NORMAN, Okla. – Four Fighting Illini men’s golfers earned 2024 Division I PING All-America recognition from the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) on Wednesday when the organization released its list of second team, third team and honorable mention honorees. First team selections were previously announced in conjunction with title match at the NCAA Championship.
Freshman Max Herendeen and junior Jackson Buchanan earned second and third team accolades, respectively. Fifth-year senior Tyler Goecke and sophomore Ryan Voois were tabbed as honorable mention.
In total 63 golfers were honored. Illinois’ four honorees across the first team (11 members), second team (10), third team (10), and honorable mention (32) rank second nationally – in a tie with Arizona State and Virginia – one behind Vanderbilt’s five selections.
Buchanan secures All-America status for the second consecutive season after being named honorable mention last year as a sophomore, while Goecke, Herendeen, and Voois each earned the first selections of their collegiate careers.
Herendeen is only the fourth Illinois men’s golfer to be recognized as a GCAA PING All-American in his first collegiate season and is also the first Fighting Illini freshman in program history to be selected to the second team or better. James Lepp (2002 honorable mention), Patrick Nagle (2003 third team) and Charlie Danielson (2013 honorable mention) were previously honored after standout rookie campaigns for the Orange and Blue.
In addition to his second team All-America selection, Herendeen has been honored as a member of the GCAA All-Freshman team and was a unanimous selection as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first team All-Big Ten. The Bellevue, Washington, native won the NCAA Stanford Regional and finished tied for second in stroke play at the NCAA Championship. Herendeen also captured a runaway victory in his match during the NCAA Championship match play quarterfinals, defeating Georgia Tech’s Carson Kim, 5&4.
Herendeen played in every event in the Fighting Illini lineup this season and opened the year with a runner-up finish (via playoff for medalist honors) at the Sahalee Players Championship in his collegiate debut. He led the team with a stroke average of 70.87, the 10th-best single-season mark in program history and the best average ever recorded…
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