NORMAN, Okla. – Anderson University men's golf standouts Reece Coleman, Alejandro de Castro and Calahan Keever have been named as NCAA Division II PING All-Region honorees by the Golf Coaches of America (GCAA), as announced Thursday afternoon.
The talented trio help lead the Trojans to a No. 1 national ranking and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 15 years, where they finished 10th
at the 2023 NCAA Southeast/South Regional Championship following a strong final round.
After being ranked seventh nationally in late September, AU became a fixture at the top of the national rankings in October, while opening the year with five consecutive tournament titles and maintained its grip on the No. 1 spot by winning two of its final three tournaments and finished the year with seven tournament championships, including the program's first-ever South Atlantic Conference title.
Coleman, a four-time All-Conference honoree and the SAC Golfer of the Year, carded five of the top-seven 54-hole scores in program history this season. He wrapped up the season ranked sixth 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 notched four third-place finishes this past season, while posting seven overall finishes in the top-3 and didn't finish lower than 15th in his other three 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, who is tabbed seventh nationally by Golfstat and earned First-Team All-SAC accolades, claimed wins at both the North Georgia Intercollegiate and at the LMU Spring Kickoff and earned SAC Golfer of the Week recognition in February. The Greenville native owned six top-10 finishes and finished lower than 13th just once in nine tournaments. In addition to setting the school record with his 9-under 63 in the final round of LMU's Spring Kick-off, he fired three additional rounds of 5-under 67s, along with a 4-under 68 and three 3-under 69s.
De Castro, who collected SAC Freshman of the Year honors in mid-April, is ranked 33rd nationally by Golfstat. He owns a 72.30 stroke average through ten tournaments after firing a season-low 67 on two occasions and also carding a 68 during the second round of the SAC Championship. A native of St. Esteve Sesrovires, Spain, he posted five finishes inside the top-17, including three inside the top-7 and finished lower than 27th just once in ten tournaments.
Division II PING All-Southeast Region Team
Reece Coleman, Anderson
Alejandro de Castro, Anderson
Calahan Keever, Anderson
Nicolas Escobar, Georgia Southwestern
Felipe Gomez, Clayton State
Hayden Hunneke, Carson-Newman
Alex James, Lincoln Memorial
Linus Jonsson, Lander
Kristoffer Larsson, Limestone
Chase McLain, Georgia Southwestern
Evan Thompson, North Georgia
Noah Zediker, North Georgia
