CARLSBAD, Calif. (theACC.com) – Virginia’s Ben James and SMU’s William Sides were named to the 10-member Division I PING All-America First Team, announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America on Wednesday, June 3.
James becomes the fifth NCAA Division I golfer since the GCAA began naming All-Americans in 1958 to be a four-time First Team All-American (2023-26). The previous four are Gary Hallberg (Wake Forest, 1977-80), Phil Mickelson (Arizona State, 1989-92), David Duval (Georgia Tech, 1990-93) and Bryce Molder (Georgia Tech, 1998-2001).
James, who earned his PGA TOUR card at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship by finishing atop the final PGA TOUR University rankings, won his second career NCAA Regional title in May, carding a 54-hole total of 194, the lowest ever recorded by an NCAA Division I golfer at a regional. The total broke his own NCAA record of 196, set at the 2023 Las Vegas Regional. His 19-under-par was also one stroke shy of matching his NCAA record for relative-to-par score at a regional (20-under). The Milford, Connecticut, native led the Cavaliers to their second straight ACC title in April, winning his match in the final against Stanford, 6&5.
Sides won three individual titles during the 2025-26 regular season and peaked as high as No. 7 in the Scoreboard Individual Rankings. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, native captured titles at the Stephens Cup in the fall and Pauma Valley Invitational and Lewis Chitengwa Memorial in the spring. He later earned a berth as an individual at the Bryan Regional, where he finished 16th. Sides closed the season with a 68.4 scoring average, the third-lowest mark in the ACC.
NCAA Division I PING All-Americans
First Team
Kihei Akina, BYU
Mahanth Chirravuri, Pepperdine
Ben James, Virginia
Filip Jakubcik, Arizona
William Jennings, Alabama
Jackson Koivun, Auburn
Christiaan Maas, Texas
Will Sides, SMU
Harry Takis, San Diego State
Preston Stout, Oklahoma State
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