Stanford's McNealy Named Men's Golfer of the Year

SAN FRANCISCO — Maverick McNealy of STANFORD was named the Pac-12 Men’s Golfer of the Year, Collin Morikawa of CALIFORNIA was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, and STANFORD coach Conrad Ray was tabbed Pac-12 Coach of the Year in a voting by the Pac-12 men’s golf coaches. In addition, the 2016 All-Pac-12 Men’s Golf Team selected by the coaches was announced.

McNealy, who hails from Portola Valley, Calif., repeats as the Golfer of the Year and is the fifth different Stanford golfer to earn the honor (1995, 1996 – Tigers Woods; 1999 – Joel Kribel; 2006 – Rob Grube; 2014 – Patrick Rodgers; 2015, 2016 – Maverick McNealy).  He is one of six players in Pac-12 history to have won back-to-back Player of the Year honors joining USC Scott Simpson (1976-77), Arizona State’s Phil Mickelson (1990-92), Stanford’s Tiger Woods (1995-96), Arizona State’s Alejandro Canizares (2005-06), and Washington’s Nick Taylor (2009-10). A finalist for the Hogan Award given annually to the nation’s top collegiate golfer, McNealy currently leads the nation in stroke average (69.19). According to the World Amateur Golf Rankings, he is the second-ranked amateur in the world and the top-ranked U.S. amateur. He has posted four victories this season, including the Western Intercollegiate at Pasatiempo GC where he shot a tournament record 194 (66-64-64). It’s the lowest 54 hole total ever shot by a Stanford golfer. His 10 career victories trail only Tiger Woods (11, 1994-96) and Patrick Rodgers (11, 2011-14) for most in school history.

Morikawa, from La Cañada Flintridge, Calif., not only earned Freshman of the Year honors, but also was a first team all-conference selection. He becomes the second Golden Bear to be tabbed Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, joining Michael Wilson (2003). Morikawa had six top 10 finishes this season for the Golden Bears with his best finish coming in the Querencia Cabo Collegiate where he finished tied for second. He posted 13 rounds in the 60s, including a second round 66 at the Pac-12 Championships where he finished tied for 15th. He’s currently ranked 37th in Golfstats scoring average (71.11), which is third among all freshmen.

Ray, earns his second Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor in three seasons. He joins Wally Goodwin as the only other Stanford coach to win the award twice. In his 12th year as head coach, he has guided the Cardinal to their third consecutive Pac-12 title. Currently ranked No. 4 by Golfweek, Stanford has produced seven top five finishes this season under Ray, including victories in the last two tournaments – the Western Intercollegiate and the Pac-12 Championships. During the 2015-16 season, Ray has mentored All-Conference members David Boote and Pac-12 Player of the Year Maverick McNealy.

The Pac-12 golf awards and the All-Pac-12 Team are voted on by the Conference head golf coaches.  Following is the complete list of honors:

All-Pac-12 First Team

Name                                        School                               Year           Hometown

David Boote                              Stanford                             Sr.              Surrey, England

Rico Hoey                                 USC                                   Jr.              Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

KK Limbhasut                           California                           So.             Loma Linda, Calif.

Maverick McNealy                    Stanford                             Jr.              Portola Valley, Calif.

Collin Morikawa                         California                           Fr.              La Cañada Flintridge, Calif.

Corey Pereira                           Washington                        Jr.              Cameron Park, Calif.

Jon Rahm                                 Arizona State                     Sr.              Barrika, Spain

Aaron Wise                               Oregon                              So.             Lake Elsinore, Calif.

All-Pac-12 Second Team

Name                                        School                               Year           Hometown

Shotaro Ban                              California                           Sr.              San Jose, Calif.

Sean Crocker                           USC                                   So.             Westlake Village, Calif.

Jared du Toit                             Arizona State                     Jr.              Kimberley, British Columbia

Jonathan Garrick                      UCLA                                 Sr.              Atherton, Calif.

Jeremy Paul                              Colorado                            Jr.              Viernheim, Germany

Max Rottluff                               Arizona State                     Sr.              Dusseldorf, Germany

Jonathan Sanders                     Washington                        Sr.              Chatsworth, Calif.

Jonah Texeira                           USC                                   So.             Porter Ranch, Calif.

Honorable Mention: Sebastian Crampton, So., CAL; Frank Garber, So., WASH; Jordan Gumberg, So., ARIZ; Zach Foushee, Sr., ORE; Franklin Huang, So., STAN; Andrew Levitt, Sr., USC.

All-Pac-12 Freshman Team

Name                                        School                               Year           Hometown

Cole Madey                               UCLA                                 Fr.              West Linn, Ore.

Collin Morikawa                         California                           Fr.              La Cañada Flintridge, Calif.

Justin Suh                                 USC                                   Fr.              San Jose, Calif.

Brandon Wu                              Stanford                             Fr.              Danville, Calif.

Carl Yuan                                  Washington                        Fr.              Orlando, Fla.

Honorable Mention: Jamie Cheatham, CAL.

Pac-12 Player of the Year: Maverick McNealy, Stanford

Pac-12 Freshman of the Year: Collin Morikawa, California

Pac-12 Coach of the Year: Conrad Ray, Stanford