-Final Class of 2026 Boys Recruiting Class Rankings

**Subject to change pending any surprise signings

*Our rankings are based off of analysis of all three junior rankings metrics, and WAGR (for int'l athletes) for the athletes which we have received confirmation of commitment. We may not have full information regarding all of the top int'l athletes; please send us any information that we may be missing!

For the first time, we had a difficult time separating teams 1-3, as they all have standout classes, and an argument can be made for each one to be number one. The Georgia Bulldogs came out on top because of, in addition to their top 2 recruits, their #3 recruit has climbed into the top-15 of JGS & top-25 of TUGR rankings. The added depth to the Bulldogs puts them on top of Vanderbilt and Tennessee.

1. University of Georgia: There’s no denying that this was the summer of Mason Howell, as the 3rd ranked player in this class broke through with his win at the US Amateur and a stellar performance at the Walker Cup. He followed that up with a 20th place finish at the World Amateur Team Championship. Georgia's Howell jumped into the top-5 individual rankings conversation with fantastic play in 2024 and solidified the 3rd spot by taking down multiple big names in the process of winning the US Am. He has racked up solid finishes in big events with top-5s at the 2024 AJGA Junior Players, Western Junior, and the AJGA Wyndham Championship. His top-10 results include the 2024 Ping and Mayakoba Invitationals and the 2024 Dustin Johnson World Junior. Howell reached the round of 32 at the 2024 US Junior Amateur, and followed that with a win in stroke play at the 2025 US Junior before losing in an unlucky draw in the round of 64. In 2025, he has carded top-10s at the Dustin Johnson and Junior Invitational. Howell made waves by winning his sectional qualifier for the US Open, with a respectable showing for the youngest competitor in the championship. The summer of Georgia golf also included Hamilton Coleman, who jumped back into our top-10 individual rankings with his steady and stellar performance to win the 2025 US Junior Amateur. He has shown the ability to shine in big events, as he won the 2024 Junior Players Championship, and had top-5 finishes at the 2024 North & South Junior and the 2025 Dustin Johnson World Junior. His other strong elite event finish was a top-10 at the AJGA Rolex TOC, and he had two AJGA open top-3 finishes in the last two years. His run in the US Junior hopefully will lead to more consistency in top events, which he showed in his top-10 finish in his title defense at the 2025 Junior Players. Time will tell how his game translates to the grind of college golf. Drew Woolworth had a solid, if not overly impressive 2024 season, with one AJGA open top-5 and two top-10s, and runner-up finishes at the Oregon Junior Amateur and the Nike Junior Invitational. Most notable was his 15th place showing at the 2024 Western Junior. He started making moves in bigger events in the summer of 2025, with a match play appearance in the US Junior, a top-10 at the Junior PGA, and a top-20 at the AJGA Junior Players. Though he may not be predicted for lineups, his presence will surely bolster the depth of the UGA roster if he continues his trajectory.

2. Vanderbilt University: The Commodores follow their #1 ranked 2025 class with the #2 ranked 2026 class, which bodes well for future solid NCAA championship results. Texan Luke Colton had a breakout 2024 season, winning the 2024 Terra Cotta Invitational after beginning 2024 with a 5th place showing at the AJGA Simplify Boys Championship. He took the title at the Texas class UIL 5A state high school championship and the LJT Junior Byron Nelson and finished 2nd at the AJGA Mayakoba Invitational and Rolex Tournament of Champions. Colton had excellent top-15 showings at both the Northeast Amateur and the North & South Amateur, and was in the top-10 on the leaderboard at the 2024 Junior Players. Colton narrowly missed match play at the 2024 US Amateur after also qualifying in 2023 and reached the round of 16 in the 2024 US Junior Amateur after a round of 32 appearance in 2023. He started 2025 with top-10 showings at the AJGA Simplify and the Junior Invitational, top-5 at the AJGA Team Taylormade, and defended his title at the Terra Cotta in April. He has had strong showings in Elite Am events in 2025, with a top-15 in the Northeast Am and a quarterfinal appearance at the North & South. He had an outstanding run at the 2025 US Junior, losing in the semi-final match, and made match play at the US Amateur. The Commodores are awaiting his presence in their lineup in 2026. Not to be outdone by his future teammate, Floridian Tyler Mawhinney is ranked 5th in our individual rankings, giving Vandy two top-5 recruits. Mawhinney had a stellar two weeks in August of 2024 with a win at the 2024 Canadian Men's Amateur and a run to the round of 16 at the US Amateur the following week. His victories include the 2023 AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions and the 2023 Scott Robertson Memorial, and Mawhinney carded a top-5 finish at the 2024 Scott Robertson in his title defense. Top-10 finishes include the 2024 Rolex TOC, and he notched top-15s at the 2024 Junior PGA, AJGA Wyndham Invitational, and the Dustin Johnson World Junior. He started off 2025 solidly with a top-5 at the Dustin Johnson and a top-15 finish at the Junior Invitational, with a semi-final appearance at the AJGA RLX and the round of 16 in the US Junior. Mawhinney added a top-5 result at the Junior PGA Championship, qualifying him for the Junior Ryder Cup. He made the cut at the RBC Canadian Open, his first PGA Tour appearance.

3. University of Tennessee: Tyler Watts and Colton have been neck and neck for the top spot in our individual rankings for the 1.5 years, with Watts edging him out of the final top spot after making the cut in a PGA Tour event and placing 4th in his first collegiate event while representing the USNDP. Alabama's Watts' amateur achievements include breaking Gordon Sargent’s record as the youngest Alabama state Amateur champion in history in 2023, and a runner-up finish at the 2024 Terra Cotta. He finished in the top-25 of the Western Amateur in 2024. Watts found similar 2023 junior tournament success and raised the winner’s trophy at the Jones Cup Junior Invitational and the Southern Junior. In 2024 Watts was a finalist at the US Junior Amateur and notched top-5 finishes at the Dustin Johnson World Junior, AJGA Mayakoba Invitational, Rolex TOC, and the AJGA Junior Players. Watts also qualified for the 2024 & 2025 US Amateurs. His start to 2025 included a top-15 at the Junior Invitational and top-15 at the Dustin Johnson. Watts proved his mettle by dominating the Elite Amateur series in 2025, winning the Sunnehanna, making the final match at the North & South, and placing in the top-10 at the Northeast Am. He reached the round of 16 at the 2025 US Junior and was top-20 in the Western Am. His future teammate Pennson Badgett jumped into the top-10 individual rankings with an improvement in his consistency in 2025. He found some success in 2024, with a win at the AJGA Polo Jr Classic (now RLX) and a top-5 showing at the AJGA Wyndham Invitational but also had inconsistent results. He also had two AJGA open wins in 2024, but his presence in the rankings was hampered by too many event finishes outside of the top-20. In 2025, Badgett has had top-10 finishes at the Terra Cotta Invitational, the AJGA Team Taylormade, and the Scott Robertson Memorial. His biggest showing was a top-10 at the Sunnehanna Amateur, and he made match play at the 2025 US Amateur after placing in the top-5 at the Junior PGA Championship. If he can continue to keep his 2025 form in college, watch out for this formidable duo.

4. University of Virginia: The highly-ranked Cavaliers continue to add solid players to their roster, attracting top-100 WAGR ranked Hugo Le Goff from France. Le Goff took home two trophies in early 2025 at the Lytham Trophy and Spanish Amateur Copa SM El Rey. He also made match play at the Western Amateur, finished in the top-10 at the Junior Invitational and competed at the US Amateur, among varied other results in 2025. His successes in 2024 include making match play at the US Junior, 12th at the European Amateur, and one French amateur win. Coach Sargent will welcome his presence in the lineup, and Le Goff will also be joined by Canadian Jager Pain. Pain has an extensive junior resume, collecting three open AJGA top-3 finishes, and one win and four top-4 finishes in the Ontario region in 2024. In 2025, Pain qualified for the US Amateur, was in the top-10 at the Toyota Junior World Cup, and had a top-15 finish at the Canadian Men’s Amateur. He continued his AJGA open success with two runner-up finishes. Expect him to challenge for a lineup spot in 2026.

5. Arizona State University: The Sun Devils reload in 2026 with a class of four international players. They are likely excited by the recent play of France’s Oscar Couilleau, a player who has made a massive jump in the WAGR rankings in 2025 into the top-100 with a very successful season. He won the Monroe Invitational, an event with a strong collegiate presence, and finished third at the World Amateur Team Championship. Couilleau made match play at the Amateur Championship and has one win and three top-5 finishes in European amateur events in 2025. He made match play at the 2024 US Junior and had three wins in France in 2024. Coach Thurmond also brings in two solid players currently ranked in the 600s, South African Bryan Newman and Chinese Taipei’s Ching-Wei Hsieh. Newman won the Africa Amateur Championship in 2025 and won a junior event trophy in South Africa. He has two top-5 finishes in his home country in 2025 in addition to seven top-5s and one amateur/junior win in 2024. Newman qualified for the 2025 British Open and challenged himself in bigger amateur events this past summer. Hsieh has travelled to the US in the past two summers, notching one top-5 and oner top-10 finish in AJGA events. He has seven wins on his resume in 2024/2025 in his home country, along with seven top-5 showings. He has one recent 7th place result at a professional event in Chinese Tapiei, the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship. The fourth recruit in this class is Raul Gomez of Spain. He has one win and three top-5 finishes in Spain in 2025, with one additional win in 2024.

6. University of North Carolina: Preston Hage went from being featured in our ‘Up & Comers’ article to making our top-10 list in record time. Hage showed some solid play in open AJGA events in 2024, with one top-10 and two top-15 finishes, qualified for the US Junior, and was third at the Carolinas Junior PGA Championship. Hage began a consistent streak of play with a top-10 finish at the Bobby Chapman Invitational and followed that with a second-place finish at the Junior Jones Cup. His 2025 has started off very well, with a top-10 finish at the AJGA Simplify Boys Championship and 15th at the Dustin Johnson World Junior. He took top billing at the TYGA North State High School Challenge and finished 2nd at the Azalea Invitational amateur event, adding a top-15 at the Terra Cotta. Hage added a top-10 finish at the AJGA Wyndham and was in the top-5 at the Carolinas Men's Amateur, in addition to qualifying to the 2025 US Amateur. Finally, he notched his biggest win of his career at the 2025 AJGA Ping Invitational. His future teammate, Asher Vargas, has hung around our top-10 rankings for the past two years, finishing in our top-15. Vargas mixes in top finishes in high-profile events with some inconsistency. His best accomplishments are a win at the 2024 AJGA Wyndham Invitational and a runner-up finish at the 2024 Junior PGA. He recently carded a top-5 at the Junior Players to up his stock, and he just missed the match play bracket at the AJGA RLX. Vargas has two AJGA invitational top-15 finishes on his resume and will succeed in college with increased consistency in his game.

7. University of Alabama: The Crimson Tide has another stellar class with two top-15 players. Bailey Sutter entered our top-10 list and finished in the 7th spot after a consistent and steady 2024 season, flying under the radar. He notched top-10 finishes at the 2024 AJGA Junior Players Championship and the Southern Junior, and top-15s at the Ping Invitational and the Bobby Chapman Invitational. He rose the champion's trophy at the Alabama Junior Amateur, qualifying him to the US Junior Amateur, in which he reached the round of 16. Sutter finished in the top-10 at his state Men's Amateur and found the top-10 at the 2024 Future Masters. In 2025, Sutter captured the Alabama Men's Amateur title, while winning the Southern Junior in back to back weeks, and just missed the match play bracket at the AJGA RLX. He qualified for the US Amateur, made the cut at the Southern Amateur, and was runner-up at the 2025 AJGA Junior Players. Phillip Dunham has been one of the top players in the class of 2026 for years and finished just outside of the top-10 in our individual rankings. Dunham carded top-10 finishes at the 2023 Rolex TOC and the 2024 Junior Players and was the runner-up at the 2025 AJGA Team Taylormade Invitational. He had a top-5 finish at the 2024 Dye Invitational and has been a fixture at AJGA invitationals for years. If Dunham can find some consistency in his game, he will challenge for playing time at Bama.

8. Pepperdine University: Pepperdine had been in and out of the rankings but recently re-entered the top-10 with the commitment switch of Ayden Fynaut, a player on the rise in late 2025. Fynaut was a late addition to our individual rankings after he surged onto the national scene in the summer of 2025. After playing locally in California, winning an AJGA open event and finishing in the top-3 in several, Fynaut reached the round of 16 at the US Junior Amateur after placing sixth in stroke play. He followed that with a top-5 finish at the Junior PGA Championship, earning AJGA Invitational invitations. He made the most of them by placing in the top-15 at the Junior Players and the top-10 at the Ping Invitational. He will be a strong addition to the Waves if he continues his consistent play in college. Kailer Stone is a player that had a strong 2024 season, with a steady presence in the top-3 and in the winner’s circle at regional JTNC and JGANC tournaments. He won one AJGA event and was in the top-10 at the AJGA Junior Players. He cooled off in the first half of 2025, then put together a nice string of finishes through the summer. He began with a top-15 finish at the AJGA Team Taylormade Invitational and followed that with a round-of-32 appearance at the US Junior Amateur and a top-10 at the Junior PGA Championship. The Waves will welcome his presence in the lineup if Stone can improve his consistency. Luke Ringkamp is another athlete who has had a nice year of tournaments in 2025. He has one Toyota Tour Cup win and one top-5 finish on his resume in addition to one AJGA win & one runner-up finish. He came on strong this fall with top-6 finishes at the AJGA Ping Invitational and the Junior Players, following a top-5 result at the Western Junior. In 2024 Ringkamp won the California Junior Amateur and took home the winner’s trophy at two Toyota Tour Cup events. This trio will definitely bolster the Pepperdine lineup in 2026.

9. University of Arkansas: Native Ukrainian Lev Grinberg has been a fixture on the junior international scene for many years and is well traveled on the US junior and amateur circuits. He made it to the round of 16 at the 2024 US Amateur and finished 7th at the Orlando International Amateur at the end of 2023, following a top-30 finish at the South Beach Amateur and 8th place at the AJGA Junior Players Championship. Grinbergtook home the trophy at the 2024 Grand Prix de Merignies. Most impressive was his 9th place finish at the 2024 Amateur Championship. He added a top-5 finish at the 2024 South Beach Amateur and had a top-15 finish at the 2025 Junior Invitational. Grinberg's best finishes include a runner-up finish at the German Boys Amateur and a top-10 at the European Amateur. His results in 2025 have been rather uneventful compared to his early career, but should contribute to the Razorback lineup nonetheless. Joining Grinberg is Sweden’s Neo Berg, a player with one win and two top-5 finishes in Swedish junior events in 2025. Berg dabbles in professional events in Europe with limited success but should benefit from the challenging competition. He found himself in 6th at the 2024 Toyota Junior World Cup and won the German Boys’ Open in that season.

10. University of Oklahoma: The Sooners bring in a strong class of two, led by Nebraska’s Coltrane Mittag. Mittag first arrived on the big scene with a win at the 2023 North & South Junior Amateur, and he followed that with top-5 finishes at the 2023 Bobby Chapman Invitational and the 2024 North & South Junior in his title defense. His top-10 finishes include the 2024 AJGA Mayakoba Invitational and the 2024 Bobby Chapman, and he racked up several top-15s in 2024 at the Dustin Johnson World Junior and the AJGA Simplify Boys Championship. Mittag was an impressive 4th at the 2024 Nebraska Men's Amateur, followed by 3rd place in 2025. In 2025, Mittag has posted a runner-up finish at the LJT Texas Invitational and a top-5 finish at the Terra Cotta, in addition to a top-10 at the Western Junior. He was in the top-15 at the AJGA Wyndham Invitational and top-5 in the Byron Nelson Junior Championship. Mittag will be joined by Max Emberson, an athlete who reached the round of 32 at the US Junior, recently won the Southern California Junior Amateur, and was top-15 in the men’s amateur. He has top-10 finishes in the North & South Junior and in two AJGA open events in 2025, with one Toyota Tour Cup runner-up finish. Emberson had one Toyota Tour Cup win, two top-5s, and four top-10 finishes on the circuit in 2024 and won an FCG event. He also had two AJGA top-3 finishes and was 12th at IMG Junior Worlds in 2024.

Teams to watch (in no particular order):

Louisiana State University: Austin Randall, John Doyle

University of Texas: Brooks Harper, Sterling Hurd

University of Illinois: Le Khanh Hung, Harrison Zipfel

University of Southern California: Zhenghao Hou, Mingbo Jiang

Auburn University: Smith Summerlin, Alex Holder, Hampton Beebe

Clemson University: Gabriel Holtz, Daniel McBrien

Texas A&M University: Landon Ashcraft, Owen Bolles

University of California, Los Angeles: Matthew Hull, Baron Nguyen

University of California, Berkeley: Callixte Alzas, Graham Christopher

Brigham Young University: Drake Harvey, Austin Shelley

Texas Christian University: Blake Brown, Cameron Kuchar

University of Mississippi: Tomas Restrepo, Viggo Olsson Mork, Xander Mulder