Cats Confident Consistent Play Will Carry Over to Regionals
May 16, 2022 | Men's Golf, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
For the Kansas State men's golf team, it's recently been a story about coming close. Coming really close. Coming so close that the bags are almost packed — only to suffer devastating heartbreak at the end.
Those days appear to be over.
The Wildcats have been rewarded for one of their best regular seasons in school history. They are in the NCAA Regional for the first time in 13 years. And they embark upon this next chapter of their season as the 2022 Norman Regional gets underway on Monday at the par-72, 7,452-yard Jimmie Austin Golf Club in Norman, Oklahoma.
"It's very gratifying," K-State head coach Grant Robbins said. "It's been a long journey."
Robbins is wrapping up his eighth year guiding the Wildcats. This year, K-State is averaging a stroke average of 287.67, which is on pace for the second best in school history — the 2018-19 squad set the school record at 285.86. This year, K-State has six top-five finishes in tournaments, which is tied for the fourth most top-five finishes in school history — one better than the Wildcats had in 2015-16 and 2018-19.
Monday's first round begins at 9:25 a.m. for K-State. Fans can follow live scoring throughout the event on Golfstat.com. Tuesday is the second round with the final round to follow on Wednesday.
"In 2019, I thought we had a really, really good team," Robbins said. "It was just heartbreaking that we got to the end and barely missed it. It was a year where there were a lot of upsets in conference tournaments. That was a gut-punch because we had a team that was not only good enough for the postseason but good enough to advance to nationals.
"Last year, we were close, and were within two or three spots of making it. Our team was really young. We just didn't have those quality wins that you need to get over the hump. This year, we were very consistent in the spring, and in the Mississippi State event when we beat a pair of top-25 teams in Florida State and Ole Miss.
"That was the difference between last year and this year."
This year, K-State sat in the Shamrock Zone at Bramlage Coliseum and watched the NCAA Regional selection show sitting comfortable. The Wildcats already knew they were in. Soon after they were already in business mode.
Hopkins had been there for the previous heartbreaks. He appreciates the journey to this point.
"Three years ago, we missed out on making a regional by one spot, and last year we were close but not close enough," he said. "It's so difficult when you set a goal and do all you can do to attain it and just fall short. It's hard to put your finger on why. This year, we wanted to do everything we could individually and as a team.
"When you set a goal — if you set a goal to just make regionals, it's always going to be really close. We aspire to go higher and go to nationals, so we're focusing through the goal. That's why we were successful this year."
Robbins had his eye on the near future and on next fall when he walked across the Jimmie Austin Golf Club in Norman in early May. As Robbins tracked fall signee Ben Stoller at the Oklahoma Class 6A boys golf tournament, the gears began to turn. Robbins would return to guide the Wildcats on the same golf course in the Norman Regional.
"You're going to have to drive it very well," Robbins said. "You're going to have to be pretty precise on your approaches and make some putts."
Now the moment has arrived.
The Wildcats are the No. 11 seed in the 13-team regional, which features several familiar foes, including No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Auburn, No. 5 Ole Miss and No. 10 Kent State — all teams that the Wildcats faced at least once this year.
The field also features No. 4 South Carolina, No. 6 Louisville, No. 7 Missouri, No. 8 San Diego State, No. 9 Utah, No. 12 UT Martin and No. 13 Rider.
The top five teams of the 54-hold regional tournament and the top individual not on an advancing team will move on to the 2022 National Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona, May 27 through June 1.
K-State has a chance. It's been consistent almost all year.
"We just tried to be competitive in every tournament," Robbins said. "We try to win every tournament. It's a battle with every school. You play in a tournament against 15 teams you try to get 14 wins. We've been knocking on the door. One thing that's made this team pretty good is our consistency that we've had."
Twenty-year-old freshman Laurenz Schiergen leads the team with a 72.33 stroke average, which is on pace to finish ninth in school history. Hopkins owns a stroke average of 72.40 with five top-20 finishes and Tim Tillmanns is third at 72.63 and a team-high six top-20 finishes. Sophomore Luke O'Neill averages 72.96 and became the first Wildcat since 2019 to win an individual championship when he tied for first place at the Colleton River Collegiate in March. Nicklaus Mason is a star freshman from Shawnee, Kansas, who has a 73.73 average, four top-2o finishes and two top-five finishes.
"It's been a successful season," Hopkins said. "Sometimes you stand back and go, 'We could've been so much better.' It's a sport you never really get everything going on one day. Every tournament seems like not all five of us have been at our best. For us to be this successful and breaking records and doing things at this point, once we all come together and click, that's when something scary is going to happen. That's why it's exciting to keep working for that to come.
"It's going to happen."
Robbins has a track record of making it happen. He led his alma mater, Memphis, to five consecutive NCAA Regionals and its 2008 NCAA Regional at-large berth marked the program's first trip to NCAA play in 20 years. Prior to arriving at Memphis, he had built the University of North Carolina at Wilmington from obscurity to a national powerhouse. At age 31, he guided the Seahawks to a 2003 NCAA Regional berth, their first in school history.
Robbins was hired as the 13th men's golf coach in school history on May 18, 2014.
"Just coming in, the first few years you learn a lot," Robbins said. "Coming from Memphis where we had success and went to regionals several years in a row, you come in here and think you're going to turn it around really quick. Once you get here, you realize each school has its unique challenges. It can take a few years to figure out what those challenges are and how to overcome those challenges and figure out a strategy to be successful.
"We gradually got a little bit better."
What does Robbins attribute to helping the Wildcats along the way?
"We kind of changed our recruiting philosophy," he said.
Robbins brought on assistant coach Rob Murray in August 2017. Murray, a native of Colchester, Essex, England, came to the United States in 2007 to play collegiately at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona, before transferring to Washington State.
"Coach Murray came in here and we started spending a lot more time in Europe recruiting internationally," Robbins said. "We figured that was a way for us to compete. You look at our roster and four of our top five guys are international players. We're also going to recruit heavily in the state of Kansas and hit Oklahoma and Texas. That's our niche right now."
Hopkins, a fourth-year senior from Lincolnshire, England, who plans to return next year, appreciates the climb, and is eager for the next step.
"Coach Robbins came into a program where the program wasn't quite right, and he's spent the last few years building and getting the players he wants and getting that foundation to step forward," Hopkins said. "He's done a great job. We have the right amount of guys. We have a small tight-knit team now. All of us play for each other. We do the right things. We have guys who are focused solely on achieving the goals we set out.
"We've had a chip on our shoulder the last few years. Now we know we can make a regional as a team. That's a great stepping-stone going forward. We're only going to go farther from here."
For the Kansas State men's golf team, it's recently been a story about coming close. Coming really close. Coming so close that the bags are almost packed — only to suffer devastating heartbreak at the end.
Those days appear to be over.
The Wildcats have been rewarded for one of their best regular seasons in school history. They are in the NCAA Regional for the first time in 13 years. And they embark upon this next chapter of their season as the 2022 Norman Regional gets underway on Monday at the par-72, 7,452-yard Jimmie Austin Golf Club in Norman, Oklahoma.
"It's very gratifying," K-State head coach Grant Robbins said. "It's been a long journey."
Robbins is wrapping up his eighth year guiding the Wildcats. This year, K-State is averaging a stroke average of 287.67, which is on pace for the second best in school history — the 2018-19 squad set the school record at 285.86. This year, K-State has six top-five finishes in tournaments, which is tied for the fourth most top-five finishes in school history — one better than the Wildcats had in 2015-16 and 2018-19.
Monday's first round begins at 9:25 a.m. for K-State. Fans can follow live scoring throughout the event on Golfstat.com. Tuesday is the second round with the final round to follow on Wednesday.
"In 2019, I thought we had a really, really good team," Robbins said. "It was just heartbreaking that we got to the end and barely missed it. It was a year where there were a lot of upsets in conference tournaments. That was a gut-punch because we had a team that was not only good enough for the postseason but good enough to advance to nationals.
"Last year, we were close, and were within two or three spots of making it. Our team was really young. We just didn't have those quality wins that you need to get over the hump. This year, we were very consistent in the spring, and in the Mississippi State event when we beat a pair of top-25 teams in Florida State and Ole Miss.
"That was the difference between last year and this year."
This year, K-State sat in the Shamrock Zone at Bramlage Coliseum and watched the NCAA Regional selection show sitting comfortable. The Wildcats already knew they were in. Soon after they were already in business mode.
"We knew we were good enough to get in and that our name was going to be called and it was exciting," K-State senior Will Hopkins said. "But soon after we switched into getting ready. We didn't spend too much time celebrating. We don't want to just go there and enjoy ourselves. We want to show what we can do."Next stop: Norman📍#KStateMGOLF x #NCAAGolf pic.twitter.com/0EFCSP7NXn
— K-State Men's Golf (@KStateMGolf) May 4, 2022
Hopkins had been there for the previous heartbreaks. He appreciates the journey to this point.
"Three years ago, we missed out on making a regional by one spot, and last year we were close but not close enough," he said. "It's so difficult when you set a goal and do all you can do to attain it and just fall short. It's hard to put your finger on why. This year, we wanted to do everything we could individually and as a team.
"When you set a goal — if you set a goal to just make regionals, it's always going to be really close. We aspire to go higher and go to nationals, so we're focusing through the goal. That's why we were successful this year."
Robbins had his eye on the near future and on next fall when he walked across the Jimmie Austin Golf Club in Norman in early May. As Robbins tracked fall signee Ben Stoller at the Oklahoma Class 6A boys golf tournament, the gears began to turn. Robbins would return to guide the Wildcats on the same golf course in the Norman Regional.
"You're going to have to drive it very well," Robbins said. "You're going to have to be pretty precise on your approaches and make some putts."
Now the moment has arrived.
The Wildcats are the No. 11 seed in the 13-team regional, which features several familiar foes, including No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Auburn, No. 5 Ole Miss and No. 10 Kent State — all teams that the Wildcats faced at least once this year.
The field also features No. 4 South Carolina, No. 6 Louisville, No. 7 Missouri, No. 8 San Diego State, No. 9 Utah, No. 12 UT Martin and No. 13 Rider.
The top five teams of the 54-hold regional tournament and the top individual not on an advancing team will move on to the 2022 National Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona, May 27 through June 1.
K-State has a chance. It's been consistent almost all year.
"We just tried to be competitive in every tournament," Robbins said. "We try to win every tournament. It's a battle with every school. You play in a tournament against 15 teams you try to get 14 wins. We've been knocking on the door. One thing that's made this team pretty good is our consistency that we've had."
Twenty-year-old freshman Laurenz Schiergen leads the team with a 72.33 stroke average, which is on pace to finish ninth in school history. Hopkins owns a stroke average of 72.40 with five top-20 finishes and Tim Tillmanns is third at 72.63 and a team-high six top-20 finishes. Sophomore Luke O'Neill averages 72.96 and became the first Wildcat since 2019 to win an individual championship when he tied for first place at the Colleton River Collegiate in March. Nicklaus Mason is a star freshman from Shawnee, Kansas, who has a 73.73 average, four top-2o finishes and two top-five finishes.
"It's been a successful season," Hopkins said. "Sometimes you stand back and go, 'We could've been so much better.' It's a sport you never really get everything going on one day. Every tournament seems like not all five of us have been at our best. For us to be this successful and breaking records and doing things at this point, once we all come together and click, that's when something scary is going to happen. That's why it's exciting to keep working for that to come.
"It's going to happen."
Robbins has a track record of making it happen. He led his alma mater, Memphis, to five consecutive NCAA Regionals and its 2008 NCAA Regional at-large berth marked the program's first trip to NCAA play in 20 years. Prior to arriving at Memphis, he had built the University of North Carolina at Wilmington from obscurity to a national powerhouse. At age 31, he guided the Seahawks to a 2003 NCAA Regional berth, their first in school history.
Robbins was hired as the 13th men's golf coach in school history on May 18, 2014.
"Just coming in, the first few years you learn a lot," Robbins said. "Coming from Memphis where we had success and went to regionals several years in a row, you come in here and think you're going to turn it around really quick. Once you get here, you realize each school has its unique challenges. It can take a few years to figure out what those challenges are and how to overcome those challenges and figure out a strategy to be successful.
"We gradually got a little bit better."
What does Robbins attribute to helping the Wildcats along the way?
"We kind of changed our recruiting philosophy," he said.
Robbins brought on assistant coach Rob Murray in August 2017. Murray, a native of Colchester, Essex, England, came to the United States in 2007 to play collegiately at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona, before transferring to Washington State.
"Coach Murray came in here and we started spending a lot more time in Europe recruiting internationally," Robbins said. "We figured that was a way for us to compete. You look at our roster and four of our top five guys are international players. We're also going to recruit heavily in the state of Kansas and hit Oklahoma and Texas. That's our niche right now."
Hopkins, a fourth-year senior from Lincolnshire, England, who plans to return next year, appreciates the climb, and is eager for the next step.
"Coach Robbins came into a program where the program wasn't quite right, and he's spent the last few years building and getting the players he wants and getting that foundation to step forward," Hopkins said. "He's done a great job. We have the right amount of guys. We have a small tight-knit team now. All of us play for each other. We do the right things. We have guys who are focused solely on achieving the goals we set out.
"We've had a chip on our shoulder the last few years. Now we know we can make a regional as a team. That's a great stepping-stone going forward. We're only going to go farther from here."
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
K-State Tennis | Weekend Recap
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Track and Field | Sights & Sounds Steve Miller Invitational
Monday, February 23
K-State Baseball | Highlights vs Michigan - Feb. 22, 2026
Monday, February 23
K-State Men's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference at Texas Tech
Sunday, February 22
