LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men’s golf program has signed high school standouts Matthew Hull and Baron Nguyen to grants-in-aid (GIA), as announced by Bruins’ head coach Armen Kirakossian on Wednesday. Both high school seniors will enroll at UCLA as freshmen in 2026-27.
Hull, who attends Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, Calif., set a course record by shooting 59 at the Newport Beach Country Club. An accomplished high school student-athlete, Hull finished in second place at the 2025 SCGA Junior Amateur Championship after an impressive final round that featured seven birdies and an eagle – including four birdies in a row from holes 12 through 15 to finish at 7-under 65.
“I am not sure we could have recruited a player that has more blue and gold in his blood than Matt Hull,” Kirakossian said. “Grandson of the legendary UCLA football coach, Terry Donahue, Matt comes from a long line of Bruins. It’s been clear from our first call with Matt that we needed to keep the tradition alive and get him to Westwood. Only having started taking golf seriously during the pandemic, he made monumental leaps with his game. He has competed at a high level and has shown clear signs that this was only the beginning. Matt grew up in Truckee as a very completive soccer player. But with the support of his two parents, Michele and Brian Hull, they moved to Newport Beach, and Matt has blossomed as one of the best junior golfers in the state and the country. He has built a well-rounded game, allowing him to succeed. That will serve him well in college. We believe he’s a natural fit at UCLA, and we are very excited to have him join us next fall.”
In addition, Hull recorded second-place finishes at the AJGA Elk Grove Junior Championship and the AJGA Arkansas Junior Championship. He tallied four second-place finishes in Toyota Tour Cup Championships. Hull’s late grandfather, Terry Donahue, played football at UCLA in the 1960s and concluded a remarkable 20-year career as the Bruins’ head football coach in 1995 with a career coaching record of 151-74-8 (.665 win percentage), leading UCLA to 13 bowl games and four Rose Bowls.
Nguyen, currently a senior at Norco High School in Norco, Calif., has earned an impressive array of amateur golf accolades. He won the championship at the 2023 AJGA Phoenix Open, played in Mesa, Ariz. He has also secured titles at the 2025 SCGA Match Play Championship in Riverside, Calif., playing 80 holes in five matches over three days, carding a 29-under par. Nguyen was the Toyota Tour Cup Champion in 2022 at Native Oaks Golf Club in Valley Center, Calif., and has been a two-time Americas Cup team champion. He finished as runner-up in 2022 at the Eddie Hogan Cup and was honored as the Lou Bastanchury Player of the Year in 2020.
“Baron was a player that was on the radar of many coaches from an early age,” Kirakossian said. “He has been a top-ranked player for most of his junior golf career. I remember the first time I watched Baron play, he had a natural swing compressing the ball in a different fashion than most juniors. It wasn’t a mystery why he has had so much success. Every recruiting process is different. With Baron, it didn’t take him or I long to realize that this was going to be a good fit. Brian and Katie Nguyen are committed parents. Most people recognize Brian on the course, filming all of Baron’s shots so that they can later break down the round. I love the passion they have for Baron’s game and success. As one of the top players in Southern California and the country, we are so excited Baron is staying home and joining us in Westwood starting next fall.”
