BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — The Little Rock men's golf team has been selected as the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference favorite for the third consecutive year, according to a vote of league head coaches released on Friday.
On the men's side, the defending champion Trojans picked up 9 of 11 first-place votes and 99 points in being picked first for the second year in a row. SIUE picked up the other two first-place vote and 92 points in being predicted second. UT Martin was tabbed third (79) and followed by Morehead State (72), Southern Indiana (60), Lindenwood (55), Tennessee Tech (45), newcomer Brysnt(39), Western Illinois (28), Eastern Illinois (18) and Tennessee State (18). This year marks the first for Bryant as an affiliate member for men's and women's golf with the OVC.
Little Rock standout
Matteo Cristoni has been selected as the team's Player to Watch for the 2025 season, as chosen by OVC head coaches. Cristoni will be a key player for the Trojans as they look to defend their conference title and build on their recent success.
The men's championship will be held at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau from April 20-23.
To follow along make sure to checkout the 2024-25 schedule here.
Both reclassifying teams, Lindenwood and Southern Indiana, are eligible to compete and win the OVC Golf Championship once again this season. Should a transitioning school win an OVC Championship, the AQ shall be awarded to the tournament runner-up (or next highest finisher if the runner-up is also a reclassifying team). For men's golf, which uses match play to determine its champion, if the winner and runner-up are both reclassifying teams, the representative would be the next highest seed going into match play.
2024-25 Men's Predicted Order of Finish
1. Little Rock (9 first-place votes) – 99 points
2. SIUE (2) - 92
3. UT Martin - 79
4. Morehead State - 72
5. Southern Indiana - 60
6. Lindenwood - 55
7. Tennessee Tech - 45
8. Bryant - 39
9. Western Illinois - 28
10. Eastern Illinois - 18
Tennessee State - 18
2024-25 Men's Players to Watch
Bryant - Tyler Dupuis (Grad.)
Eastern Illinois - Cole Jaworski (Jr.)
Lindenwood - Santiago Juesas Benet (Fr.)
Little Rock - Matteo Cristoni (Sr.)
Morehead State - Nolan Piazza (Sr.)
SIUE - Brady Kaufmann (Jr.)
Southern Indiana - Jason Bannister (Sr.)
Tennessee State - Bryar Moss (Fr.)
Tennessee Tech - Haden Maxwell (Jr.)
UT Martin - Jackson Twerdahl (R-Sr.)
Western Illinois - Baptiste Labeyrie (Sr.)
