ROCK HILL, S.C. – With the 2022 South Atlantic Conference Men's Golf Championship slated to begin on Sunday, Anderson standouts Reece Coleman, junior Calahan Keever and newcomer Alejandro de Castro, along with Director of Golf, Danny Neal, have earned all-conference honors, as announced by the league office, Friday morning.
Coleman, a native of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, was named SAC Golfer of the Year and garnered all-conference honors for the fourth straight season after being recognized as a second-team selection the past two seasons being named SAC Freshman of the Year in 2020.
He is currently ranked third nationally by Golfstat and was named SAC Golfer of the Week in early March after winning Georgia Southwestern's Hurricane Invitational. He finished as runner-up at Columbus State's Cougar Invitational and owns four third-place finishes this season, while posting six overall finishes in the top-3 and didn't finish lower than 15th in his other two tournaments. The Port Elizabeth, South Africa native fired a season-low, 5-under 65 at the Cougar Invitational and carded 5-under 67s on two occasions.
Keever captured First Team All-SAC honors for the second time of his stellar career after being named Second-Team All-SAC following his freshman campaign.
The Greenville native, who is currently tabbed seventh nationally by Golfstat, claimed wins at both the North Georgia Intercollegiate and at the LMU Spring Kickoff and earned SAC Golfer of the Week recognition in February. Keever owns five top-10 finishes and finished lower than 13th just once in eight tournaments. In addition to setting the school record with his 9-under 63 in the final round of LMU's Spring Kick-off, he has fired three additional rounds of 5-under 67s, along with a 4-under 68 and a pair of 3-under 69s.
De Castro is the first AU men's golfer to collect SAC Freshman of the Year accolades since Coleman in 2020, and just the third overall since Adam Sheriff was named Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year following the 2006 campaign.
The native of St. Esteve Sesrovires, Spain, is ranked 54th nationally by Golfstat and owns a 72.42 unadjusted stroke average through eight tournaments. He fired a season-low 3-under 67 at the Camden Intercollegiate, while also carding a 3-under 69 at Lander and a pair of 2-under 70s during the regular season. He posted four finishes inside the top-17, including two inside the top-7 and finished lower than 27th just once in eight tournaments.
AU Director of Golf, Danny Neal, was named conference Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career after guiding the Trojans to an unprecedented six tournament titles, including five straight championships at one point. During the 2022-23 campaign, the team has carded six of the top-seven and seven of the top-10 lowest 54-hole tournament scores in program history.
Neal is a two-time SAC Women's Coach of the Year (2019 and 2022) and was also the 2008 Conference Carolinas Women's Coach of the Year.
The 2023 South Atlantic Conference Men's Golf Championship will run Sunday – Tuesday and will be hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne at the Lake Hickory Country Club in Hickory, N.C.
2023 SAC Men's Golf All-Conference
First Team
Reece Coleman, Anderson
Hayden Hunneke, Carson-Newman
Calahan Keever, Anderson
Kristoffer Larsson, Limestone
Jake Mynatt, Carson-Newman
Second Team
Alejandro de Castro, Anderson
Filippo Grossi, Wingate
Alex James, Lincoln Memorial
Killian Ryan, Coker
Luke Stock, Carson-Newman
Third Team
George Durkan, Lincoln Memorial
Harry Lord, Lincoln Memorial
Alex Pillar, Newberry
Fred Tindale, Coker
Harry Watkins, Lincoln Memorial
Men's Golfer of the Year
Reece Coleman, Anderson
Men's Golf Freshman of the Year
Alejandro de Castro, Anderson
Men's Golf Coach of the Year
Danny Neal, Anderson
