Junior Barend Botha was named to the NCAA Division I PING All-Midwest Region Team, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) recently announced. Botha received all-region accolades for the first time and is the first University of Toledo men’s golf player to receive the award since Chris Selfridge in 2015.
Botha was one of 25 individuals recognized from the states of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio and was the lone representative from the Mid-American Conference.
A George, South Africa native, Botha is a marketing student in the John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation. He enjoyed an outstanding junior campaign in which he was awarded the Mid-American Conference Golfer of the Year and earned a spot in the NCAA Bath Regional. He competed in 12 tournaments and averaged a school-record 70.5 strokes per round.
The three-time first-team All-MAC selection finished in sixth place or better in six events. Highlighted by victories with a school-record-tying 12-under par 204 at UNCW’s Seahawk Intercollegiate and at the MAC Championships, Botha was also named MAC Golfer of the Week three times this season and shot par or better on a squad-best 23 occasions.