Hopkins, Wildcats Expecting Success
Feb 07, 2023 | Men's Golf, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
For Kansas State men's golf, this is uncharted territory. Never in the 88-year history of the program has a team entered the spring coming off a sweep in the fall. That's right. The Wildcats are coming off their best start in school history winning three straight team championships. They are currently ranked No. 19 by Golfweek. They have enjoyed a productive four months since the Big 12 Match Play Tournament.
And they are not satisfied.
"It's a year-long process and we focus more on the full-year goals," fifth-year senior Will Hopkins says. "Obviously, we went to NCAA Regionals last year. We want to do better. We want to be a top-30 team, make it to regionals, and go onto nationals, and win.
"There are a bunch of smaller goals that go underneath that, but we focus on that over-arching goal, which helps us work toward it. Winning is what you strive toward and you go through and check boxes as you go through the milestones. Winning a tournament in the fall was a goal, but to do it three times was excellent."
K-State entered Big 12 match play in November with a ton of confidence, as one of two undefeated teams in NCAA Division I with victories at the Wildcat Invitational, Old Town Collegiate and Oregon State Invitational. K-State already ranks third in school history with wins in a single season. In their three victories, no Wildcat in the scoring lineup finished outside the top-20 on the leaderboard. The Wildcats racked up a head-to-head record of 40-0 and a 279.33 team stroke average, which is on pace to shatter the school record of 285.86 set in 2018-19.
In a year that has seen K-State football win the Big 12 Championship and men's basketball establish itself as one of the top-15 teams in the nation, excitement surrounds K-State athletics.
Men's golf, under ninth-year head coach Grant Robbins, is on the verge of its best season in history, and wants to add to that excitement as well.
"We can take huge confidence from what football has done and what basketball is doing this season," Hopkins says. "Expect to win — that's a whole vibe. We're showing no matter what outsiders think, you simply put your head down and shoot for the stars. We'll let our golf do the talking and see how it comes out. We hone in on not limiting ourselves. I love the expect-to-win mentality. That's something we'll continue to use in the spring."
Hopkins, a native of Lincolnshire, England, is a graduate student preparing to head down the stretch of a legendary five-year K-State career. His career stroke average of 72.71 currently ranks second all-time at K-State — just 0.02 off the school mark. His current season stroke average of 69.78 would tie sophomore Nicklaus Mason for best in school history as well.
The team captain, Hopkins is an outstanding leader who lets his play do the talking.
"Coach came to me a couple years ago and challenged me to take that role on," Hopkins says. "It is difficult because I never want to see myself as being above my teammates, especially because we're such a tight-knit group. We all kind of know our own strengths and weaknesses and what to do. I just try to lead by example. I try to make sure I do the right things and don't have many bad days. Sometimes I have a hard time voicing things but I do my best to lead by example and help in that way."
Hopkins earned three top-20 finishes, including two in the top-10 and a runner-up finished with a 10-under par 206 in the Wildcat Invitational. A year ago, he had five top-20 finishes, including two in the top-10 and fifth-place finish in the Steelwood Collegiate. A year ago, he averaged 72.55 strokes during the season.
"It's just been maturity, really," Hopkins says. "It's maturity and being comfortable. It's about taking yourself out of your mind and relaxing and just enjoying competing. When I was younger, I had a difficult time doing that. I was very hard on myself. You want to go out there and compete and should let yourself go and do what you're best at, and that's something I'm still working on, but it's something I've definitely improved upon. It helped me in the fall."
It's helped Mason as well. The sophomore out of Shawnee, Kansas, has cut his average from 73.69 a year ago to 69.78. He had a pair of top-5 finishes in the fall, and tied for third at 2-under par 211 at the Oregon State Invitational. He also finished third in the Wildcat Invitational with an 8-under par 208. One-hundred percent of his rounds have contributed to the team score.
"He's come on a lot since his freshman year," Hopkins says. "It's a big transition coming from high school to college and he's really stepped up his game. He's a very solid player. He doesn't put himself into trouble and putts it really well and loves to grind and really knows how to get a score down. He's playing beyond his years."
The Wildcats certainly have depth to make some noise in the spring. Aside from Hopkins and Mason, Cooper Schultz has also been sensational with an individual championship in the Wildcat Invitational. The Big 12 Conference honored Schultz, a sophomore, as the Big 12 Golfer of the Month in September, marking the first time a Wildcat earned the award since 2018. Schultz averages 70.11 strokes.
"I'm proud that we're tapping into our potential," Hopkins says. "For a long time, it was a struggle with believing that we could do it. This fall was a case of five or six guys coming together and actually performing how we knew we could. It's very easy to talk about success and it's another to expect it and do it.
"It's been great to see all our hard work come to fruition."
Each day, the team awakens at 6 a.m. and prepares for 6:30 a.m. workouts. Then comes breakfast. Hopkins, who is enrolled in two classes this spring semester and will graduate with a degree in Business/Marketing in May, then fills his free time with practice or school work until late-morning class. The afternoon includes three hours of practice, either inside or outside dependent upon weather, followed by extra reps. Then comes dinner. Evenings are typically spent with the team congregating at Hopkins' apartment to unwind and prepare to do it all over again the following day.
"This is the time of year where we focus on a lot of technical stuff, so there's a lot of grinding on the swing and doing still work and doing drills," Hopkins says. "Now it's a mentality flip. It's working on score and really getting ready to compete. We've been putting in plenty of hard work and it's about putting that onto the course again."
K-State kicks things off with the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate in Mobile, Alabama next Monday and Tuesday. The Wildcats then participate in five more events before the Big 12 Championship on April 24-26.
"Coach says a lot of great things to us," Hopkins says. "He really drove into us to believe in ourselves and expect good things in order to achieve them. As a team, it's about feeding off each other and the success we're having and letting that lead us forward. We take it one step after another and build and build into something great. We're all excited to get going again."
A year ago, K-State was rewarded for one of its best regular seasons in school history by earning a berth in the NCAA Regional for the first time in 13 years.
Hopkins and the Wildcats certainly seem poised to finish out this year by achieving special things as well.
"I'm very excited to carry on the success we had in the fall and build upon it and have a strong spring," Hopkins says. "The sky is the limit for us."
For Kansas State men's golf, this is uncharted territory. Never in the 88-year history of the program has a team entered the spring coming off a sweep in the fall. That's right. The Wildcats are coming off their best start in school history winning three straight team championships. They are currently ranked No. 19 by Golfweek. They have enjoyed a productive four months since the Big 12 Match Play Tournament.
And they are not satisfied.
"It's a year-long process and we focus more on the full-year goals," fifth-year senior Will Hopkins says. "Obviously, we went to NCAA Regionals last year. We want to do better. We want to be a top-30 team, make it to regionals, and go onto nationals, and win.
"There are a bunch of smaller goals that go underneath that, but we focus on that over-arching goal, which helps us work toward it. Winning is what you strive toward and you go through and check boxes as you go through the milestones. Winning a tournament in the fall was a goal, but to do it three times was excellent."
K-State entered Big 12 match play in November with a ton of confidence, as one of two undefeated teams in NCAA Division I with victories at the Wildcat Invitational, Old Town Collegiate and Oregon State Invitational. K-State already ranks third in school history with wins in a single season. In their three victories, no Wildcat in the scoring lineup finished outside the top-20 on the leaderboard. The Wildcats racked up a head-to-head record of 40-0 and a 279.33 team stroke average, which is on pace to shatter the school record of 285.86 set in 2018-19.
In a year that has seen K-State football win the Big 12 Championship and men's basketball establish itself as one of the top-15 teams in the nation, excitement surrounds K-State athletics.
Men's golf, under ninth-year head coach Grant Robbins, is on the verge of its best season in history, and wants to add to that excitement as well.
"We can take huge confidence from what football has done and what basketball is doing this season," Hopkins says. "Expect to win — that's a whole vibe. We're showing no matter what outsiders think, you simply put your head down and shoot for the stars. We'll let our golf do the talking and see how it comes out. We hone in on not limiting ourselves. I love the expect-to-win mentality. That's something we'll continue to use in the spring."
Hopkins, a native of Lincolnshire, England, is a graduate student preparing to head down the stretch of a legendary five-year K-State career. His career stroke average of 72.71 currently ranks second all-time at K-State — just 0.02 off the school mark. His current season stroke average of 69.78 would tie sophomore Nicklaus Mason for best in school history as well.
The team captain, Hopkins is an outstanding leader who lets his play do the talking.
"Coach came to me a couple years ago and challenged me to take that role on," Hopkins says. "It is difficult because I never want to see myself as being above my teammates, especially because we're such a tight-knit group. We all kind of know our own strengths and weaknesses and what to do. I just try to lead by example. I try to make sure I do the right things and don't have many bad days. Sometimes I have a hard time voicing things but I do my best to lead by example and help in that way."
Hopkins earned three top-20 finishes, including two in the top-10 and a runner-up finished with a 10-under par 206 in the Wildcat Invitational. A year ago, he had five top-20 finishes, including two in the top-10 and fifth-place finish in the Steelwood Collegiate. A year ago, he averaged 72.55 strokes during the season.
"It's just been maturity, really," Hopkins says. "It's maturity and being comfortable. It's about taking yourself out of your mind and relaxing and just enjoying competing. When I was younger, I had a difficult time doing that. I was very hard on myself. You want to go out there and compete and should let yourself go and do what you're best at, and that's something I'm still working on, but it's something I've definitely improved upon. It helped me in the fall."
It's helped Mason as well. The sophomore out of Shawnee, Kansas, has cut his average from 73.69 a year ago to 69.78. He had a pair of top-5 finishes in the fall, and tied for third at 2-under par 211 at the Oregon State Invitational. He also finished third in the Wildcat Invitational with an 8-under par 208. One-hundred percent of his rounds have contributed to the team score.
"He's come on a lot since his freshman year," Hopkins says. "It's a big transition coming from high school to college and he's really stepped up his game. He's a very solid player. He doesn't put himself into trouble and putts it really well and loves to grind and really knows how to get a score down. He's playing beyond his years."
The Wildcats certainly have depth to make some noise in the spring. Aside from Hopkins and Mason, Cooper Schultz has also been sensational with an individual championship in the Wildcat Invitational. The Big 12 Conference honored Schultz, a sophomore, as the Big 12 Golfer of the Month in September, marking the first time a Wildcat earned the award since 2018. Schultz averages 70.11 strokes.
"I'm proud that we're tapping into our potential," Hopkins says. "For a long time, it was a struggle with believing that we could do it. This fall was a case of five or six guys coming together and actually performing how we knew we could. It's very easy to talk about success and it's another to expect it and do it.
"It's been great to see all our hard work come to fruition."
Each day, the team awakens at 6 a.m. and prepares for 6:30 a.m. workouts. Then comes breakfast. Hopkins, who is enrolled in two classes this spring semester and will graduate with a degree in Business/Marketing in May, then fills his free time with practice or school work until late-morning class. The afternoon includes three hours of practice, either inside or outside dependent upon weather, followed by extra reps. Then comes dinner. Evenings are typically spent with the team congregating at Hopkins' apartment to unwind and prepare to do it all over again the following day.
"This is the time of year where we focus on a lot of technical stuff, so there's a lot of grinding on the swing and doing still work and doing drills," Hopkins says. "Now it's a mentality flip. It's working on score and really getting ready to compete. We've been putting in plenty of hard work and it's about putting that onto the course again."
K-State kicks things off with the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate in Mobile, Alabama next Monday and Tuesday. The Wildcats then participate in five more events before the Big 12 Championship on April 24-26.
"Coach says a lot of great things to us," Hopkins says. "He really drove into us to believe in ourselves and expect good things in order to achieve them. As a team, it's about feeding off each other and the success we're having and letting that lead us forward. We take it one step after another and build and build into something great. We're all excited to get going again."
A year ago, K-State was rewarded for one of its best regular seasons in school history by earning a berth in the NCAA Regional for the first time in 13 years.
Hopkins and the Wildcats certainly seem poised to finish out this year by achieving special things as well.
"I'm very excited to carry on the success we had in the fall and build upon it and have a strong spring," Hopkins says. "The sky is the limit for us."
Players Mentioned
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