Season Preview: Men's Golf
2/15/2023 8:42:00 AM | Men's Golf
ABILENE – The Abilene Christian men's golf team may not actually defend its WAC Championship until April but its title defense training begins in earnest next week with the beginning of the fall season.
The Wildcats launch without five seniors from last year's team but returning players proved their value last season and they are joined by an influx of talented players bent on doing the same this season.
"We lost five seniors to graduation and those guys really put their mark on the program," said ACU Head Men's Golf Coach Tom Shaw. "They were culture-builders; great players with a strong work ethic. Now we have a bunch of young guys still learning their craft and learning to play college golf. The fall was a little bit of a learning experience.
To prepare for a conference tournament at which the team will be the targeted team, Shaw has laid out a schedule that will put the Wildcats to the test.
"This schedule is the toughest, by far, since I've been here," Shaw said. "It's a great schedule and if we play well and rise to the challenge, we're going to put ACU on the map in men's college golf. Now, we're going to have to play better than we did in the fall. We're hopeful that we apply the lessons we learned in the fall. We're going to be playing a lot of Power-5 programs."
If things go as planned, the Wildcats will peak at the right time, just as they did last season and head into this year's WAC Championship in Nevada with well-earned confidence.
"The goal is to build momentum through April," said Shaw. "Last year we started playing our best golf in April. I really want to be trending in the right direction so that we can say when we get to Boulder City that we are playing our best golf right now."
The Wildcats begin the season in Houston next week in Rice's Bayou Intercollegiate. The team then opens the March portion of the schedule at the Cabo Collegiate in Mexico, where they will square off against a plethora of big-name talent.
March also includes trips to Phoenix for the Grand Canyon Invitational and back to the Houston area for The All-American. April begins at the Mississippi State Intercollegiate, followed by Ohio State's Robert Kepler Invitational before finishing at the WAC Championships in Boulder City, Nevada.
The returning players have given strength to the team in the past and will be counted on again this season. Back this season are seniors Logan Diomede, Zane Heusel, Joris Spanjer, junior Charlie Jackson, and sophomore Jaime Lewis.
Heusel had a highlight moment last year with a birdie on the final hole to keep the Wildcats in position to win the WAC Championship.
"Zane Heusel is our best returning player and also currently our No. 1 player for scoring," said Shaw. "Zane has been with the program for a long time and has really played a key role in all of our biggest moments. Last year in the conference tournament he birdied that last hole. He's just been our bell cow for the last two or three years. He's a really good ball striker. From tee to green, he hits it as well as anybody in the country. He's never straying too far left and right. Always hitting a lot of fairways and a lot of greens and with power."
Diomede also came up big in the WAC, getting a pair of clutch birdies as the Cats made their late surge.
"Logan Diomede won the Mr. Clutch award for our team last year," Shaw said. "He made three straight puts on the last three holes that, like Zane, kept us in it and secured the victory for us. He played an important role for us at the WAC Championship and NCAA regional as our fifth player."
Spanjer played as an individual entrant twice last season and will be counted on as a teammate as he improves his game.
"Joris is a nice young man, very athletic and talented," Shaw said.
Also bringing back a wealth of experience are Jackson and Lewis.
"Charlie Jackson, has seen a lot of playing time with us and has been in our starting lineup most of the last two years," said Shaw. "He was our lone qualifier for the US Amateur in the summer. That's a big honor. We have only had two in our school's history qualify for the US Amateur.
"Jaime Lewis is our most improved player this year. He played every event and had some good finishes. He learned a lot as a freshman and improved greatly. He became the player we thought he was going to be."
ACU drew freshmen from very near and very far. Frenchmen Thomas Buisson and Grégoire Hoyeau join the team, along with Brian Comegys from The Hills and Abilene's own Karson Grigsby.
"Thomas Buisson was our most-heralded freshman coming in," said Shaw. "He was on the French national squad. He had a good summer of tournament play overseas., Currently our second-best player in scoring average and has a tremendous future ahead of him. Gregoire Hoyeau is a gifted player as well. He played once for us this fall. He's a delightful young man, well-liked by the rest of the team. Shown a lot of improvement once he stepped on board. I think he's going to be a nice player for us moving forward."
The Texas freshmen have promising player written all over them.
"Brian Comegys had a great summer; won the South Texas Amateur. Probably the youngest to ever do that. He came in with a lot of steam and played for us in two of our four events in the fall and had some very positive results for us I anticipate he will be a big factor for us in the spring."
Grigsby brings a special level of talent to the team as well.
Karson committed to Oklahoma when he was pretty young but his senior year he de-committed and chose us," said Shaw. "He was obviously a big get for our program. He has performed very well and played every tournament for us. He's a hard worker, a good team guy, and a real building block for the team's future."
The opening drive for the defending conference champions is Monday at Houston's Westwood Golf Club.
The Wildcats launch without five seniors from last year's team but returning players proved their value last season and they are joined by an influx of talented players bent on doing the same this season.
"We lost five seniors to graduation and those guys really put their mark on the program," said ACU Head Men's Golf Coach Tom Shaw. "They were culture-builders; great players with a strong work ethic. Now we have a bunch of young guys still learning their craft and learning to play college golf. The fall was a little bit of a learning experience.
To prepare for a conference tournament at which the team will be the targeted team, Shaw has laid out a schedule that will put the Wildcats to the test.
"This schedule is the toughest, by far, since I've been here," Shaw said. "It's a great schedule and if we play well and rise to the challenge, we're going to put ACU on the map in men's college golf. Now, we're going to have to play better than we did in the fall. We're hopeful that we apply the lessons we learned in the fall. We're going to be playing a lot of Power-5 programs."
If things go as planned, the Wildcats will peak at the right time, just as they did last season and head into this year's WAC Championship in Nevada with well-earned confidence.
"The goal is to build momentum through April," said Shaw. "Last year we started playing our best golf in April. I really want to be trending in the right direction so that we can say when we get to Boulder City that we are playing our best golf right now."
The Wildcats begin the season in Houston next week in Rice's Bayou Intercollegiate. The team then opens the March portion of the schedule at the Cabo Collegiate in Mexico, where they will square off against a plethora of big-name talent.
March also includes trips to Phoenix for the Grand Canyon Invitational and back to the Houston area for The All-American. April begins at the Mississippi State Intercollegiate, followed by Ohio State's Robert Kepler Invitational before finishing at the WAC Championships in Boulder City, Nevada.
The returning players have given strength to the team in the past and will be counted on again this season. Back this season are seniors Logan Diomede, Zane Heusel, Joris Spanjer, junior Charlie Jackson, and sophomore Jaime Lewis.
Heusel had a highlight moment last year with a birdie on the final hole to keep the Wildcats in position to win the WAC Championship.
"Zane Heusel is our best returning player and also currently our No. 1 player for scoring," said Shaw. "Zane has been with the program for a long time and has really played a key role in all of our biggest moments. Last year in the conference tournament he birdied that last hole. He's just been our bell cow for the last two or three years. He's a really good ball striker. From tee to green, he hits it as well as anybody in the country. He's never straying too far left and right. Always hitting a lot of fairways and a lot of greens and with power."
Diomede also came up big in the WAC, getting a pair of clutch birdies as the Cats made their late surge.
"Logan Diomede won the Mr. Clutch award for our team last year," Shaw said. "He made three straight puts on the last three holes that, like Zane, kept us in it and secured the victory for us. He played an important role for us at the WAC Championship and NCAA regional as our fifth player."
Spanjer played as an individual entrant twice last season and will be counted on as a teammate as he improves his game.
"Joris is a nice young man, very athletic and talented," Shaw said.
Also bringing back a wealth of experience are Jackson and Lewis.
"Charlie Jackson, has seen a lot of playing time with us and has been in our starting lineup most of the last two years," said Shaw. "He was our lone qualifier for the US Amateur in the summer. That's a big honor. We have only had two in our school's history qualify for the US Amateur.
"Jaime Lewis is our most improved player this year. He played every event and had some good finishes. He learned a lot as a freshman and improved greatly. He became the player we thought he was going to be."
ACU drew freshmen from very near and very far. Frenchmen Thomas Buisson and Grégoire Hoyeau join the team, along with Brian Comegys from The Hills and Abilene's own Karson Grigsby.
"Thomas Buisson was our most-heralded freshman coming in," said Shaw. "He was on the French national squad. He had a good summer of tournament play overseas., Currently our second-best player in scoring average and has a tremendous future ahead of him. Gregoire Hoyeau is a gifted player as well. He played once for us this fall. He's a delightful young man, well-liked by the rest of the team. Shown a lot of improvement once he stepped on board. I think he's going to be a nice player for us moving forward."
The Texas freshmen have promising player written all over them.
"Brian Comegys had a great summer; won the South Texas Amateur. Probably the youngest to ever do that. He came in with a lot of steam and played for us in two of our four events in the fall and had some very positive results for us I anticipate he will be a big factor for us in the spring."
Grigsby brings a special level of talent to the team as well.
Karson committed to Oklahoma when he was pretty young but his senior year he de-committed and chose us," said Shaw. "He was obviously a big get for our program. He has performed very well and played every tournament for us. He's a hard worker, a good team guy, and a real building block for the team's future."
The opening drive for the defending conference champions is Monday at Houston's Westwood Golf Club.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
ACU Baseball: Rick McCarty Press Conference | April 27, 2026
Tuesday, April 28
ACU Softball: Jo Koons Press Conference | April 27, 2026
Monday, April 27
ACU Softball Senior Day
Saturday, April 25
ACU Baseball: Rick McCarty Press Conference | April 20, 2026
Tuesday, April 21
