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STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Men’s Golf received all major awards from the Western Athletic Conference in addition to having two recipients on the All-Conference Teams for the 2025-26 season, the conference announced Monday.
Redshirt freshman Alvaro Pastor was named WAC Golfer and Freshman of the Year while head coach Chance Cain earned WAC Coach of the Year honors. Pastor (All-WAC First Team) and sophomore Luis Buech (All-WAC Second Team) were named to the All-Conference teams.
The honors are the most accumulated by a Tarleton State Men’s Golf team in one season. It is the first time in the last 10 years all of the WAC’s major award winners have been from one school.
Tarleton State Men’s Golf is coming off its first conference championship in program history, winning the 2026 WAC Championship. The win gave Tarleton State Athletics its sixth conference tournament title at the Division I level (Baseball – 2024, Women’s Golf – 2025-26, Women’s Indoor Track & Field – 2026, Tennis – 2026). Men’s Golf, which is just in its fourth season of existence, is the fifth athletic program at Tarleton State to qualify for NCAA postseason competition since the Texans were elevated to Division I (Football, Track & Field, Women’s Golf, Tennis).
Pastor became the first freshman to win WAC Golfer and Freshman of the Year since 2012-13 (Cody Blick, San José State). The Madrid, Spain, native won two individual titles in addition to helping the Texans to its first-ever conference championship last week. He became the first player in program history to win titles in back-to-back events, winning the Golden Nugget Invitational and All-American Intercollegiate earlier this year.
The three-time WAC Golfer of the Week award winner in 2026 was instrumental in both of the Texans’ team titles this season. After shooting a 6-under-par first round at the FAU Invitational, Pastor finished tied for 6th to help the Texans to its first team title in program history to end the fall. He was the top performing Texan in the WAC Championship, shooting 1-under-par for third place on the player leaderboard.
Pastor currently holds the program record for lowest 18-hole, 36-hole and 54-hole scores and has the most top 10 finishes among any men’s golfer at Tarleton State. On the national stage, Pastor represented Spain in the 2025 World Amateur Team Championships. He finished 24th overall with a 3-under-par finish.
Cain is the first coach in program history to earn a conference Coach of the Year honor. He is the sixth head coach in all Tarleton State Athletics to receive a conference Coach of the Year award at the Division I level (Bobby Carter – Track & Field, Isabel Jimenez – Women’s Golf, Elianne Douglas-Miron – Tennis, Todd Whitten – Football, Joseph Jones – Men’s Basketball) .
In just the program’s fourth year of existence, Cain anchored the Texans to its best season in 2025-26. Cain guided the Texans to a pair of team titles, including the conference championship last week, to go with two individual medals. The 2026 WAC Championship also allowed the Texans to earn its first-ever bid to the NCAA Regionals.
Transferring from the University of New Mexico, Buech made an immediate impact in his first season as a Texan. Buech, the WAC Golfer of the Week on Feb. 19, shot eight birdies in the final round of the WAC Championship to help the Texans to the title. Buech had a 6-under-par performance at the FAU Invitational to tie for third overall on the player leaderboard, also helping the team to their first-ever team title in the fall.
Buech accomplished individual history at the Oregon State Invitational. The sophomore from Germany obtained the program’s first hole-in-one in competition. The historic shot came in the third round on the 5th hole on a Par 3 that ranged 148 yards.
Tarleton State will find out its location and opponents at the NCAA Regionals on Wednesday at 1 p.m. on the Golf Channel. The Texans will host a free watch party for the NCAA Selection Show on Wednesday in the Team Room of Athletic Administration building on campus.