ZIONSVILLE, Ind. — Everyone’s goal entering the annual conference tournament is to emerge as champions of the Mid-American Conference. Of course, it is, and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Golf Championships and a spot in an NCAA Regional. That is the case for the Ball State men’s golf team this week at Holliday Farms Golf Club in Zionsville. But also at stake is a bid for four straight top-two finishes in the MAC Championships by the Cardinals, a feat that has never happened.
Ball State finished second in the MAC Championships in 2023, then played in the very first National Golf Invitational when it didn’t get a bid to the NCAA Tournament. In 2024, Ball State won the MAC and advanced to the Chapel Hill Regional of the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Ball State staged a comeback in a rain-soaked final round to earn a third straight top-two finish, it’s first three-year streak since 1978-80.
Gone from that group, though, are a bevy of seniors who left an indelible mark on the Ball State program, with current senior Carter Smith the last remnant of that lineup that won the 2024 title.
Hosted by Central Michigan despite its proximity to the Ball State campus this week, the 2026 Championships welcome a Cardinals squad that had surprising success with its new youth last fall, but a nationally competitive spring schedule has been daunting for Mike Fleck’s lineup which has struggled in recent tournaments at Florida State, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and two weeks ago at Indiana.
The hope, though, is that the spring seasoning has helped develop the lineup of freshmen, sophomores and transfers, to the point where another top-two finish is attainable. For Fleck, another championship would be icing on the cake, with a talented crew that has endured some lumps in recent months.
Ball State enters the weekend with freshman Samuel Harris atop the Cardinals’ lineup, followed by sophomore transfer Aidan Gutierrez and junior Avery Mahoney in the No. 3 position. Just two seasons ago, Mahoney was runner-up as the MAC’s Freshman of the Year while at Eastern Michigan. At No. 4 for the Cardinals is the senior Smith, a two-time All-MAC recipient, who tees off in his fourth MAC Championship event. No. 5 for Ball State is sophomore Happy Gilmore, an alternate at last year’s MAC Championship, who has been one of Ball State’s top players in recent weeks. This year’s alternate is sophomore Gavin Hare.
Play at the 7,349-yard track at Holliday Farms begins at 9:00 a.m., Sunday, May 3. Eighteen-hole rounds are slated for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday with tee times at 9 a.m., all three days.