Sun Devil Men's Golf season preview

Arizona State Fans have a lot to be excited about as the 2025-26 Sun Devil Men's Golf season approaches. Head Coach Matt Thurmond has his team in position again to compete for a Big 12 and NCAA Championship. Senior Michael Mjaaseth, juniors Connor Williams and Fifa Laopakdee, and sophomore Peer Wernicke are back from a squad that won the stroke play portion of the 2025 NCAA Championship and was just shy of advancing in Match Play.

Freshmen Boston Bracken, Bowen Mauss, and Kent Karlstrom form one of the most highly-touted recruiting classes in the country. ASU is slated to play in the state of Arizona two times, including hosting the annual Thunderbird Collegiate at Papago Golf Club April 10-11.

Here is more on the outlook of the 2025-26 Sun Devil Mens' Golf team.

PGA TOUR U ranking
Sun Devil Men's Golf senior Michael Mjaaseth has earned a spot in the Top-10 of the PGA TOUR U Preseason rankings. PGA TOUR University debuted their list of seniors identified as future professionals based on a variety of factors, including ranking and performance. Michael Mjaaseth is listed at No. 8 in the preseason rankings, putting him firmly in contention for a coveted PGA or Korn Ferry Tour membership.

Mjaaseth is coming off an outstanding junior season which culminated in him earning All-American honors. He was a big reason why Arizona State spent the entire season ranked inside the Top-5 and helped them to a first place finish in the stroke play portion of the 2025 NCAA Championship. Mjaaseth is considered one of the top returning male collegiate golfers in the nation.

Preseason polls
Arizona State is garnering respect in all three major national media preseason rankings. The GCAA has the Sun Devils as the No. 6 team in the country, a clear sign of respect from the other coaches across the country. ASU is also slotted in the Top-10 of Golfweek's initial rankings, coming in at No. 8. GOLF Channel has the Maroon and Gold just outside the Top-10 at No. 12.

GCAA: 6th
Golfweek: 8th
GOLF Channel: 12th

Scoreboard will provide the official NCAA ranking starting in October. Arizona State finished the 2024-25 campaign ranked No. 3 in the final Scoreboard poll.

Preseason All-American Honors
Arizona State boasts one of the top returning duos in the country. Both Golfweek and GOLF Channel recognized Michael Mjaaseth and Connor Williams as Preseason All-Americans. Golfweek had Williams on their second team, with Mjaaseth a third-team selection. GOLF Channel tabbed Mjaaseth as a second team, while Williams received Honorable Mention distinction. 

A decade of Matt Thurmond
Matt Thurmond gets ready for his tenth season as the head coach of the Sun Devil Men's Golf program. Hired as Arizona State’s head coach on July 25, 2016, Thurmond has enjoyed continued regional and national success. He has established himself as one of the nation's top coaches during his tenure in Tempe.

Thurmond has led the Sun Devils to 26 tournament wins, including the 2024 Pac-12 Championship and consecutive NCAA Regional titles in 2022 and 2023. Arizona State made NCAA Championship Match Play four times in their seven NCAA Championship appearances since Thurmond arrived, highlighted by their runner-up finish in 2022, the program’s highest finish at the NCAA Championship since winning it all in 1996. 

In becoming a four-time West Region Coach of the Year (2018, 2022-2024), two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2019, 2024), a 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup Team USA Head Coach, and the 2021-22 Arizona State Athletics Frank Kush Award recipient, Thurmond has coached 11 different Sun Devils to 18 All-America honors. Four-time PING All-American Josele Ballester became the first player from Spain to win the U.S. Amateur Championship in August of 2024. He has had both the 2019 (Armen Kirakossian) and 2025 (Thomas Sutton) Jan Strickland Outstanding Assistant Coach Award recipients on his staff.

Competing at an elite level
Arizona State is the only team in the country to have earned a top-two seed at a NCAA Regional each of the past six postseasons (2019-2025). The next closest are Oklahoma, Florida State and North Carolina with five each. In five of those regionals, the Sun Devils have been the No. 1 seed, including each of the past four years (2019; 2022-25).

Matt Thurmond at NCAA Championship with ASU
2025: T-5th (0-1 match play)
2024: DNC
2023: T-5th (0-1 match play)
2022: 2nd (2-1 match play)
2021: T3rd (1-1 match play)
2020: COVID
2019: 16th
2018: T-13th
2017: 16th

Here for the long haul
Sun Devil Athletics was thrilled to extend four of its head coaches back in December of 2023, including Men's Golf Head Coach Matt Thurmond. Entering his tenth year with ASU, Farr-Kaye was extended through the 2027-28 athletic calendar. He has led Arizona State to four Top-5 finishes over the past five seasons.

GCAA Hall of Famer
In December of 2024, Matt Thurmond was officially inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame. To be selected to the Hall of Fame, a coach must be nominated by their peers and then selected by the GCAA Hall of Fame Committee. Selection criteria not only include a coach's record on the golf course, but also their contributions to the game, student-athletes, and school. Thurmond's standing as one of the greatest coaches in the men's collegiate game was solidified.

Thomas Sutton named Most Outstanding Assistant
Thomas Sutton received the NCAA Division I Jan Strickland Award from the GCAA following the 2025 season. He becomes the second assistant under Coach Thurmond to receive the distinction. Arizona State won three times with seven other top-three finishes in Sutton’s third season in Tempe. The Sun Devils finished second at the 2025 Big 12 Championship, their first year in the conference, and was the No. 1 seed after stroke play at the NCAA Championship. Being led on the course by PING All-Americans Josele Ballester, Michael Mjaaseth, Preston Summerhays, and Connor Williams, Arizona State completed the season ranked No. 3 via Scoreboard powered by Clippd.

Along with being the fifth four-time All-American in program history, Ballester became the first Spaniard to win the U.S. Amateur in 2024 before being named 2025 Big 12 Player of the Year and 2025 Division I Gary Player International Golfer of the Year presented by FlightScope.

Hired as associate head coach on June 16, 2022, Sutton has helped lead the Sun Devils to nine tournament victories, including the 2024 Pac-12 Championship and 2023 NCAA Las Vegas Regional, the No. 1 seed in their NCAA Regional each year, and consistent top-five national rankings. 11 PING All-America, 14 PING All-West Region, and six Arnold Palmer Cup selections have occurred with Sutton on staff.

More about each Sun Devil

Michael Mjaaseth, Senior

• Currently the 23rd-ranked male amateur in the World (4th in Europe)
• Played in 36 tournaments (110 rounds and 7,845 strokes) and has a 71.30 stroke average to go along with 43 rounds in the 60s entering his final year
• Enjoyed success in International competition during the offseason, including a recent triumph at the 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup.
• Went 2-0-2 in Match Play at Congaree Golf Club in South Carolina in June, helping lead the International team to a 35-25 victory, their first on foreign soil since 2020.
• The Olso, Norway native put together a fantastic 2024-25 campaign that caught the attention of PGA TOUR U and many other international golf entities.
• Tied for the Papago Individual title in the fall and finished tied for third (Big 12 Championship), fourth (Maridoe Intercollegiate), tied for fifth (Cabo Collegiate), eighth (Thunderbird Collegiate) and tied for ninth at the NCAA Bremerton Regional during a run of five straight top-10 finishes.
  
  
  Connor Williams, Junior
  
• Earned third-team All-America honors in 2024-25 as he finished his sophomore season ranked No. 25 by Clippd after notching a tie for seventh at the NCAA Championships.
• Posted six top-10 finishes, including a second-place finish at the Big 12 Championship and top-five finishes at Williams Cup (second) and NCAA Bremerton Regional (fifth).
  
• Defeated Ole Miss' Cohen Trolio, 3&2, to earn a point for Arizona State in the first round of Match Play at the 2025 NCAA Men's Golf Championship
• Shot a 65 in the second round of the Bremerton Regional and posted a 5-under 66 in the second round of the Big 12 Championship.
• Has played in 22 Sun Devil tournaments (69 rounds and 4,901 strokes) and has a 71.03 career stroke average, with 21 rounds in the 60s, through two seasons.
  
  Connor Williams career top 10 finishes (7)
• 2nd: Big 12 Championship (Apr. 22-24, 2025/Southern Hills Country Club)
• 2nd: Williams Cup (Oct. 20-22, 2024/Eagle Point Golf Club)
• 5th: NCAA Bremerton Regional (May 12-14, 2025/Gold Countain Golf Club)
• T6th: Sahalee Players Championship (Sept. 7-8, 2024/Sahalee Country Club)
• T7th: NCAA Championship (May 23-26, 2025/Omni La Costa Resort and Spa)
• T8th: Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational (Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 2024/Colonial Country Club)
• T8th: Valspar Collegiate Invitational (Mar. 25-26, 2024/Floridian Golf Club)
  
  

Fifa Laopakdee, Junior

• Won the 2025 Thunderbird Collegiate (Apr. 11-12) at Papago Golf Club) with a 12-under 201 (66-67-68)
• Shot 8-under 205 (68-69-68) and tied for the top spot but lost in a playoff at the solid 14-team Cabo Collegiate in early March at the Twin Dolphin Golf Club. ASU led wire-to-wire over a field included seven top-25 teams, with Ole Miss (1), ASU (3), Oklahoma State (6) Arizona (17), Vanderbilt (14), Texas Tech (19) and Florida State (21) all competing
• Tied for first at the Papago Individual (Sept. 16-17, 2024) with an 8-under 205 (69-68-68)
• Finished fifth at the Southern Dunes Invitational (Sept. 9-10, 2024) at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club with a 6-under 138
• Had top-10 finish at the 2025 Maridoe Intercollegiate (Mar. 31-Apr. 1)
  
• Defeated Ole Miss' Cameron Tankersely, 4&3, to earn a point for Arizona State in the first round of Match Play at the 2025 NCAA Men's Golf Championship
• Laopakdee shines, but ASU falls at NCAA golf championship (by Travis Bradley, azcentral.com/May 28, 2025)
  
  

Peer Wernicke, Sophomore

• Currently the 68th-ranked male amateur in the World (16th in Europe)
  
• Finished the season ranked in the Top-100 of the Scoreboard rankings
  
• Earned a Top-10 result in his NCAA postseason debut, finishing in eighth-place at the Bremerton Regional
  
• 7 Top-20 finishes in his first season as a Sun Devil
  
• 2-1-1 record at the Big 12 Match Play event
  
• Finished in 13th out of 78 in the Sahalee Players Championship, his first collegiate tournament
  
  
  Boston Bracken, Freshman
  
• Arrives at Arizona State after the conclusion of a Mormon mission following high school
  
• Back-to-back 4A Utah Boys' Golf State Titles to end his prep career
  
• Led Crimson Cliffs to two consecutive 4A Utah Boys' State Team Championships
  
• Finished in the Top-5 at the 2025 Larry H. Miller Utah Open, a Utah PGA event
  
• Won the 2024 Jay Don Blake Jr. with fellow Sun Devil freshman Bowen Mauss finishing second
  
• Top-10 at the 2023 Boy's Junior PGA Championship (10th place)
  
• 16th-place finish at the 2023 Rolex Tournament of Champions
  
• 17th-place finish at the 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship
  
• Runner-up at the 2022 IMG Academy Junior World Championship
   
  Bowen Mauss, Freshman
  
• Made the Round of 64 at the 2025 U.S. Amateur Championship after finishing in 33rd place during stroke play portion
  
• 2025 Utah State Amateur Champion
  
• 2023 Utah 6A Boys' State Individual Champion
  
• Earned exemption to play at the Black Desert Championship, a PGA Tour event
  
• 2023 and 2024 Utah 6A Utah Boys' State Team Champions with Corner Canyon High School
  
• 2024 Utah 6A Utah Boys' State runner-up
  
• 11th-place finish at the 2024 The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by Rolex
  
• Finished in the Top-15 at the 2025 Larry H. Miller Utah Open, a Utah PGA event
  
• Finished runner-up to fellow Sun Devil freshman Boston Bracken at the 2024 Jay Don Blake Jr.
  
• Top-10 finishes at the 2024 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, 2024 Dustin Johnson World Junior, and the 2024 Mountainland Invitational
  
  Kent Karlstom, Freshman
  
• Mesa, Arizona native that comes from Rancho Mirage, California where he enjoyed a successful juniors career
  
• Top-10 performances at both the 2025 Sizzler and Southwestern Amateur
  
• 2024 HV3 Foundation Junior Champion
  
• 2024 AM Technical Solutions Junior at Southpointe runner-up
  
• 2023 Inland Empire Amateur Champion
  
• 2021 and 2022 World Stars of Junior Golf Champion
   
  2025-26 Schedule
  Sahalee Players Invitational – Sept. 6-7 (Redmond, WA)
  Wohali Classic – Sept. 15-16 (Coalville, UT)
  Fighting Illini Invitational – Sept. 19-20 (Chicago, IL)
  Ben Hogan Collegiate – Sept. 29-30 (Fort Worth, TX)
  East Lake Cup - Oct. 27-29 (Atlanta, GA)
  Copper Cup – January 19-20 (Laguna Niguel, CA)
  The Amer Ari – Feb. 5-7 (Waikoloa, HI)
  The Cabo Collegiate – March 1-3 (Cabo San Lucas, MX)
  The Desimone Invitational – March 9-10 (San Francisco, CA)
  Arizona Thunderbird – March 16-17 (Tucson, AZ | Tucson Country Club)
  Valspar Invitational – March 23-24 (West Palm Beach, FL)
  Maridoe Invitational – March 30-31 (Carrollton, TX)
  Thunderbird Collegiate – Apr. 10-11 (Phoenix, AZ | Papago Golf Club)
  Big 12 Championship – April 27-29 (Hutchinson, KS)
  NCAA Regionals – May 19-21 (Athens, Georgia; Bermuda Run, North Carolina; Bryan, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Corvallis, Oregon; Tucson, Arizona)
  NCAA Championship – May 29 - June 3 (La Costa, CA; Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Champions Course)
  Italicized = Home Tournament
  
  ---> FULL SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN <--
  
  Most appearances on the Sun Devil schedule
  Arizona, 6
  Texas, 6
  UCLA, 6
  Oklahoma State, 5
  Pepperdine, 5
  Texas Tech, 5
  Baylor, 4
  Georgia Tech, 4
  Oklahoma, 4
  Stanford, 4
  Utah, 4
  

A Tradition of excellence
Most NCAA Championship apperances
Oklahoma State, 76
Texas, 68
Arizona State, 59
USC, 58

Recent runs
Arizona State won the stroke play portion of the 2025 NCAA Championship, but eventually dropped a closely contested match to eventual National runner-up Ole Miss in the first round. Coach Thurmond nearly won his first NCAA Championship in 2022, leading the Maroon and Gold to the match play finals before falling to Texas. It marked ASU's best finish since its won the 1996 title. The Sun Devils also tied for third at the 2021 NCAA Championship officially by reaching the semifinals of match play. 

Special season
Arizona State in 1990 is the only program to have its men's and women's teams win the NCAA golf championships in the same season.

Two titles
The Sun Devil men won NCAA titles in 1990 (head coach Steve Loy) and 1996 (head coach Randy Lein).

Past NCAA individual champions
This season will mark the 23rd anniversary of Sun Devil freshman Alejandro Canizares winning the 2003 title in Stillwater, the 33rd anniversary of Todd Demsey winning the 1993 title, the 34th anniversary of Phil Mickelson winning the last of his three titles and the 43rd anniversary of Jim Carter winning the 1983 title.

ASU has had four NCAA medalists on six occasions as Carter (1983), Mickelson (1989, 1990, 1992), Demsey (1993), and Canizares (2003) all have taken home the trophy.

Past NCAA individual champions
Alejandro Canizares, 2003
Todd Demsey, 1993
Phil Mickelson, 1992
Phil Mickelson, 1990
Phil Mickelson, 1989
Jim Carter, 1983

Most NCAA individual men's golf champions
Yale, 13
Oklahoma State, 9
Harvard, 8
Houston, 8
Princeton, 7
Arizona State, 6
Texas, 6

Before he was Masters Champion
Sun Devil freshman Jon Rahm's 9-under 61 in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament is the second-best round in NCAA history, second only to the 10-under 60 by Michael Schachner of Duke in the third round in 2007.