Class of 2024 Boys
Recruiting Class Ranking
1. University of Alabama: Coach Jay Seawell hit the recruiting jackpot this year, notching two top-5 recruits in Pennsylvania's Nick Gross and South Carolina's William Jennings. Gross held the number one spot across several rankings metrics in 2022, with top-5 finishes at the AJGA Simplify Boys Championship, Dustin Johnson World Junior, Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, and the Junior PGA Championship. He made headlines as a quarter-finalist at the 2022 US Amateur. In 2023, he snagged the title at the Simplify, and was a semi-finalist at the AJGA Polo Junior Classic. Nick again made match play at the 2023 US Amateur, and was a member of the US Junior Ryder Cup team. Jennings has had a steady presence in the top-10 in all class rankings for the past two years, with 2nd-place finishes at the 2023 & 2022 Bobby Chapman Invitational a highlight. He has collected top-5 finishes at the 2022 & 2023 AJGA Wyndham Invitationals, and the 2023 Team Taylormade Invitational. William finished a solid 7th at the 2023 Terra Cotta Amateur Invitational. Rounding out this class is Alabama's Michael Crocker, who impressed with a win at the 2023 Alabama State Junior Championship.
3. University of North Carolina: UNC made a steady climb to #3 in our rankings in 2023, with the recruitment of Sihan Sandhu and emergence of top-10 recruit Ethan Paschal. Paschal, a North Carolina native, had a hot spring, with a 3rd at the Dustin Johnson World Junior, 2nd at the AJGA Junior at Canebrake, and 6th at the AJGA Team Taylormade Invitational. Although his game cooled a bit over the summer, he was able to nab a match play spot into the round of 64 at the 2023 US Amateur. Sandhu was a dominant presence in junior tournaments in 2021, with top-6 finishes at the AJGA Wyndham and Team Taylormade Invitationals, Dustin Johnson World Junior, and Scott Robertson Memorial. Since then, he has focused on amateur events, and in 2023 grabbed a 2nd place finish at the Palmetto Amateur, and 4th at the Eastern Amateur. Head coach Andrew DiBitetto also has two JGS top-40 recruits in Ukrainian Mykhailo Golod and Illinois' Grant Roscich. Golod hit a hot streak last winter with wins at the Notah Begay Junior National Championship and the Sunshine State Amateur, in addition to a runner-up finish at the Doral First Tee Miami Junior Classic. Roscich has a smaller resume than the others, highlighted by a wins at the Illinois Junior Amateur in 2022 & 2023. He also recorded a top-15 finish at the 2023 North & South Junior Amateur. These four athletes form a well-rounded, formidable class.
4. Auburn University: Auburn continues its rise into the upper echelon of teams with another strong pair of recruits. California's Billy Davis has had a fantastic 2023, which has brought him to the #1 ranking in both Rolex and Golfweek, and 3rd among 2024 American players in WAGR. Since December, 2002, he inked the following top-3 finishes on his resume: 2nd at the Jones Cup Junior Invitational, a win at the AJGA Mayakoba Invitational, 3rd at the Toyota Junior World Cup, semi-finalist at the US Junior Amateur, and 2nd at the Junior PGA Championship. Davis represented the US at the Junior Ryder Cup in 2023 and should be a strong contributor to Auburn lineups. The second member of this class is Arizona native, Tyler Spielman, who holds a top-20 class ranking in JGS, and top-40 in Golfweek. Most notable is Tyler's medalist honor in the stroke play portion of the Arizona Amateur Championship in 2023, advancing to the quarter-finals in match play. Spielman owns the 2022 Future Masters title and placed 1st at the Brophy Rodeo in August. He notched three runner-up finishes in the past year in JGAA events.
5. Texas A&M University: A strong recruiting class of two lands A&M at the 5th spot on our list. Arizona's Wheaton Ennis made a move from Idaho, and the consistent opportunity to play year round has lifted his game to be a top-5 2024 recruit. Ennis owns three AJGA titles in 2023, including the recent Ping Invitational in commanding fashion. The 2021 & 2022 Idaho Junior Amateur champion also found the top-5 in 2023 in the Junior PGA Championship and the W.E. Cotton States Amateur, and owns several JGAA event titles. Rounding out this signing class is a Canadian who trains in Florida, Alex Long. Long had a very strong start to the 2023 season, taking titles at two AJGA events: the Panama Junior and the Sergio and Angela Garcia Foundation Junior Championship. Though his game cooled a bit in the summer, he made his 2nd straight appearance in the US Junior Amateur Championship and finished a respectable 12th at the recent AJGA Ping Invitational.
6. Arizona State University: Clocking in at number 6 on our list, ASU follows it's #1 2023 recruiting class with two strong 2024 recruits, Arizona's Boston Bracken and German Peer Wernicke. Bracken is another Arizona native to appear on this list, and has the ability to produce top finishes in big events. In 2022, he registered 2nd place at the IMG Junior World Championship and 9th at the AJGA Jack Burke Invitational. Although his 2023 results have been inconsistent, Bracken placed 3rd at the AJGA Simplify Boys Championship, 7th at the Wyndham Invitational, and 10th at the Junior PGA Championship. He also reached the round of 32 at the US Junior Amateur and qualified for the 2023 US Amateur. Wernicke was a member of the winning 2023 European Junior Ryder Cup team. Among his 2022 accomplishments are champion of the German International Amateur and 7th at the German National Boys Championship. In 2023, Wernicke carded top-3 finishes at the German Boys Open and the Spanish Amateur Copa S M El Rey. He challenges himself in various Amateur events and has represented his country in numerous team events.
T7. Vanderbilt University: Vanderbilt continues to add strong players to its top program each year, and this year coach Scott Limbaugh has recruited Massachusetts native Ryan Downes and Texan Bowen Ballis. Downes, 4th ranked American 2024 in WAGR, has risen up the rankings in 2023 this year with a win at the AJGA Justin Thomas Junior Championship, 8th at the Jack Burke Junior Invitational, and medalist honors in stroke play at the Massachusetts Junior Amateur. Most impressive is his Amateur tournament resume, with a win at the 2023 Massachusetts Amateur Championship, following a runner-up finish in 2022. He won the Ouimet Memorial Tournament in 2023 & 2022, and made the cut at the Northeast Amateur this year. Ballis, 17th in the JGS rankings, has been a consistent competitor in big events in 2023, with a 6th at the AJGA Jack Burke Junior Invitational, 7th at the North & South Junior Amateur, and 8th at the Dye Junior Invitational. He went back-to-back at the 2021 & 2022 AJGA Bass Pro Shops Payne Stewart Junior Championship, and recently finished 14th at the AJGA Ping Invitational.
T7. University of Oklahoma: Coach Ryan Hybl always seems to recruit solid classes, and 2024 is no different, with three new Sooners heading to Norman. Leading the pack is Kansas' Asher Whitaker, the 2022 Kansas Amateur champion and 8th in the JGS rankings. After two AJGA runner-up Open finishes and a 5th place at the Rolex Tournament of Champions in 2022, Whitaker cooled down at the beginning of 2023. This summer he stormed back to record top-10 finishes at AJGA Junior Players Championship, the Junior PGA Championship, the North & South Junior Amateur, and the Kansas Amateur. Californian Clark Van Gaalen is a top-25 2024 recruit in Rolex and Golfweek, and brings 3 JGANC wins and 4 JTNC top-4 finishes to his resume in 2023. He notched a win at the 2023 AJGA Brandon Wu Championship and 3rd at the 2023 AJGA Se Ri Pak Desert Junior. Van Gaalen has not tested himself in many big events yet, but has put up many low scores in local California events, so his potential is a bit unknown. Next in this class is Minnesota native Andrew Ramos, who had success in early 2022 with a 4th at the AJGA Sergio and Angela Garcia Foundation Junior Championship and 6th at the AJGA Team Taylormade Invitational. In 2023, he qualified for both the US Junior Amateur and the Junior PGA Championship. Finally, Oklahoma native Cameron Cheek was added to the roster in December, 2023. He credits three OJGT wins in 2023 to his resume, along with one SC PGA win in 2023.
*We took into account the overall make-up of each recruiting class and weighted that more than only one top recruit.
Rankings published after signing day, 2023. Late signees added once known.
2. Stanford University: Stanford boasts one of the top-3 US players in the 2024 class in California's Jay Leng, who sits in the top-3 across all rankings metrics. Leng's success in 2022 included a win at the AJGA Ping Invitational, and 5th place finishes at the AJGA Jack Burke Junior Invitational and the Junior PGA Championship. He continued his solid play in 2023 with a win at the AJGA Polo Junior Classic, and top-5 finishes at the AJGA Wyndham, Ping, and Mayakoba Invitationals and the Junior PGA Championship. His successes led him to represent the US at the Junior Ryder Cup, and he will be a formidable challenger for lineups at Stanford. The recent commitment of Thailand's Ratchanon Chantananuwat vaulted this team from #8 to #2 in our rankings. Chantananuwat sits at #47 in WAGR rankings, testing himself in multiple amateur and professional events, with one win on the Asian Tour. His recent accomplishments include 3rd at the Amateur Championship and reaching match play at the 2023 US Junior Amateur. He qualified for the 2022 & 2023 US Amateurs, finished 2nd at the 2022 R&A Junior Open, and 3rd at the 2022 Singapore International Open. The third member of the 2024 class is Californian Logan Kim, whose best current ranking is 36th on JGS. Kim had three top-5 finishes in AJGA Open events in 2022, complemented by a 4th place finish at the 2022 IMG Junior World Championship. He also finished 8th at the same IMG event in 2023, and owns one top-5 finish on the SCPGA Toyota Tour Cup circuit this year.
9. University of Arkansas: The Razorbacks enter our list at #9, with two international and one American recruit. Mexico's Gerry Gomez, who has always hung around the top ten in the 2024 class rankings on JGS and Golfweek, was an early commit and is one of our top international recruits. He recently won the Junior America's Cup and finished 7th at the AJGA Ping Invitational, also making the round of 32 at the 2023 US Junior Amateur. In 2022, Gomez's best finishes were 2nd at the AJGA Ping Invitational and 3rd at the AJGA Arnold Palmer Invitational, as well as several wins in his home country. Paraguay's Erich Fortlage Arce adds more international flavor to the team, sitting at 53 in the JGS rankings and owning one of the top WAGR rankings in this class, Arce qualified for the 2023 US Junior Amateur and finished 11th at the 2023 AJGA Mayakoba Invitational. He has multiple wins in 2022 and 2023 in tournaments throughout South America, and plays in numerous professional and amateur events in the region. The third member of this class is local Arkansas native Jackson McLaughlin, who boasts top-3 finishes in 2023 in the Arkansas Junior Amateur Championship and the ASGA Bruce Jenkins Memorial Junior Championship. Lastly, coach Brad McMakin has signed Spainiard Pablo Garcia Terol. He won both the 2022 PGA Catalunya Stadium Cup and the 2023 Campeonato de Catalunya U18 tournament, and finished 2nd at the 2023 Mediterranean Golf Championship.
10. Harvard University: A late addition to our top-10 list is a formidable Ivy League recruiting class of two. Harvard landed two top-25 recruits in California's William Ma and Florida's Barry Zhang. Ma has been a steady competitor on the junior circuit over the past two seasons, with two AJGA Open event wins and a 4th place finish at the 2023 AJGA Jack Burke Junior Invitational. Ma's resume highlights also include two AJGA Open top-3 finishes and a runner-up finish at both the 2023 & 2024 Sonoran Amateurs. Zhang, originally from China, won the 2023 AJGA Junior at Chicopee and had a solid 2nd place finish at the 2023 Scott Robertson Memorial. Most notable is his 5th place showings at two AJGA Invitationals in 2023: the Rolex Tournament of Champions and the Polo Junior Classic. Zhang had a steady finish of 16th at the recent Orlando International Amateur.
Other notable recruiting classes (in no particular order):
University of Florida: Parker Sands, Zackary Swanwick
University of Illinois: Trey Marrion, Joseph Buttress, Jake Birdwell
University of Tennessee: Christian Pardue, Jackson Herrington, Kai Komulainen
Princeton University: Eric Yun, Reed Greyserman
University of Texas: Eduardo Derbez Torres, Daniel Bennett
Duke University: John Hiller, Oliver Mukherjee, Samuel Mukherjee
Clemson University: Colin Salema, Rich Wills, Jacob Immelman
Pepperdine University: Byungho Lee, Luke Bailey
Oklahoma State University: Parker Bunn, Grant Gudgel, Collin Bond, Brady Catalano
University of Iowa: Ryan Shellberg, Chance Rinkol, Jack McCarty
University of Louisville: Brady Smith, Warren Thomis
Texas Christian University: Charlie Wylie, Aidan Dortch, Blake Burt, Hudson Wilt
Louisiana State University: Connor Cassano, Dylan Kane, Jack Buchanan, Nils Svanberg
University of Arizona: Taishi Moto, Matej Baca
Georgia Institute of Technology: Albert Hansson, Didrik Ringvall Bengtsson
Texas Tech University: Connor Graham, Sean Keeling, Luke D'Alise