By Hawkeyesports.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The 35th-ranked University of Iowa men’s golf team earned a number of conference postseason honors on Wednesday.

Fifth year-senior Alex Schaake was voted Big Ten Golfer of the Year for the second time in his career. Schaake and teammate Mac McClear also earned first-team All-Big Ten accolades, while head coach Tyler Stith was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.

Schaake was the recipient of his first Big Ten Golfer of the Year award in 2019. His two top honors make up half of the program’s four in the category, and he is the first Hawkeye to receive the honor in multiple seasons. The Omaha, Nebraska, native has placed in the top five each of the last five tournaments, including a victory at the Hawkeye Invitational and a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships. He is the sixth Big Ten golfer since 1988 to win the award multiple times and he is the first to do so non-consecutively.

This season marks Schaake’s third straight first-team all-conference honor. The Hawkeye veteran also was named second-team all-league in 2018.

McClear, who won the program’s first individual Big Ten title since 2015 last weekend, was the only unanimous selection to the all-conference first team. He and Schaake were two of eight players named to the first team. McClear has won two tournaments this season, and previously earned Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors for his championship performance at the Spartan Collegiate at Sea Island on March 9. The first-team all-league recognition marks the sophomore’s first postseason honor at Iowa.

Coach Stith becomes the second Hawkeye men’s golf coach to be named Big Ten Coach of the Year since 1988 (Lynn Belvins, 1992). Stith has led the Hawkeyes to second-place finishes at both the Big Ten Match Play and Big Ten Championships, three individual tournament titles, and two team tournament titles for the first time since 2014.

Junior Gonzalo Leal-Montero was the team’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. The Seville, Spain, native previously earned second-team all-conference laurels last season.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes continue their postseason journey at NCAA Regionals on May 17-19.