Vanderbilt Recruits Another Highly-Ranked Class
10/6 CGC Staff
There's been something in the water in Nashville for the past few years, as Scott Limbaugh and his staff have dipped into the top-5 recruit pool again and picked up multiple proven winners as commits for 2026. In early September, the Commodores received a verbal commitment from Florida's Tyler Mawhinney, who we currently have listed as our 5th ranked recruit in the class of 2026. Mawhinney moved up in the rankings in 2023, starting with a 4th place finish at the AJGA Justin Thomas Junior Championship, then entered the class of 2026 top-10 conversation with a breakout win at the Scott Robertson Memorial. He notched a 10th place finish at the Junior PGA Championship before ramping up his game in the fall. He etched two AJGA Invitational top-10 finishes on his resume before ending 2023 with a victory at the AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions. He began 2024 with top-15 finishes in the Dustin Johnson World Junior and the AJGA Wyndham Invitational, and finished 5th while defending his Scott Robertson title. Mawhinney made waves in late summer by winning the Canadian Men's Amateur and a round of 16 appearance at the US Amateur.
Texan Luke Colton has had a meteoric rise in the rankings in 2024, improving all aspects of his game, which has resulted in multiple top finishes in amateur and junior events. One could say he has been the most consistent player in the class of 2026 this year. In late September, our #3 ranked Colton announced his commitment to the Commodores, giving Vanderbilt two top-5 commits for the second year in a row. He made a statement in April by winning the Terra Cotta Amateur, and followed that up with a runner-up finish at the AJGA Mayakoba Invitational. Colton soon won the Byron Nelson Junior Championship and advanced to the round of 16 at the US Junior. In 2024, he has competed well against top level amateurs, finishing 9th at the North & South Amateur and 12th against a strong field at the Northeast Amateur. In 2023 & 2024, Colton qualified for the US Amateur, narrowly missing match play this year. This year, he also chalked up top-7 finishes at the AJGA Simplify and the Junior Players Championship.
Mawhinney was able to give us some insight into his recruiting process and why he ultimately chose Vanderbilt as his future home. His top three reasons for choosing Vanderbilt were high quality coaching, strong academics, and his future teammates. For many of the top athletes, they already know many players in the classes above them from their tournament experiences, and Tyler should be familiar with the 2024 & 2025 classes. He has spent time two of the 2025 recruits with the USGA Developmental Team program. Mawhinney states 'I’m really looking forward to practicing and playing with guys that have the same goals as me. I think it will be really cool to see how good our team can get because of our closeness.' Vanderbilt's practice facilities and courses were also very appealing to Mawhinney, as he says 'The Vanderbilt golf courses are awesome as well as the facilities. Our facility has two putting greens as well as three greens for wedges and chipping. We have a bent green and a Bermuda green so we can prepare for different course setups. The Legends club has two courses that we get to play and the team also gets to play at The Golf Club of Tennessee regularly.' We hear that the Commodores also have a brand new clubhouse for the team to call home.
Photos: @tylermawhinney34 & @lukecolton22 instagram
Photo: Vanderbilt golf
Mawhinney was in serious communication with and took official visits to Auburn and Florida, but Vanderbilt had been at the top of his list for a while. Unlike some athletes who keep many options open, his week of June 15th was 'pretty mellow,' as he narrowed his options down to 4-5 schools fairly quickly, with Vanderbilt as his final choice.