FORT WORTH, Texas – Fighting Illini All-America golfers Jackson Buchanan and Max Herendeen have been named to the 2025 Ben Hogan Award Watch List, as announced Wednesday (Jan. 29) by the Hogan Trophy Award Foundation, the Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
The Illini duo is listed among 35 of the nation's top collegiate golfers named to the watch list for the prestigious award. Illinois is one of nine programs to boast multiple honorees, and one of three Big Ten programs represented on the list.
Buchanan and Herendeen closed the fall season ranked No. 13 and No. 44, respectively in the NCAA Division I individual rankings released Nov. 13.
A senior from Dacula, Ga., Buchanan is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year and was a PING All-America third team selection and a unanimous All-Big Ten first team honoree as a junior last season. Through the fall schedule, Buchanan recorded a career-low stroke average of 70.50 to pace the Illini. He has posted top-10 finishes in four of five collegiate tournaments this year highlighted by his fourth-career victory at the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational, and a pair of third-place finishes to bookend the stretch at the season-opening Folds of Honor Collegiate in September and the final event of the fall, the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational in October. So far this season, Buchanan is 311-68-5, and has climbed to No. 13 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings entering the spring schedule.
A sophomore who earned second team PING All-America honors and a spot on the GCAA All-Freshman Team last season, Herendeen was tabbed as the 2023-24 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a unanimous All-Big Ten first team selection. He closed out his first season at Illinois by winning the NCAA Stanford Regional, followed by a runner-up finish in stroke play at the NCAA Championship. This season, the Bellevue, Wash., native has posted top-20 finishes in all five the Illini's fall events, including a ninth-place finish at the Folds of Honor Collegiate, a tie for fourth at the Fallen Oaks Collegiate Invitational, and a T8 finish at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational. He ranks second on the team with a stroke average of 70.53 and has a head-to-head record of 328-48-8 entering the second half of the Illini season.
The Ben Hogan Award is presented annually to the top men's NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer based on all collegiate, amateur and professional events over the previous 12 months. The Ben Hogan Award Selection Committee, which votes during each stage of the process, is comprised of 30 leaders in collegiate, amateur and professional golf.
This year's list of 10 semifinalists, which could include individuals not on the watch list, will be unveiled Thursday, April 17. That group will be pared down to three finalists on Tuesday, May 6. The finalists will attend a black-tie dinner Monday, May 19, at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, where the winner will be crowned.
The Illini duo is listed among 35 of the nation's top collegiate golfers named to the watch list for the prestigious award. Illinois is one of nine programs to boast multiple honorees, and one of three Big Ten programs represented on the list.
Buchanan and Herendeen closed the fall season ranked No. 13 and No. 44, respectively in the NCAA Division I individual rankings released Nov. 13.
A senior from Dacula, Ga., Buchanan is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year and was a PING All-America third team selection and a unanimous All-Big Ten first team honoree as a junior last season. Through the fall schedule, Buchanan recorded a career-low stroke average of 70.50 to pace the Illini. He has posted top-10 finishes in four of five collegiate tournaments this year highlighted by his fourth-career victory at the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational, and a pair of third-place finishes to bookend the stretch at the season-opening Folds of Honor Collegiate in September and the final event of the fall, the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational in October. So far this season, Buchanan is 311-68-5, and has climbed to No. 13 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings entering the spring schedule.
A sophomore who earned second team PING All-America honors and a spot on the GCAA All-Freshman Team last season, Herendeen was tabbed as the 2023-24 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a unanimous All-Big Ten first team selection. He closed out his first season at Illinois by winning the NCAA Stanford Regional, followed by a runner-up finish in stroke play at the NCAA Championship. This season, the Bellevue, Wash., native has posted top-20 finishes in all five the Illini's fall events, including a ninth-place finish at the Folds of Honor Collegiate, a tie for fourth at the Fallen Oaks Collegiate Invitational, and a T8 finish at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational. He ranks second on the team with a stroke average of 70.53 and has a head-to-head record of 328-48-8 entering the second half of the Illini season.
The Ben Hogan Award is presented annually to the top men's NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer based on all collegiate, amateur and professional events over the previous 12 months. The Ben Hogan Award Selection Committee, which votes during each stage of the process, is comprised of 30 leaders in collegiate, amateur and professional golf.
This year's list of 10 semifinalists, which could include individuals not on the watch list, will be unveiled Thursday, April 17. That group will be pared down to three finalists on Tuesday, May 6. The finalists will attend a black-tie dinner Monday, May 19, at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, where the winner will be crowned.
2025 BEN HOGAN AWARD WATCH LIST
- Jackson Buchanan, Illinois, Sr., Dacula, Ga.
- Max Herendeen, Illinois, So., Bellevue, Wash.
- Josele Ballester, Arizona State, Sr., Castellon de la Plana, Spain
- Adam Bresnu, Odessa, So., Rabat, Morocco
- Sungyeop Cho, Colorado Christian, So., Yeoju-si, South Korea
- Luke Clanton, Florida State, Jr., Hialeah, Fla.
- Dominic Clemons, Alabama, Jr., Cambridge, England
- Pablo Ereño, UCLA, Sr., Madrid, Spain
- Ethan Fang, Oklahoma State, So., Plano, Texas
- David Ford, North Carolina, Sr., Peachtree Corners, Ga.
- Josiah Gilbert, Auburn, So., Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
- Ian Gilligan, Florida, Sr., Reno, Nev.
- Drew Goodman, Oklahoma, Sr., Norman, Okla.
- Ben James, Virginia, Jr., Milford, Conn.
- Jackson Koivun, Auburn, So., Chapel Hill, N.C.
- Michael La Sasso, Ole Miss, Jr., Raleigh, N.C.
- Bryan Lee, Virginia, Jr., Fairfax, Va.
- Christiaan Maas, Texas, Jr., Pretoria, South Africa
- Ashton McCullouch, Michigan State, Sr., Kingston, Ontario, Canada
- Jacob Modleski, Notre Dame, So., Noblesville, Ind.
- Omar Morales, UCLA, Sr., Puebla, Mexico
- Tommy Morrison, Texas, Jr., Dallas, Texas
- Sebastian Moss, Louisville, Sr., Pearland, Texas
- Jake Peacock, USF, Sr., Milton, Ga.
- Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt, Sr., Birmingham, Ala.
- Calum Scott, Texas Tech, Sr., Nairn, Scotland
- Lance Simpson, Tennessee, Jr., Knoxville, Tenn.
- Preston Summerhays, Arizona State, Sr., Scottsdale, Ariz.
- Hiroshi Tai, Georgia Tech, Jr., Singapore, The Republic of Singapore
- Cameron Tankersley, Ole Miss, Jr., Dickson, Tenn.
- Jack Turner, Florida, So., Orlando, Fla.
- Brendan Valdes, Auburn, Sr., Orlando, Fla.
- Jackson Van Paris, Vanderbilt, Sr., Pinehurst, N.C.
- Kieron Van Wyk, Charleston, Sr., Ruimsig, South Africa
- Connor Williams, Arizona State, So., Escondido, Calif.
