DALLAS — The Sam Houston men's golf team followed up its CUSA Championship with five nods to the 2024-25 All-Conference USA teams, the league announced Wednesday.
The honors were headlined by head coach Brandt Kieschnick being named the Phillip Hatchett Coach of the Year after leading the Bearkats to their fifth-ever NCAA regional, which they will take part in next week at Montreux Golf & Country Club in Reno, Nev.
Along with Kieschnick's individual honor, the Kats had a player land on the All-CUSA first, second, third and all-freshman teams. Hugo Trommetter ended up on the All-CUSA first team after a strong season which saw him finish third at the CUSA Championships in Texarkana.
The sophomore picked up an individual win in September at the Git-R-Done Invitational and has five top-10 finishes in 2024-25. He will enter the NCAA Reno Regional ranked No. 195 in the nation.
In addition to Trommetter, Bret Gray (second team) and Gene Chaikangwal (third team) earned all-league honors, while Ethan Dufresne added on to his solid freshman season by being named to the all-Freshman team.
Gray comes in ranked No. 204 overall in the nation with a scoring average of 70.8 He tallied six top-10 finishes this year, including consecutive sixth-place finishes in his last two tournaments of the season at the CUSA Championships and The Aggie Invitational.
Chaikangwal, meanwhile, was a key part of the Kats' claiming the CUSA title, going 2-0 in match play. That included winning a playoff in the semifinals for the clinching point in the win over Kennesaw State, propelling the Kats into the finals vs UTEP.
His best finish in stroke play of the season came in September when he finished eighth at the Leadership and Golf Collegiate Championship, his second straight tournament to finish under par.
Dufresne, finally, averaged 72.5 strokes per round in his freshman year to aid in his postseason recognition. He finished under par for the first time at the Bayou City Collegiate and earned his first career victory in March when he shot a final-round 68 to claim the All-American Intercollegiate.
He also was a key piece to the Kats' CUSA title run, finishing at even par in stroke play before going on to win each of his two head-to-head matches vs Kennesaw State and UTEP.
