PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference announced its annual men's golf awards on Friday to cap the 2015-16 season.
USF senior Aksel Olsen was the unanimous choice for American Men's Golf Player of the Year, while UCF rookie Donnie Trosper was named the American Men's Golf Freshman of the Year. USF head coach Steve Bradley was tabbed the American Men's Golf Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Olsen was the individual medalist at the 2016 American Men’s Golf Championship and carded a 7-under 209 to capture the title. The senior has five top-10 finishes this season, including four in the top-5, and won the highly competitive Querencia Cabo Collegiate while shooting a career-low tying 67 in the process. Olsen helped lead the Bulls to a top-15 national ranking this season.
Trosper posted a top-6 finish (2-under 214) at the American Championship, the highest of any league freshman. He had three top-20 finishes, a pair of top-10 marks, and shot a career-best 65 at the Hartford Hawk Invitational earlier this season.
Bradley led USF to the American Men's Golf Championship title earlier this month. It was the second American title in Bradley’s two years at the helm of the program. The Bulls shot a 19-under 845 over the three-day event and led wire-to-wire en route to the championship while taking home individual medalist honors for the second year in a row. USF won four events this season, is ranked 15
th in the nation in the latest GolfStat rankings and earned the No. 3 seed at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional
.
The all-conference team spans student-athletes from eight schools and is highlighted by four players from USF. UCF, East Carolina and Memphis had two players each named to the all-conference team.
The awards were voted on by the league's 10 head coaches.
American Men’s Golf Player of the Year
*Aksel Olsen, USF, Sr.
American Men’s Golf Freshman of the Year
Donnie Trosper, UCF, Fr.
American Men’s Golf Coach of the Year
Steve Bradley, USF
All-Conference Team
Manuel Elvira, UCF, So.
Donnie Trosper, UCF, Fr.
Eric Dietrich, UConn, Jr.
Wes Conover, East Carolina, Sr.
Jacob Hicks, East Carolina, Sr.
Michael Perras, Houston, So.
*Thomas Perrot, Memphis, Sr.
Lars van Meijel, Memphis, Jr.
*Claudio Correa, USF, So.
Rigel Fernandes, USF, Jr.
*Chase Koepka, USF, Sr.
Aksel Olsen, USF, Sr.
Austin Smotherman, SMU, Sr.
Brandon Matthews, Temple, Sr.
[*] denotes unanimous selection
Ties are not broken