Bronchos Ready For National Tourney

No. 16-ranked Central Oklahoma looks to conclude an impressive 2023-24 season with a run at the national title this week when the Bronchos compete in the NCAA Division II Men's Golf National Championships.

UCO is one of 20 teams in the field at the rugged 7,419-yard, par-72 Orange County National Golf Center in Winter Park, Fla. First-round play gets underway at 8:30 a.m. (Oklahoma time) Tuesday, with the Bronchos starting at 10:26.

Teams will play 54 holes over a three-day span to determine the eight teams that advance to match play and the individual champion. Quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be held Friday, with the championship match Saturday.

"We're excited to be here and our guys look good," head coach Derrick Thompson. "There's a lot of great teams here, but I know we can compete with any of them. We're looking forward to seeing how we stack up."

Rounding out the 20-team field is No. 1 North Georgia, No. 4 Grand Valley State, No. 5 Colorado Christian, No. 6 Oklahoma Christian, No. 8 Lee, No. 9 West Floria, No. 17 Henderson State, No. 20 Coker, Gannon, Cal State-Monterey Bay, Charleston, St. Thomas Aquinas, Indiana-Pa., Post, Harding, Ferris State, Wingate, Western New Mexico and West Texas A&M.

UCO is making its first national tournament appearance since 2016. The Bronchos have advanced to the match play portion twice, falling in the quarterfinals in 2011 and the semifinals in 2012.

Making up UCO's six-man squad is Bennett Baldwin, Baylor Bostick, Nick Canales, Dylan Henderson, Kyle Hickey and Jordan Wilson. Five players will compete each round, with Thompson having the option to change his lineup daily.

That group has led the Bronchos to four titles and seven other top-three finishes in 12 tournaments this year, capped by a championship-effort in the Central/Midwest Regional May 9-11 in Edmond.

UCO rallied to that win by shooting a 13-under-par 267 in the final round to edge Henderson State by one shot with a 17-under 823 total. That ranks as the best postseason score in school history.

Baldwin was the catalyst at the regional, earning runner-up honors at nine-under 201 after finishing with a sizzling 64. That was the sixth top-10 finish in 10 tournaments this year for the junior, who has a 72.23 scoring average.

Wilson tied for 19th at two-under 208 and leads the Bronchos with a stellar 71.19 average in seven spring events after joining the team at the semester break. He's been in the top 10 six times with three runner-up finishes.

Canales has a 72.03 scoring standard for the year and the redshirt freshman has been in the top 20 in six of 10 tournaments. Henderson owns a 73.3 average in 10 tournaments with five top-20 showings.

Bostick has been in the top 20 four times in 11 tournaments and the rookie has a 73.68 average for the season. Hickey, the lone senior on the trip, has a 74.0 average with three top 10s in seven outings.

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Players Mentioned

Bennett Baldwin: Junior

Dylan Henderson: Junior

Kyle Hickey: Senior

Baylor Bostick: 6' 4"; Freshman

Nick Canales: 5' 9"; Redshirt Freshman

Jordan Wilson: 5' 8"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Bennett Baldwin
: Junior

Dylan Henderson
: Junior

Kyle Hickey
: Senior

Baylor Bostick
: 6' 4"; Freshman

Nick Canales
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Freshman

Jordan Wilson
: 5' 8"; Junior