BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Four members of the Carleton College men's golf program collected recognition as the conference coaches handed out awards for the 2024-25 season.
Ryan Choi,
Sam Higaki, and
Justin Rodriguez were named to the All-MIAC squad, while
Sloan Wallgren was voted the MIAC Coach of the Year.
The Knights made history in October when they posted an 18-shot margin of victory at the MIAC Championships and secured the program's first-ever bid to the NCAA Championships. Not surprisingly, this marks the first time that Carleton has landed three players on the All-MIAC squad in a single season.
The All-Conference team was selected using a combination of MIAC Championships results and end-of-season voting. The top 10 finishers (including ties) at the conference tournament last fall automatically earned All-MIAC honors, and coaches voted five additional players to the All-MIAC squad based on their body of work throughout the season.
Choi punched his ticket for the All-Conference team after earning medalist honors at the MIAC Championships. The senior posted a three-stoke margin of victory at the 54-hole tournament and ranks eighth in the MIAC this year with an overall scoring average of 74.9. He has had six top-10 finishes so far this year, with two of those being top-5 results. This is Choi's third All-Conference award. He was voted to the All-MIAC team in 2023-24 and received All-MIAC Honorable Mention in 2022-23.
Higaki also solidified his All-Conference award with his play at the MIAC Championships as he finished finishing third overall. The 2023-34 MIAC Rookie of the Year, Higaki paces the Knights with a 73.2 scoring average this season and has registered five top-10 results, including four top-5 finishes this season. The sophomore was also an All-MIAC team member last year.
Rodriguez missed automatically earning an All-Conference award by one stroke as he tied for 11th at the MIAC Championships, however, he voted by the coaches to the All-MIAC squad in recognition of his play throughout the campaign. Rodriguez is second on the Knights with a 74.5 scoring average. He has notched a trio of top-10 results, including individual victories at the Dual at Emerald and the Twin Cities Classic. This is the sophomore's first career All-MIAC Award.
Wallgren took over the Knights' program in December 2022. The team tied for sixth at the 2023 MIAC tournament before vaulting to the top of the leaderboard last October, pulling away from three top-25 programs on the way to winning the team title. Carleton has played nine events with stroke play this season and registered six top-5 finishes, including team wins at the Dual at Emerald, the Twin Cities Classic, and MIAC Championships. This is his first career MIAC Coach of the Year Award. Wallgren joins John Ellinger, who was co-recipient of the honor in 2001-02, as the only Carleton men's golf coaches to collect this award from their peers.
Next week, the Knights will head to Penfield, N.Y. for the NCAA Championships to be played May 20-23 at Midvale Country Club.
