FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast University men's golf earned the Presidents Special Recognition from the GCAA for obtaining a 3.5 or higher GPA for the 2023-24 academic year.
"I'm really proud of our team," head coach Andrew Danna said. "They set records on the golf course and in the classroom this year. It's a testament to all their hard work and dedication."
The Eagles were one of 59 teams across the Division I landscape to garner the distinction and only one of two programs in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Lipscomb made the 3.5 list alongside FGCU, while Harvard was crowned the DI Academic National Champions with a 3.866 GPA.
Individually, four Eagles took home Cobalt Golf Scholar All-American honors. ASUN Second Team honoree Joseph Sullivan, ASUN Third Team member Austin Cherichella, Evan Thompson and Matt Millar were each awarded the title. Cherichella also appeared on the ASUN's All-Academic Team list. ASUN All-Freshman Brody Stevenson achieved a perfect 4.0.
To be a Scholar All-American, student-athletes must have maintained a 3.2 or higher GPA for the academic year, be a sophomore or older in classification, hold a stroke average under 76.0 and compete in at least 50 percent of their team's tournaments.
In 2023-24, FGCU narrowly missed earning its second-ever at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament field. The Eagles closed the season ranked No. 66 overall and climbed as high as No. 50. FGCU notched one tournament victory and four top-three team finishes. The Green and Blue posted the lowest scoring average in program history at 284.9 and also sent an individual to the Austin Regional.
Sullivan earned the individual at-large bid into the NCAA Men's Golf Championship, fishing 25th overall. In the first tournament of the season, Sullivan won the angular Valero Texas Collegiate in a three-way playoff, earning an exemption into the PGA's Valero Texas Open. Sullivan would also force a three-way playoff at the ASUN Championship en route to ASUN All-Tournament honors. Sullivan broke the program's single-season round average (70.6) and total under-par rounds (23) and rounds played (39).
The Eagles won the Wisconsin Badger Invitational, marking the fourth win for coach Danna in his tenure at FGCU and the first since March of 2022. FGCU broke five team records in Hawaii, highlighting a runner-up performance at the Kapolei Invitational. FGCU turned in a program record 20-under to-par score to open the tournament. The Eagles continued its historic charge by also breaking the 36-hole to-par score at 30-under. The Green and Blue finished 51-under as a team, another program record. FGCU's aggregate three-round score of 813 shattered the previous record of 832. FGCU's 267 in the final round tied the school record for the lowest team round, but its 21-under-par score on Thursday broke its Tuesday record of 20-under.
The Green and Blue captured its second runner-up finish of the season at the Auburn Tiger Invitational, placed third at The Rutherford Intercollegiate and fourth at the ASUN Championship.
