Four Illini Earn GCAA PING All-Midwest Region Honors

NORMAN, Okla. – Four Fighting Illini men’s golfers were honored by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) on Saturday (May 25) when Jackson Buchanan, Timmy Crawford, Max Herendeen, and Ryan Voois were selected to the 2024 Division I PING All-Midwest Region team. The announcement was made just before the team teed off in Round 2 of the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

The honor is the second all-region selection of Buchanan’s career, while Crawford, Herendeen, and Voois each earn their first nod.

This marks the 16th consecutive season that the Illini have had multiple honorees on the all-region list.

Buchanan, the 2024 Big Ten Golfer of the Year and unanimous All-Big Ten first team selection, was also tabbed as an All-Midwest Region performer for the second straight season. As a junior, he has competed in all 12 of the team’s stroke play events and in match play at the Cypress Point Classic. He finished as runner-up at the Big Ten Championship after recorded a team-leading two victories during the regular season.  Entering play at the NCAA Championship, he led the team with a stroke average of 70.63 and had posted top eight top-10 finishes. Buchanan is tied for the team lead with 12 sub-70 rounds on the year and ranks second on the squad with 17 rounds of par or better. He has been the Illini’s top finisher in four events this year, the most on the team.   

Crawford, the recipient of the Illini’s 2024 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, 23 stroke play rounds over eight events on the season, including four tournaments in the team’s scoring lineup. Playing as an individual in October, Crawford secured the first win of his collegiate career at the Dayton Flyer Invitational, posting a 16-under 197 (64-66-67). He also competed for the Illini in match play at the Cypress Point Classic. He ranked fourth on the team with a season stroke average of 71.57 and tied for the team’s lowest single round (64) and tournament score (197) during the regular season schedule. Crawford tallied 10 rounds of par or better, including six rounds in the 60s.

Herendeen, the unanimous selection for Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first team All-Big Ten, is the first Illini too earn All-Midwest Region honors as a freshman since Jerry Ji in 2000. He enters the NCAA Championship coming off the first victory…