GRINNELL, Iowa – Last season's Grinnell College men's golf team picked up steam as the season went on, culminating with the program's first conference title in more than 50 years and a spot in the NCAA Division III Championships.
With not a single golfer graduated from that squad, the Pioneers are looking for more success in 2026-27.
Leading the charge is Roger Smith '28, the team's lone junior who ranks second on GC's career stroke average chart with a 75.12 over 18 holes. "He's our junior leader," said Grinnell coach Connor McKay. "His first year he came in and stabilized the program and went on to continue that as a sophomore. He's probably one of the top three golfers to ever play at Grinnell."
The sophomore class is chock-full of talent with the likes of Spencer Moody '29, Max Shin '29, Josh Udelson '29, Everett Williams '29 and Harrison Elliott '29. Moody, last year's St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Freshman of the Year, placed second at the meet and set a school record for season stroke average at 73.89.
"Statistically-speaking, Spencer is the best golfer to ever play here," said McKay. "He is a super-consistent player and the stats back that up. Max is also a solid player who still has more in his game to show and will take strides to do that as a sophomore. Josh is somebody who peaked at the right time last year at the conference meet (tied for sixth at the SLIAC meet) and hopefully will ride that confidence into this year. Everett is somebody who is a gamer and performs great at tournaments, and Harrison can hit the ball a long ways and has more in his game to show."
The lone first-year is Nathan Yan '30. "Nathan is somebody who could crack the lineup," said McKay. "He's jelled well with the team and is somebody who will help us this year or down the road."
McKay is hoping last year's success springboards the team in the 2026-27 campaign. "We want to continue our upward trajectory from last year," he said. "I think we can be a top-60 team in the country."
