How Did Our Class of 2024 Boys Rankings Hold Up?

6/10 CGC Staff

The 2024-2025 collegiate season has concluded, and we take a look back at the athletes we ranked as our top recruits of the 2024 high school class and how they fared against collegiate competition. We used Scoreboard data to obtain collegiate rankings ad tournament finishes. This is the final rankings list of the top-20 performing freshman in 2024-25:

7 Daniel Bennett, Texas (int'l top 10)

22 Gunnlaugur Arni Sveinsson, LSU

58 Connor Graham, Texas Tech (int'l top 10)

59 Clark Van Gaalen, Oklahoma

78 Billy Davis, Auburn (American #1)

82 Wheaton Ennis (American #4)

93 Peer Wernicke, Arizona St (int'l top 10)

106 Zachary Swanwick, Florida (int'l top 10)

107 Matthew Diehl, grand Canyon

112 Filip Falberg-Johnsson, Oklahoma St

116 Ryan Downes, Vanderbilt (American #9)

117 Harry Takis, San Diego State

127 Ziqin Zhou, Cal (int'l top 10)

146 TK Chantananuwat (int'l #1)

148 Albert Hansson, Georgia Tech (int'l #2)

150 Jay Leng, Stanford (American #3)

196 Sihan Sandhu, UNC

199 Freddie Turnell, Little Rock

200 Matt Robles, Santa Clara

208 Nolan Harper, Florida Gulf Coast

Here were our 'top 10' picks from the high school graduating class of 2024 (ranked as of signing day, 2023). Players who finished in the Scoreboard top-20 are in red. Overall scoreboard ranking in parentheses.

American

1. Billy Davis, Auburn (78)

2. Nick Gross, Alabama (354)

3. Jay Leng, Stanford (150)

4. Wheaton Ennis, Texas A&M (82)

5. William Jennings, Alabama (N/A)

6. Byungho Lee, Pepperdine (449)

7. Ethan Paschal, UNC (398)

8. William Ma, Harvard (713)

9. Ryan Downes, Vanderbilt (116)

T10. Charlie Wylie, TCU (416)

T10. Boston Bracken, Arizona St (deferred)

International

1. TK Chantananuwat (146)

2. Albert Hansson, Georgia Tech (148)

Matej Baca, Arizona (N/A)

Daniel Bennett, Texas (7)

Gerry Gomez, Arkansas (268)

Connor Graham, Texas Tech (58)

Taishi Moto, Arizona (N/A)

Mike Qiu, Notre Dame (518)

Zachary Swanwick, Florida (106)

Peer Wernicke, Arizona St (93)

Ziqin Zhou, Cal (127)

As you can see, only four of the top-10 Americans ended up ranked in the top-20 of the freshman class. Our rankings for Americans in this class looked at a combination of junior rankings from JGS, AJGA, and Golfweek, as our points based ranking system was not implemented at the time. We have found that WAGR ranking for American junior golfers is not an accurate representation of their skill level; therefore, WAGR rankings were looked at with a grain of salt. Three of the top-5 Americans lived up to their potential as promised. Billy Davis, although not a mainstay in the Auburn lineup due to the Tigers' incredible depth, took advantage of his playing opportunities to contribute to the team before post-season began. Two of his top-5 finishes came in individual events, while he had an additional top-5 and two top-15 finishes in the Auburn lineup, playing in a total of nine events. With several 5th year and seniors graduated, expect Davis to be a regular contributor to the Tigers' lineup. Wheaton Ennis was solidly in the lineup for Texas A&M all season, playing in all fifteen events. Ennis had four top-6 finishes and five additional top-20s, with strong top-20 finishes at the SEC Championship and Auburn Regional. Ennis should continue to lead the Aggies in the coming years with his consistent play. Jay Leng comes in at #16 on the top-freshman list, with a solid, if not spectacular season for the Cardinal. He was in the lineup for twelve events, with two top-15 finishes and two top-20 finishes on a very young Stanford team. With a year of experience under his belt, look to Leng and his international compatriot, TK Chantananuwat to lead the team in the next three years. The only player from the next five on our original top-10 list is Vanderbilt's Ryan Downes, who had a slow start to the fall but had three top-6 finishes in the spring season. Competing in eleven tournaments for the Commodores, he finished the post-season with one of his top-6s at the Amherst regional and finished a solid 32nd at the NCAA Championships. If he continues his level of play from the spring, Downes should be a mainstay in the Commodore lineup next year.

Alabama's Nick Gross was widely regarded as the top 2024 recruit in the early part of his high school career. He played in every tournament for a Crimson Tide team that lacked depth this year, with mixed results. He was able to notch two top-10 finishes in his freshman campaign, and looks to translate his junior consistency to the college game next year. His teammate, William Jennings, did not see playing time in he fall other than an individual event, but found himself in the individual spot in two spring tournaments. Although he spent his freshman year struggling to find his game, a positive sign was a top-20 finish in his lone April tournament. The two Alabama teammates look to contribute consistently to the Crimson Tide lineup in the future. The rest of our original top-10 saw considerable playing time during their freshman year, with the exception of Boston Bracken, who deferred enrollment due to a mission trip. Altogether, they gained valuable playing experience with a mixed bag of results. William Ma found success playing for Harvard, with one top-5 and three top-10 finishes, although the Crimson do not face as strong competition on lower rated courses as a whole.

Several American athletes stepped up their game in comparison to their junior career. Clark Van Gaalen of Oklahoma was always a bit of a wildcard, as he had tremendous success in regional California events, but limited experience in nationally ranked events against higher quality competition. There was limited knowledge of how he would fare in higher level competition at tougher courses, but coach Hybl played his cards right and his gamble on Van Gaalen paid off in spades. Oklahoma's depth had him in and out of the lineup early, with one top-5 and one top-20 showing in the fall. He solidified his lineup spot in late spring, with one top-10 and another top-20 finish in March/April. Van Gaalen's game got hot in the post-season, earning a runner-up finish at the Amherst regional and 13th at the NCAA Championship. In addition to Van Gaalen, Grand Canyon's Matthew Diehl was profiled in our 'Elite vs Regional Tournament' article. Diehl played in the #1 spot for GCU, amassing one win, three top-10, and three top-15 finishes in a schedule that is admittedly not against the strongest competition. However, Diehl proved that he can hang with top players by finishing 7th at the windy Reno regional. Other Americans who snuck into the top-20 are UNC's Sihan Sandhu, who made a late charge into the Tarheel lineup mid-season, Santa Clara's Matt Robles, and Florida Gulf Coast's Nolan Harper.

WAGR rankings for international players may be a better indicator of collegiate success, unless this year's class just happened to have a plethora of talent in it. Seven of the golfers that we highlighted as top international players fared well in their first year of collegiate golf. Daniel Bennett exceeded all expectations as one of the top-10 players in the country across all of collegiate golf. The Texas Longhorn played in twelve events and showed incredible consistency before cooling off slightly in the post-season. Bennett had four top-3 finishes against tough competition, in addition to one top-10 and three top-20 finishes, and he finished the season with a solid 32nd place result at NCAAs. Connor Graham was already on a must-watch list before enrolling at Texas Tech after participating in the most recent Walker Cup. He delivered for the Red Raiders with lineup appearances in all fourteen events, with two top-10s (including the Big 12 tournament), and four top-15 finishes in his freshman season. Graham should be a lineup stalwart for years to come. Arizona State's Peer Wernicke delivered for the Sun Devils in thirteen tournaments, whether it was in the lineup or in the individual spot for the talented team. Wernicke had one top-10 at the Bremerton regional, four top-15, and two top-20 finishes in a consistent first collegiate season. With the graduation of several athletes, Coach Thurmond will look to Wernicke for consistent lineup contribution next year. Florida's Zackary Swanwick proved to be a vital member of the Gator lineup this year, with twelve appearances with the team. He was an important part of the Gators' SEC Championship win in match play, and won one match at NCAAs. Swanwick began the season slowly, then carded two top-10 finishes and had a top-20 result at NCAAs. Cal's Ziqin Zhou was a welcome addition to Cal's lineup, as he appeared for the Bears in eleven tournaments. He garnered one top-10 and two top-20 finishes, with solid placement in seven tournaments. Cal will look for him to lower his scoring average next year and provide continued stability for the lineup.

When we finalized our international rankings for the class of 2024, there were a clear cut #1 and #2: Stanford's TK Chantananuwat and Georgia Tech's Albert Hansson. At the time of signing day, both were solidly ranked in the top-100 in WAGR. While both landed just inside the top-15 freshmen on Scoreboard, the weren't as dominant as predicted. Chantananuwat graduated a year early, needing some time to adjust to the college game. He was able to card two top-10 and three top-20 finishes in his freshman year, and will expected to contribute more in the coming years as he gains experience. Hansson found himself in the top-5 at the one-day, limited field East Lake Cup, and his season resulted in three top-20 placements for the Yellow Jackets. His results were a mixed bag, and Georgia Tech will count on him for consistently lower finishes in the coming years. Of the three internationals not ranked in the Scoreboard top-20, Gerry Gomez of Arkansas came closest, with five top-20 finishes for the Razorbacks.

LSU's Gunnlaugur Arni Sveinsson was not on our radar before he donned purple and yellow for the Tigers. Golfweek had him as their 40th pick, so we weren't the only ones who missed out on his talent. Originally committed to ETSU, Sveinsson proved to be a vital part of LSU's lineup. With a final ranking of #22 in the country, he notched one win, four top-5 finishes (including the Amherst regional), and one top-10 in a stellar season. Look for the Tigers to build their lineup around him for the next few years. One freshman that viewers got to know by watching match play at NCAAs is Oklahoma State's Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson, who had one win mid-freshman year, followed by one top-10 and three top-20 finishes. Although all of his matches weren't easy at NCAAs, he came away with three wins in the Cowboys' run to the title. He should be exciting to watch in the coming years. San Diego State's Harry Takis quietly went about his business in his first year, notching two runner-up and three top-15 finishes against some solid competition. Takis closed out his season with a top-20 finish at the Tallahassee regional. Rounding out the top-20 freshman was Little Rock's Freddie Turnell.