partnering with the GCAA as our title sponsor in giving this platform to showcase and recognize the many amazing players in all of college golf on a monthly basis."
The SwingU College Player of the Month is awarded to players from seven divisions - NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, HBCU, 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.
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.
