NC State men’s golf has been inconsistent all season, sometimes dominating and sometimes floundering. But throughout, it has placed at least two golfers in the top-40 and had at least one finish under par.
At the Urbana Regional in Urbana, Illinois, not a single NC State golfer accomplished that feat, as the Pack placed last at 13th and finished 38 strokes outside of the cut line.
In the 71-player field, NC State’s best performer was senior Michael Vick, who finished T46 at 7-over par. He shot 69 in the first round, the only under-par round for a Wolfpack golfer in the tournament, and was tied for 14th through Day 1. But a 5-over-par 76 and 4-over-par 75 to finish the tournament caused him to fall significantly. This was the third tournament where Vick was the top team performer, the other two being first place finishes at the Battle at Briars Creek and the Stitch Intercollegiate.
No. 99 ranked redshirt senior Nick Mathews closed the season with a dud, similarly to Vick, finishing the final two rounds at 9-over-par sliding down the leaderboard from 19th after a solid first round even-par round, to finishing the tournament at T53. The lefty placed T15 at the 2024 NCAA Championship, but will not get a chance to replicate that success this year after failing to qualify for the finale. Mathews recorded five top-10s, three top-5s and one victory this season.
One stroke back from Mathews, junior Joey Lenane finished at 10-over-par with an opening round 74, and had the best Round 2 score for the Pack with a 2-over-par 73, and a final round 76.
Freshman Hunter Stetson closed a solid freshman campaign with an 11-over T60 finish. He has appeared in seven events this season, with his best placement being T30 at the Watersound Invitational.
Senior Cade McLaughlin and sophomore Adam Pedersen appeared as alternates, but neither could get hot. Pederson shot 77 in Round 1, with McLaughlin taking his place for the second and final rounds, shooting 76 and 80 repectively.
With head coach Press McPhaul announcing his retirement on May 2, he finished off his NC State coaching career reaching his sixth NCAA regional, helping the Pack reach its 15th in 17 seasons. In his tenure, McPhaul helped the Pack reach the championship event twice. The Pack has won 16 team titles and 15 individual titles in his eight seasons with McPhaul at the helm.
On May 15, the NC State Athletics Department announced the hiring of Bo Andrews as the Wolfpack’s new men’s golf head coach. Andrews spent the last seven years with the Tennessee Volunteers, being an assistant in the first six seasons and an associate head coach in 2024-25.
Andrews grew up in Raliegh, leading Ravenscroft High School to four state championships in 2005 through 2009 and played college golf at Georgia Tech.
