Kats sign four for 2025-26
11/18/2024 2:10:00 PM | Men's Golf
HUNTSVILLE – Sam Houston head coach Brandt Kieschnick recently announced the addition of four student-athletes for the 2025-26 season.Â
Each will be incoming freshmen from high schools in the Lone Star State, and all with decorated prep careers. Included in the class are Preston Hiller (San Antonio Johnson HS), Grayson Petru (Cypress Christian HS), Kyle Doolittle (Comal Davenport HS) and Caleb Lumpkin (Stratford HS). Â
"We are very excited to add this very talented class of players from Texas to our program," Kieschnick said upon their signing. "To be able to sign four very good players from Texas is what we strive for, and they all fit our program and our culture so well. We are thankful for the opportunity to bring this crop of talent to Huntsville. Their signing reflects the efforts of our staff and the consistent tradition of our former and current players playing at a high level. We know this group will help us continue to compete for Conference USA Titles and play at the national level."Â
Preston Hiller • San Antonio, Texas / Johnson HS
Ranked No. 14 in Texas in the class of 2025 ... finished second in the 2024 Legends Junior Tour Texas Cup Invitational, scoring -5 for the event, with rounds of 70-74-67 ... placed second at the 2023 LJT George Hannon Junior Invitational firing 71-70 ... placed third in the 2024 Legends Junior Tour Winter Classic, firing rounds of 71-72 ... fired rounds of 67-69-76 in the 2024 Jordan Spieth Championship hosted by AJGA to finish 10th ... placed sixth at the 2024 Legends Junior Tour George Hannon Invitational where he shot 75-67 ... finished tied for third in 2023 Optimist International Junior Golf Championship with round of 74 in rain-shortened event ... won the STPGA-Boys Southern Texas Junior PGA Qualifier firing 68-65 to punch his ticket and compete in the 2023 Boys Junior PGA ChampionshipÂ
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Kieschnick on Hiller: "Preston is a model of consistency and has a very solid game. His dad, Greg, played professional golf and has instilled in him a level of maturity in his game that fits our program very well. I am very impressed with Preston's ball-striking along with his ability to keep the game simple. His rounds look very easy and this disciplined approach shows in his number of under par rounds."Â
Grayson Petru • Houston, Texas / Cypress Christian HSÂ
Ranked No. 15 in Texas in class of 2025 ... was the runner up at the 2023 TAPPS State Championship ... fired rounds of 66-66 at the 2024 Legends Junior Tour Bluebonnet Championship to place second ... placed 11th at the 2024 Byron Nelson hosted by the Legends Junior Tour, shooting 73-70-68 ... shot 70-73-70 in the 2024 C.T. Pan Junior Championship hosted by the AJGA to finish seventh ... placed fifth at the 2024 Legends Junior Tour George Hannon after firing scores of 71-69 ... competed in the 2024 Southern Junior firing rounds of 77-74Â
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Kieschnick on Petru: "Grayson brings some length and power to our program along with a regimented discipline with his wedges and short game. Grayson has the ability to shoot low scores and has shown this in his junior events. His competitive mindset will fit well here in our program."Â
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Kyle Doolittle • New Braunfels, Texas / Comal Davenport HSÂ
Ranked No. 16 in Texas in class of 2025 ... won the 2024 Southern Texas PGA Rio Grande Showcase with rounds of 73-69 ... fired rounds of 73-69-72 at the 2024 Legends Junior Tour Byron Nelson Championship to finish 15th ... placed 5th in the 2024 C.T. Pan Junior Championship hosted by the AJGA after scoring rounds of 67-71-72 ... placed fourth at 2023 LJT George Hannon Invitational firing 71-71 ... placed fifth at 2023 LJT Lanny Wadkins Jr. Championship with rounds of 70-70 ... placed 18th at 2023 Texas Junior Amateur firing 73-80-73Â
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Kieschnick on Doolittle: "We saw Kyle play a lot after his sophomore year and loved his game. Kyle is very efficient player and like our other 2025 signees, possesses a maturity and work ethic that fits our program. He complements this class as another good ball-striker and he manages his game very well. Also, Kyle was our first commitment for the 2025 class and we were thankful he believed in our program early."Â
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Caleb Lumpkin • Houston, Texas / Stratford HSÂ
Ranked No. 25 in Texas in class of 2025 ... placed 4th at the 2024 STPGA Section Lake Charles Spring Classic, firing 72-72 ... fired scores of 67-71-73 at the 2024 AJGA Junior at Parris Island to earn a fifth place finish ... placed second at the 2024 AJGA Shane Bacon Junior Championship shooting 4-under for the week (70-70-72) ... competed in the 2024 Northern Junior Championship, scoring 76-70 ... placed 12th at the 2024 Texas Junior Amateur, scoring 77-76-65 ... his final round score of 65 being the lowest in the field for the weekÂ
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Kieschnick on Lumpkin: "Caleb was our last commitment for 2025 and he really impressed me this summer with his ability to control his golf ball and his competitiveness. I watched him play very well and shoot under par scores while in contention to win great junior events on some tough golf courses. The more I watched Caleb the more I saw he was our type of player, the type which we've done well with and would be a great fit for our program and complete our 2025 class. The theme of this class is the strength of their ball-striking and Caleb fits this mold with a golf swing that is very efficient and easy to repeat."
