Sun Devil Men’s Golf has five golfers on the Pac-12 All-Conference teams, headlined by Freshman of the Year Michael Mjaaseth, announced by the league office Thursday morning.
2023 Thunderbird Collegiate winner Preston Summerhays and Josele Ballester joined Mjaaseth on the Pac-12 First Team. Freshman Luke Potter and senior Ryggs Johnston each received Pac-12 Second Team honors.
It’s the first time since the Pac-10/12 began awarding end-of-season honors in 1985 that ASU has five players earn All-Conference recognitions in consecutive years. It’s just the second time the Sun Devils have earned five Pac-12 All-Conference honors since 1994.
Mjaaseth was a steady force in the Sun Devil lineup this season, with a 70.9 scoring average over 32 rounds. He took the win at the Maui Jim Individual on Sept. 9-10, 2022, after missing ASU’s qualifying while he was securing a ninth-place finish at the World Amateur Championship in Paris, France.
“Michael has been such a solid and steady competitor for us this year,” said Head Coach Matt Thurmond. “We had the toughest regular season schedule in college golf and he never finished worse than 31st. We counted almost all of his scores and, frankly, never really had to worry about him at all. He’s had an amazing year.”
He’s the sixth Sun Devil to win the award since its inception in 1999 and the fourth consecutive ASU men’s golfer to achieve the honor. No school in the conference has ever had consecutive winners of the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year honor before the Sun Devils’ current run of four straight from 2019-23.
PAC-12 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR / NEWCOMER AWARD WINNERS SINCE 2019
2023: Michael Mjaaseth
2022: Preston Summerhays
2021: David Puig
2020: No honors due to COVID-19
2019: Cameron Sisk
‘Having our guys win the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year Award four years in a row is a tribute to the environment our veterans create where freshmen can come in, be comfortable, and thrive from the day they arrive,” added Thurmond.
The No. 4/4 ranked Sun Devils were the only team with at least five golfers to receive All-Conference honors. No other squad had more than three. Additionally, 22 players have received All-Conference honors under Thurmond since his first season in 2017.
“The great thing about this team is that the 1-5 guys are all close in talent and ability,” said…
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