The Cowboys standout joins an elite five-player shortlist for collegiate golf's most prestigious honor after a dominant season, with the winner announced by Jack Nicklaus this June.
NORMAN, Okla. - Five finalists have been named for the 2026 NCAA Division I Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award presented by Workday. They are Ben James of Virginia, William Jennings of Alabama, Jackson Koivun of Auburn, Christiaan Maas of Texas, and Preston Stout of Oklahoma State. The winner will be announced by Nicklaus on Sunday, June 7 during his annual the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday press conference. The award will be presented to the recipient by Nicklaus and Workday.
Ranked second via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd and third in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR®), James has carded top-five finishes in all 10 of his stroke play tournaments this season with five inside the top-three and two victories. Also a Nicklaus Award finalist as a freshman in 2023 and a 2026 Ben Hogan Award presented by Baird finalist, the senior from Milford, Conn. broke his own NCAA Division I Regional record when he won the NCAA Winston-Salem Regional with a 19-under 194 (66-63-65) by three strokes on May 20. Currently sporting a career-best 68.7 actual scoring average and also a co-medalist at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational on September 30, James’ seven career individual victories are tied for the most in program history. The first three-time PING First Team All-American in school history and looking to become just the fifth NCAA Division I golfer since the GCAA began naming All-Americans in 1958 to be a four-time First Team All-American, James would be the first Virginia Cavalier to win the Nicklaus Award.
Jennings earned First Team All-SEC honors and a 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup selection after seven top-four finishes this season, including in four of his last five tournaments, and three victories. Ranked sixth via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd, the sophomore from Greenville, S.C. became the fourth Crimson Tide golfer to win an NCAA Regional when he was co-champion at the NCAA Marana Regional on May 20, advancing to the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship as an individual. Jennings was also co-medalist at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational on September 30 and won the season-opening Folds of Honor Collegiate by one stroke on September 10, guiding Alabama to their second consecutive Folds of Honor Collegiate title. With the victory, Jennings earned an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s 2026 Rocket Classic, being held July 30-August 2 at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Mich. Jennings would join Justin Thomas (2012) as Nicklaus Award recipients from Alabama. Thomas won a program-record four times that year.
The 2024 Division I Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Workday recipient as a freshman, Koivun is the first since Stanford’s Maverick McNealy (2015-17) to be a Division I Nicklaus Award finalist in three consecutive years. Ranked No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR®) and via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd, Koivun has compiled 11 top-10 finishes this season with six victories and two other top-fives. All six of his wins came in an eight-tournament run from February 7 to April 24, where he became the second golfer to ever win three straight SEC Championships. With a national-best 68.0 actual scoring average, the junior from Chapel Hill, N.C. won the 2026 Ben Hogan Award presented by Baird on Monday, joining fellow Nicklaus Award recipients Jon Rahm and Ludvig Åberg as the third golfer to win the Ben Hogan Award twice (2024, 2026). The first golfer to earn SEC Player of the Year honors in three consecutive seasons and Auburn’s all-time leader in 16 statistical categories, Koivun would become the third golfer to win the Division I Nicklaus Award twice, joining Georgia Tech’s Bryce Molder (1998, 2001) and Arizona State’s Phil Mickelson (1990-92).
Maas is a finalist in back-to-back years after eight top-eight finishes this season, six inside the top five, and three victories. In his last three tournaments before the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship, the senior from Pretoria, South Africa finished T5 at the NCAA Bryan Regional on May 20, T3 with Jennings at the SEC Championship on April 24, and was co-medalist at the Ford Collegiate with Koivun on April 14, helping lead the third-ranked Longhorns to team victories at the NCAA Bryan Regional and the Ford Collegiate. Ranked fourth via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd and the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR®), Maas won the Southern Highlands Collegiate by two strokes on March 3 and was co-medalist at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational with four others, including James and Jennings, on September 30. Maas is currently carrying a team-leading 69.44 actual scoring average and a career scoring average of 70.38. A four-time All-Conference honoree, including back-to-back First Team All-SEC selections this season and last, Mass would be the fourth Texas Longhorn to earn the Nicklaus Award, joining Bob Estes (1988), Justin Leonard (1994), and Brad Elder (1997).
Ranked second in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR®) and third via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd, Big 12 Player of the Year Stout has carded 11 top-20 finishes this season, seven inside the top 10, and four victories. The junior from Richardson, Texas won his four tournaments inside a six-tournament span from March 3 at the Cabo Collegiate to April 29 at the Big 12 Championship. Also a 2026 Ben Hogan Award presented by Baird finalist, Stout became the first golfer to win three Big 12 Championships, winning by three strokes with an 11-under 269 (67-65-67-70) and leading the Cowboys to their league-record 13th Big 12 Championship. Stout would be the sixth Oklahoma State Cowboy to receive the Nicklaus Award, the most of any school. His current 69.1 actual scoring average would be the program’s second-lowest in a single season since 1973-74, only behind their most recent Nicklaus Award recipient Matthew Wolff’s national-best 68.69 in 2018-19. Stout’s career scoring average of 70.32 over 111 rounds is currently the third-best in program history behind Wolff (69.44) and 2022 Nicklaus Award finalist Eugenio Chacarra (69.89).
All five finalists are competing this week at the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
Nicklaus, a Big Ten and NCAA Champion at Ohio State, helped inspire and create the Jack Nicklaus Award in 1988. The award is now presented to the National Player of the Year in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, as well as NAIA and NJCAA.
About the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday
The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday is held annually at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. The Tournament, founded and hosted by Jack Nicklaus, is conducted each year with three goals in mind: to honor the memory of individuals living and deceased who have distinguished themselves in the game of golf; to showcase the world’s best golfers competing on one of the most challenging venues in the world for the enjoyment of spectators; and to benefit many Greater Columbus Charities in alliance with the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation and numerous other local organizations. For more information, visit www.thememorialtournament.com or call 614-889-6700.
About Workday
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