May 7, 2015
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State head coach Ryan Donovan has been named 2014-15 Mountain West Men's Golf Coach of the Year, while Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.), Ryann Ree (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego, Calif.) each earned a spot on the all-conference team as announced Thursday by the league office.
With his award, Donovan garnered the third MW Coach of the Year accolade of his career, while Schauffele landed on the all-conference team for the third straight season, joining first-time honorees Mendoza and Ree. In addition, the selections give the Aztecs three all-MW picks for the second year in a row.
Now in his 12th season, Donovan has directed the Aztecs to another successful campaign, highlighted by their third MW championship in the last five years, securing the program's 17th consecutive NCAA regional bid in the process. In addition, San Diego State claimed the team title at its own Barona Collegiate Cup in February, giving the squad eight top-five placements in 12 tournaments this year. The Aztecs are currently ranked 32nd nationally by Golfstat and boast a combined head-to-head record of 116-38-1, which amounts to a .752 winning percentage.
A native of Yorba Linda, Calif., Donovan was a four-year member of the SDSU men's golf squad from 1997-2001, before earning his degree in public administration and playing professionally. He returned to The Mesa as an assistant coach in 2003, and later was elevated to head coach, where he has guided the Aztecs to 135 top-10 tournament finishes, 97 top-five performances, 26 team titles and four trips to the NCAA national championship series.
Under Donovan's guidance, SDSU golfers have garnered 23 all-Mountain West accolades and 10 all-region honors, while four of his players have been named to eight All-America teams.
Individually, Schauffele leads the Aztecs with a 70.61 stroke average and has been the team's top player in 10 of 12 tournaments during the 2014-15 campaign, including a runner-up finish last weekend at the MW Championship, where he tied the tournament's second-lowest score ever at 9-under 204. In all, the SDSU senior has seven top-five placements to his credit this season, including a medal-winning performance at the Barona Collegiate Cup, where he established a school-record for lowest score in relation to par with a blistering 17-under 199. For his effort, the Scripps Ranch High alumnus received the first of three straight MW Golfer of the Week awards.
Schauffele, who won the California State Amateur championship and finished second at the Western Amateur in the summer of 2014, is currently ranked 21st in the Golfstat Cup standings.
In addition, Ree has given the Aztecs a tremendous boost this spring after joining the team in mid-January, The junior transfer from the University of Oregon sports six top-20 finishes to go with 72.00 scoring average, which ranks second on the squad. At the MW Championship, Ree shot a final-round 67, matching a season-best to climb 12 places into a tie for fourth at 5-under 208 en route his highest finish in a Scarlet and Black uniform. He was also SDSU's top golfer at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational, where he tied for 14th in a strong field and was the team's No. 2 finisher in three other events.
Mendoza, meanwhile, was the third Aztec to place in the top 10 on the individual leaderboard at the MW Championship, where he tied for seventh with a combined 4-under 208. The SDSU sophomore ranks third on the team with a 72.70 stroke average and finished among the top 20 in four additional tournaments, including a runner-up effort as an unattached competitor at Barona, where he posted a career-best 14-under 202. Mendoza was also the Aztecs' No. 2 golfer at the University of Arizona's National Invitational Tournament in March, tying for 10th at even-par 216.
San Diego State will travel to the East Coast next week to compete in the NCAA New Haven Regional, scheduled for May 14-16 at The Course at Yale in New Haven, Conn. The top five teams and highest finishing individual not on an advancing squad will qualify for the NCAA Championships, May 29-June 3 in Bradenton, Fla.
2014-15 Mountain West Men's Golf Awards
Coach of the YearRyan Donovan, San Diego State
All-Mountain West TeamXander Schauffele, San Diego StateRyann Ree, San Diego StateNahum Mendoza III, San Diego StateGavin Green, New MexicoSean Romero, New MexicoSam Saunders, New MexicoCody Blick, San José StateCarl Jonson, UNLVKurt Kitayama, UNLVJohn Oda, UNLV
Golfer of the YearGavin Green, New Mexico
Freshman of the YearJohn Oda, UNLV