Class of 2025 on Deck

[John119]

Any class of 2025 families here? If so, what college coaches are your kids looking forward to hearing from on June 15th?  How many schools have you reached out to? Have you been doing this for a while? 

We sent about 12 emails total and filled out another 10 or so questionnaires.  Maybe we're behind. But son is very specific about where he wants to play.  Just wondering what others have done up until now.

 

[leezer99]

11 hours ago, John119 said:

Any class of 2025 families here? If so, what college coaches are your kids looking forward to hearing from on June 15th?  How many schools have you reached out to? Have you been doing this for a while? 

We sent about 12 emails total and filled out another 10 or so questionnaires.  Maybe we're behind. But son is very specific about where he wants to play.  Just wondering what others have done up until now.

 

 

I think you might want to cast a wider net unless your son is highly ranked.

[Abh159]

13 hours ago, John119 said:

We sent about 12 emails total and filled out another 10 or so questionnaires.  Maybe we're behind. But son is very specific about where he wants to play. 

 

 

I agree with @leezer99...

 

What's the plan if none of those few schools recruit him? He just won't play college golf?

[leezer99]

@Abh159 It's only getting tougher for Freshman to get recruited to their school of choice these days with the portal. I saw a stat on NCAA basketball recently that showed around 47% of points scored this year were from transfer students and they expect that number to jump over 50% next year. Men's golf coaches from Power 5's were out watching players at the D2 National Championship a couple weeks ago. 

 

Again... I think we fall back on that mantra, 'Go where you can play'. 

[tssgj65]

3 hours ago, leezer99 said:

@Abh159 It's only getting tougher for Freshman to get recruited to their school of choice these days with the portal. I saw a stat on NCAA basketball recently that showed around 47% of points scored this year were from transfer students and they expect that number to jump over 50% next year. Men's golf coaches from Power 5's were out watching players at the D2 National Championship a couple weeks ago. 

 

Again... I think we fall back on that mantra, 'Go where you can play'. 

D1 definitely attempting to poach from high level D2 (I imagine this will be addressed in the near future).

 

It is amazing how many disgruntled D1 athletes are in the portal now looking for a place to play.  I would also add there should be an understanding that Freshmen probably will need to wait their turn - getting some starts in their first year or two - probably as individuals, but it is tough to compete with 21-22 year olds who know how the program is run, the ins and outs of school - the whole routine, unless they are quite elite.  If they need to play immediately they need to accurately assess their own ability and ability of current roster (College coaches as a matter of practice add 4 strokes to junior scoring for comparison)  I agree - go where you can play!!!

[TroyB123]

1 hour ago, tssgj65 said:

D1 definitely attempting to poach from high level D2 (I imagine this will be addressed in the near future).

 

It is amazing how many disgruntled D1 athletes are in the portal now looking for a place to play.  I would also add there should be an understanding that Freshmen probably will need to wait their turn - getting some starts in their first year or two - probably as individuals, but it is tough to compete with 21-22 year olds who know how the program is run, the ins and outs of school - the whole routine, unless they are quite elite.  If they need to play immediately they need to accurately assess their own ability and ability of current roster (College coaches as a matter of practice add 4 strokes to junior scoring for comparison)  I agree - go where you can play!!!

Kind of curious why that poaching from D2 would be addressed?   Should kids thriving in d2 or d3 have to stick it out with the school they started in?   That doesn't seem any different than how the transfer is working in general.

 

 

[iteachgolf]

8 hours ago, leezer99 said:

@Abh159 It's only getting tougher for Freshman to get recruited to their school of choice these days with the portal. I saw a stat on NCAA basketball recently that showed around 47% of points scored this year were from transfer students and they expect that number to jump over 50% next year. Men's golf coaches from Power 5's were out watching players at the D2 National Championship a couple weeks ago. 

 

Again... I think we fall back on that mantra, 'Go where you can play'. 

National Championship was this week but yes lots of D1 coaches in attendance and several from the SEC.   D2 transfers is nothing new and PGA Tour U is only going to increase its occurrence.  One of my players is going to transfer to a top D1 almost 100% because of PGA Tour U, otherwise he’d be happy staying where he’s played last 2 years. 

[iteachgolf]

3 hours ago, TroyB123 said:

Kind of curious why that poaching from D2 would be addressed?   Should kids thriving in d2 or d3 have to stick it out with the school they started in?   That doesn't seem any different than how the transfer is working in general.

 

 

They won’t change anything. They encourage it essentially.  D2 transfers don’t have windows, so they can enter portal long before D1 players can and stay in portal longer. They get first bites at the Apple so to speak.  

[iteachgolf]

How many schools to reach out to depends a lot on players ability.  For most, reaching out to 50 or so schools is probably needed.  Now if they are top 10 in their class they don’t have to reach out to anyone.  Coaches will blow up their phone.  
 

I’d expect a player ranked about 100 in their class to get 4-6 phone calls on June 15th even if they hadn’t reached out to any schools.  If they were proactive that number could be a lot higher.  If a player is outside top 200 in class I wouldn’t expect any calls immediately.  Will likely come randomly over time vs the first day possible 

[tssgj65]

6 hours ago, TroyB123 said:

Kind of curious why that poaching from D2 would be addressed?   Should kids thriving in d2 or d3 have to stick it out with the school they started in?   That doesn't seem any different than how the transfer is working in general.

 

 

No not at all.  But they are "student" athletes.  It used to be you had to sit a year.....

[tssgj65]

3 hours ago, iteachgolf said:

They won’t change anything. They encourage it essentially.  D2 transfers don’t have windows, so they can enter portal long before D1 players can and stay in portal longer. They get first bites at the Apple so to speak.  

Already changing.  Several Illegal contacts occuring will be addressed.

[iteachgolf]

17 minutes ago, tssgj65 said:

No not at all.  But they are "student" athletes.  It used to be you had to sit a year.....

And how does them transferring to almost always a better school a negative for the “student” part?  
 

Transfers have been happening long before I was in college, and plenty happened while I was in college where a player never had to sit, especially if you transferred to a different conference.   That was 20+ years ago (I left after 2 years and there were 3 transfers in my 2 years that played immediately) and it was D1 to D1.   
 

Impermissible contact is a player/coach issue, the rule is already in place against it, like anything there’s always some who will try to break the rules. 

[tssgj65]

11 hours ago, iteachgolf said:

And how does them transferring to almost always a better school a negative for the “student” part?  
 

Transfers have been happening long before I was in college, and plenty happened while I was in college where a player never had to sit, especially if you transferred to a different conference.   That was 20+ years ago (I left after 2 years and there were 3 transfers in my 2 years that played immediately) and it was D1 to D1.   
 

Impermissible contact is a player/coach issue, the rule is already in place against it, like anything there’s always some who will try to break the rules. 

They are Student Athletes.  Not Athlete Students.

 

Yes transfers have been happening forever.  There were prior rules impacting how that happened and sitting a year did occur without release.  Given the portal it has become the wild west and there are many incidents in college golf of the portal not benefiting the player.

 

I agree there are those that will break the rules regarding coach/player contact.  There is an issue before the NCAA now regarding informal contact prior to the SA electing to enter the portal.  That particular issue has been happening all to often...

[iteachgolf]

1 hour ago, tssgj65 said:

They are Student Athletes.  Not Athlete Students.

 

Yes transfers have been happening forever.  There were prior rules impacting how that happened and sitting a year did occur without release.  Given the portal it has become the wild west and there are many incidents in college golf of the portal not benefiting the player.

 

I agree there are those that will break the rules regarding coach/player contact.  There is an issue before the NCAA now regarding informal contact prior to the SA electing to enter the portal.  That particular issue has been happening all to often...

My point was that compared to almost all D2 schools, power 5 D1 schools will offer a better education AND better playing opportunities.  It covers both the student and athlete part.  When you add in PGATOURU and NIL deals (which top transfers are getting large NIL offers) it’s a no brainer.  If D2 decides to make it harder to transfer many players will choose to go to low ranked D1 and transfer vs top ranked D2.  

[tssgj65]

8 hours ago, iteachgolf said:

My point was that compared to almost all D2 schools, power 5 D1 schools will offer a better education AND better playing opportunities.  It covers both the student and athlete part.  When you add in PGATOURU and NIL deals (which top transfers are getting large NIL offers) it’s a no brainer.  If D2 decides to make it harder to transfer many players will choose to go to low ranked D1 and transfer vs top ranked D2.  

Good points all.  Still better competition at higher ranked D2 Vs 200ish D1.  Top 50-60 D1 a different animal.  All student athletes need to consider the education as 99% won't be playing beyond..... or just an quick attempt at playing...  Still need to win where you are...

[John119]

Ranking is good.

Edited May 28, 2023 by John119

[John119]

On 5/26/2023 at 5:53 AM, Abh159 said:

 

I agree with @leezer99...

 

What's the plan if none of those few schools recruit him? He just won't play college golf?

Good Question. I don't think he ever considered not going to one of his top picks or even his top pick. I know some kids have sent info to 50+ schools.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see. 

 

[MahalNeneng]

On 5/25/2023 at 6:11 PM, John119 said:

Any class of 2025 families here? If so, what college coaches are your kids looking forward to hearing from on June 15th?  How many schools have you reached out to? Have you been doing this for a while? 

We sent about 12 emails total and filled out another 10 or so questionnaires.  Maybe we're behind. But son is very specific about where he wants to play.  Just wondering what others have done up until now.

 

We are 2025

We have reached out to 50+ and have been contacted by 20-30 via postal mail. (there is some overlap)

We have contacted those 50+ every 1-2 months for the past 10 months starting right when coaches were wrapping up 2024 commits. About 20 of the 50+ have already seen the boy play along the way.

We have tailored his summer schedule to be in the public eye as much as possible with 7 tournaments over 10 weeks, starting Monday are expecting more on our list to see him play this summer.

 

As to being specific about where "he wants to play" I would say if he is not in the top 45 ish in the class then backups could be warranted. Well i guess if he is specific about playing for a 200 ranked team then your probably in the clear. Below is a pretty good representation of where particular class ranks committed to by December last year. Obviously the higher class ranked your son is the more "options" you will have and the more "specific" he can be.

 

 

2024 Commits
Name	JGS Rank	Differential	College	College Rank
Nicholas Gross	1	-8.06	Alabama	17
William jennings	2	-6.5	Alabama	17
Jay Leng	3	-6.54	Stanford	6
Byungho Lee	4	-6.17	Pepperdine	14
Matt Moloney	5	-5.75	Georgia	31
Gerado Gomez	6	-5.76	Arkansas	39
Asher Whitaker	7	-5.67	Oklahoma	15
Logan Kim	8	-5.45	Stanford	6
Eduardo Torres	9	-5.36	Texas	20
Kai hirayama	10	-5.4	Cal	72
Andrew Ramos	11	-5.26	Oklahoma	15
Christian Pardu	12	-4.82	Tennessee	8
Boston Bracken	13	-4.88	ASU	4
Bowen Ballis	14	-4.68	Vanderbilt	2
Billy Abdow	15	-4.71	Georgia	31
Wheaton Ennis	16	-4.83	A&M	11
Grant Gudgel	17	4.78	OSU	16
Supapon Amor	18	-4.66	Purdue	28
Tyler Spielman	19	-4.59	Auburn	1
Trey Marrion	20	-4.47	Illinois	7
Parker Sands	21	-4.48	Florida	9
Jaden Dumdumaya	22	-4.55	Scal	67
William Ma	23	-4.46	SMU	49
Grant Roscich	24	-4.46	UNC	5
Colin Salema	25	-4.43	Clemson	41
Ethan Paschal	26	-4.3	UNC	5
Alex Long	27	-4.25
Rayhan Latief	28	-4.38
Drew Miller	29	-4.2	Michigan S	55
Billy Davis	30	-4.15	Auburn	1
Daniel Zou	31	-4.05
Thanawin Lee	32	-4.29
Ryan Downes	33	-4.03	Vanderbilt	2
Yenxuan Wu	34	-3.92
Rich Wills	35	-3.97
Jacob Blanton	36	-3.86	Ole Miss	46
Barry Zhang	37	-3.78
Clark Gaalen	38	-3.95	Oklahoma	15
Zhengfei Han	39	-3.79	USC	67
Reed Greyserman	40	-3.71
Parker Bunn	41	-3.86	OSU	16
Bradley Chill	42	-3.64	Indiana	66
Jacob Lang	43	-3.6
Ting Change	44	-3.71
Warren Thomis	45	-3.51	Kentucky	94
Bryant Hernandez	46	-3.41
Mykhailo Golod	47	-3.45	UNC	5
David Martinez	48	-3.4
Vincent Cervantes	49	-3.43	Marquette	45
Eric Yun	50	-3.43
Michael Lee	51	-3.32
Trevor Gaurs	52	-3.37	UCLA	140
Grady Smith	53	-3.28	Louisville	44
John Hiller	54	-3.2	Duke	33
Salil Khanduja	55	-3.13	Columbia	174
Ethan Whitaker	56	-3.17	Chattanooga	63
Blake Keen	57	-3.17
Luke Bailey	58	-3.06	East Carolina	162
Hsuan Chen	59	-3.09
Jake Olson	60	-3.08
Charlie Wylie	61	-3.05
Trenton Mierl	62	-3.01	New Mexico	59
William Alexander	63	-3.09
Jackson Hymer	64	-2.9	Baylor	30
Xander Goboy	65	-3.06	NC State	75
Francisco Gutierrez	66	-2.9	Loyola Mary	151
Clark Goboy	67	-2.92
Wesley Hu	68	-2.78
Daniel Macias	69	-2.77
Luke Mosley	70	-2.82
Felix Bouchard	71	-2.67	Kansas	51
Connor Mccann	72	-2.72
Leo Wessel	73	-2.73	Cincinnati	35
John Knight	74	-2.61	South Carolina	61
Palmer Haynes	75	-2.68

[Abh159]

On 5/27/2023 at 8:42 PM, John119 said:

Ranking is good.

 

As someone who was ranked in the Top-40 of their class years ago... narrowing yourself down to just a handful of schools isn't a good idea. Especially if those programs are the "best of the best". If your list is simply a few local, mid-level programs then I guess it might work out.

 

One of my best friends did this exact thing you're talking about... He was in the Top-25 of his class and had a ton of options. However, he only wanted to go to one big time program and wouldn't even consider anywhere else. Guess what happened?? They didn't recruit him at all, but told him he could walk on as a non-scholarship athlete. Since he only wanted to play for that school that's what he ended up doing. 4 years later he had a degree that cost him $200k and he never played in a single tournament for that team during his entire tenue.

 

Go where you can play and you'll be happy. Don't go somewhere just because of their "legacy" or "tradition". 

[John119]

On 5/31/2023 at 8:34 AM, MahalNeneng said:

We are 2025

We have reached out to 50+ and have been contacted by 20-30 via postal mail. (there is some overlap)

We have contacted those 50+ every 1-2 months for the past 10 months starting right when coaches were wrapping up 2024 commits. About 20 of the 50+ have already seen the boy play along the way.

We have tailored his summer schedule to be in the public eye as much as possible with 7 tournaments over 10 weeks, starting Monday are expecting more on our list to see him play this summer.

 

As to being specific about where "he wants to play" I would say if he is not in the top 45 ish in the class then backups could be warranted. Well i guess if he is specific about playing for a 200 ranked team then your probably in the clear. Below is a pretty good representation of where particular class ranks committed to by December last year. Obviously the higher class ranked your son is the more "options" you will have and the more "specific" he can be.

 

 

2024 Commits
Name	JGS Rank	Differential	College	College Rank
Nicholas Gross	1	-8.06	Alabama	17
William jennings	2	-6.5	Alabama	17
Jay Leng	3	-6.54	Stanford	6
Byungho Lee	4	-6.17	Pepperdine	14
Matt Moloney	5	-5.75	Georgia	31
Gerado Gomez	6	-5.76	Arkansas	39
Asher Whitaker	7	-5.67	Oklahoma	15
Logan Kim	8	-5.45	Stanford	6
Eduardo Torres	9	-5.36	Texas	20
Kai hirayama	10	-5.4	Cal	72
Andrew Ramos	11	-5.26	Oklahoma	15
Christian Pardu	12	-4.82	Tennessee	8
Boston Bracken	13	-4.88	ASU	4
Bowen Ballis	14	-4.68	Vanderbilt	2
Billy Abdow	15	-4.71	Georgia	31
Wheaton Ennis	16	-4.83	A&M	11
Grant Gudgel	17	4.78	OSU	16
Supapon Amor	18	-4.66	Purdue	28
Tyler Spielman	19	-4.59	Auburn	1
Trey Marrion	20	-4.47	Illinois	7
Parker Sands	21	-4.48	Florida	9
Jaden Dumdumaya	22	-4.55	Scal	67
William Ma	23	-4.46	SMU	49
Grant Roscich	24	-4.46	UNC	5
Colin Salema	25	-4.43	Clemson	41
Ethan Paschal	26	-4.3	UNC	5
Alex Long	27	-4.25
Rayhan Latief	28	-4.38
Drew Miller	29	-4.2	Michigan S	55
Billy Davis	30	-4.15	Auburn	1
Daniel Zou	31	-4.05
Thanawin Lee	32	-4.29
Ryan Downes	33	-4.03	Vanderbilt	2
Yenxuan Wu	34	-3.92
Rich Wills	35	-3.97
Jacob Blanton	36	-3.86	Ole Miss	46
Barry Zhang	37	-3.78
Clark Gaalen	38	-3.95	Oklahoma	15
Zhengfei Han	39	-3.79	USC	67
Reed Greyserman	40	-3.71
Parker Bunn	41	-3.86	OSU	16
Bradley Chill	42	-3.64	Indiana	66
Jacob Lang	43	-3.6
Ting Change	44	-3.71
Warren Thomis	45	-3.51	Kentucky	94
Bryant Hernandez	46	-3.41
Mykhailo Golod	47	-3.45	UNC	5
David Martinez	48	-3.4
Vincent Cervantes	49	-3.43	Marquette	45
Eric Yun	50	-3.43
Michael Lee	51	-3.32
Trevor Gaurs	52	-3.37	UCLA	140
Grady Smith	53	-3.28	Louisville	44
John Hiller	54	-3.2	Duke	33
Salil Khanduja	55	-3.13	Columbia	174
Ethan Whitaker	56	-3.17	Chattanooga	63
Blake Keen	57	-3.17
Luke Bailey	58	-3.06	East Carolina	162
Hsuan Chen	59	-3.09
Jake Olson	60	-3.08
Charlie Wylie	61	-3.05
Trenton Mierl	62	-3.01	New Mexico	59
William Alexander	63	-3.09
Jackson Hymer	64	-2.9	Baylor	30
Xander Goboy	65	-3.06	NC State	75
Francisco Gutierrez	66	-2.9	Loyola Mary	151
Clark Goboy	67	-2.92
Wesley Hu	68	-2.78
Daniel Macias	69	-2.77
Luke Mosley	70	-2.82
Felix Bouchard	71	-2.67	Kansas	51
Connor Mccann	72	-2.72
Leo Wessel	73	-2.73	Cincinnati	35
John Knight	74	-2.61	South Carolina	61
Palmer Haynes	75	-2.68

W

 

Edited June 1, 2023 by John119

[wegobomber31]

What is our sense of the strength of the 2026 class relative to 2024 & 2026? It looks like it's pretty strong at the top.  2026 kids seem to be winning and contending in an outsized number of events this year.

[John119]

1 hour ago, wegobomber31 said:

What is our sense of the strength of the 2026 class relative to 2024 & 2026? It looks like it's pretty strong at the top.  2026 kids seem to be winning and contending in an outsized number of events this year.

Those top kids from 2026 look really good! However, growth spurt hasn't hit yet. From Freshman through Sophomore year so many kids either keep going or start to fall back. We'll see who makes it though from 2026.

[iteachgolf]

3 hours ago, wegobomber31 said:

What is our sense of the strength of the 2026 class relative to 2024 & 2026? It looks like it's pretty strong at the top.  2026 kids seem to be winning and contending in an outsized number of events this year.

2026 and 2027 are a lot stronger than 2024

[John119]

2 hours ago, iteachgolf said:

2026 and 2027 are a lot stronger than 2024

Way too early to tell! It's a Marathon not a Sprint. 

[golferdad8]

5 hours ago, iteachgolf said:

2026 and 2027 are a lot stronger than 2024

I wouldn't agree with that statement as there's various ways to slice/dice "stronger."

Stronger can be finding the next Scheffler or Morikawa or it can be depth of the top 50 to 100 players. However, I think it's too early to make a blanket statement that like.

In my observation, many young top players peak early and get injured or can't hack it when school gets harder in 10th/11th grade (or get a boy/girl friend). Also, some golf only players will do home schooling and travel nonstop for invitationals (but then the top academic schools will not be options (Stanford, NU, Ivies, NU, etc....) 

 

Other observations - smart coaches don't only look at JGS as it's easy to manipulate (plus there's regional facades favoring the southern courses with highly rated courses in sunny conditions). This is why smart coaches know that the top 40 players are not necessarily better than the Top 41 to 100 players. Many coaches analyze Rolex/AJGA rankings, scores in the mid-60s, and frequency & % of rounds below par. In addition, they also factor in amateur tournament track records for another perspective. After all, if a kid is top 10 beating the rest of the college players in the field, that's a good indication. Lastly, smart coaches also realize that many of today's young hot shot players will soon fade as they won't be able to handle the academics or college life without their parents catering to them - so a top ranked player may not always be as attractive as it appears.   

[wegobomber31]

I looked at the AJGA eligible events from 2023 so far by class and showed the percentage of rounds played (Open, Invitational and National events) and the percentage of “AJGA points” (the sliding scale they use for determining strength of field, i.e. 10 for 1st, 9 for 2nd etc…). It’s not surprising that 2023 class would have an outsized share of points relative to rounds played, but 2026 looks really strong already. It will be interesting to see how this evolves. 
 

 

[iteachgolf]

10 hours ago, John119 said:

Way too early to tell! It's a Marathon not a Sprint. 

Actually it’s not.  I’ve been doing this a long time and teach several of the top 2024s. And I can tell you 2026 and 2027 is stronger.  I can also tell you that many college coaches feel the same way and are setting up recruiting to have more money in those years. 

[iteachgolf]

5 minutes ago, toulucalakegolf said:

 

Do you really think that one class is better then another?   This makes no sense the world is a big place.

 

 

Huh?

[tssgj65]

9 hours ago, golferdad8 said:

I wouldn't agree with that statement as there's various ways to slice/dice "stronger."

Stronger can be finding the next Scheffler or Morikawa or it can be depth of the top 50 to 100 players. However, I think it's too early to make a blanket statement that like.

In my observation, many young top players peak early and get injured or can't hack it when school gets harder in 10th/11th grade (or get a boy/girl friend). Also, some golf only players will do home schooling and travel nonstop for invitationals (but then the top academic schools will not be options (Stanford, NU, Ivies, NU, etc....) 

 

Other observations - smart coaches don't only look at JGS as it's easy to manipulate (plus there's regional facades favoring the southern courses with highly rated courses in sunny conditions). This is why smart coaches know that the top 40 players are not necessarily better than the Top 41 to 100 players. Many coaches analyze Rolex/AJGA rankings, scores in the mid-60s, and frequency & % of rounds below par. In addition, they also factor in amateur tournament track records for another perspective. After all, if a kid is top 10 beating the rest of the college players in the field, that's a good indication. Lastly, smart coaches also realize that many of today's young hot shot players will soon fade as they won't be able to handle the academics or college life without their parents catering to them - so a top ranked player may not always be as attractive as it appears.   

One of the most important areas beyond talent is; does the kid really love the grind or have their current circumstances/situation created the environment for improvement, they have maxed, and the college environment won't get them more/necessary improvement.  Have the parents driven too much and the kid has enjoyed playing success at the current level - but do they really, really love it and have what it takes to continue to improve and mesh with 21-23 year olds when they get to college.  Also are they mature enough to handle all of the responsibilities required of college and avoid all the distractions of the college environment.

 

ALL kids say they love it and they are the hardest worker!  Everyone.  If anyone could accurately measure the "LOVE IT" factor they would make millions explaining how to assess this to coaches in all sports!!!!

[iteachgolf]

1 hour ago, toulucalakegolf said:

 

You stated that 2026 was better then 2024.  That is a very ignorant comment.  

 

There are kids that are 2024 in Asia, Europe and other countries like South Africa that are not ranked and better then those 2026 kids.

 

How is it ignorant? How do you know what I’m aware of and who I’m aware of?  How do you know who I talk to (recruiters, national team coaches, college coaches etc?).  When talking about classes strength we are largely talking about it from the perspective of college golf as only 10 kids a birth year “make it” in professional golf.  The internationals that will play high level college golf are more well known than you’d think with many coaches traveling to Europe and Asia to recruit/watch players.