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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – North Dakota State men’s golf senior Jake Skarperud was named to the 2026 Summit League Golfers to Watch List, as announced by the league office on Thursday afternoon.
This is Skarperud’s first time receiving the pre-season honor, following his strong fall semester. The Fargo native currently holds a scoring average of 71.82 and leads the team in most rounds at or below par with 10. Skarperud logged three top-three finishes and the two lowest 54-hole scores on the team of 209 (-4) and 210 (-6), which helped boost the Bison to back-to-back wins to start the season.
The North Dakota State men’s golf team was additionally picked sixth of the nine teams in the Summit League Preseason Poll, receiving 33 points. Oral Roberts notched top honors, earning 64 points and eight of the nine available first-place votes. St. Thomas took second in the pool, receiving 56 points and the remaining first-place vote. South Dakota State rounded out the top three with 51 points.
NDSU will begin their spring season in Goodyear, Arizona, at the Loyola Intercollegiate February 15-17.
2026 Summit League Preseason Poll
Team – Points (First-place votes)
1. Oral Roberts – 64 (8)
2. St. Thomas – 56 (1)
3. South Dakota State – 51
4. Kansas City – 41
5. Denver – 34
6. North Dakota State – 33
7. South Dakota – 22
8. Omaha – 14
9. North Dakota – 9
2026 Summit League Men’s Golf Players to Watch
Denver: Willis Panzarello
Kansas City: Mason Haley
North Dakota: Carver Larson
North Dakota State: Jake Skarperud
Omaha: Nolan Johnson
Oral Roberts: Ben Gratzl
St. Thomas: Tyler McNeive
South Dakota: Jack Holtz
South Dakota State: Tyler Seeling
