BATON ROUGE– LSU golfer Connor Gaunt was named Player of the Year on the All-Louisiana Men’s college golf team as announced by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
Freshman Jay Mendell and senior Drew Doyle were first team selections alongside Gaunt, giving the Tigers three All-Louisiana First Team golfers for the third year in a row.
Gaunt, a graduate student from Cabot, Arkansas, enjoyed a stellar final season with the Tigers. The Louisiana Player of the Year led the team in scoring average with a 71.05 and seven top-ten finishes. Gaunt finished the Jackson T. Stephens Cup in Dallas, Texas at T3 while posting a 13-under 203 (64-70-69), and the LSU standout also finished the Everett Buick GMC Classic tied for third with a 7-under 209 performance (69-74-66).
All-SEC freshman team member Mendell had a strong first season with the Tigers. Mendell, a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, finished his freshman campaign with a 72.36 scoring average across 39 rounds of golf.
Mendell also won the Hall Williams Collegiate with a 10-under 203 (67-68-68) to secure his first victory as a Tiger.
Doyle earned his third award from the LSWA after winning Freshman of the Year in 2021 and Player of the Year in 2023.
Over 22 rounds, Doyle finished with an even par scoring average of 71.95. Doyle’s best finish of the season was T4 at the Hootie at Bulls Bay, shooting a 5-under 211 (72-69-70).
The complete All-Louisiana College Men’s Golf Team:
Player of the Year: Connor Gaunt, LSU
Freshman of the Year: Nilo Maki-Petaja, Louisiana Tech
Coach of the Year: Jeff Lorio, New Orleans
First Team
Connor Gaunt, LSU
Nilo Maki-Petaja, Louisiana Tech
Jay Mendell, LSU
Drew Doyle, LSU
Andrew Bennett, Centenary College
Second Team
Melan Dhaubhadel, ULM
Kyle Bennett, New Orleans
Grayson Glorioso, Southeastern
Malan Potgieter, Louisiana
Matt Weber, New Orleans