Henry Mabbett has played in a team-leading 16 tournaments in his career.
Photo by: Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics
Growth is the Key for Men’s Golf in 2015-16
9/10/2015 5:15:00 PM | Men's Golf
The Eagles open the season at The Ocean Course Friday
Live scoring | Pairings
STATESBORO, Ga. – It's been a couple of years since the Georgia Southern men's golf program entered a season with this much youth on the squad.
It's the great challenge in college athletics. In most cases, you get student-athletes for four or five years, they move on and a new crop comes in. Each and every season is a completely new chapter in the story of the program.
Fortunately, the Eagle coaching staff has been around for a while and can draw on that experience to get the most out of their squad. It wasn't too long ago - the 2012-13 season to be exact - that the Eagles had just one senior on the roster and four juniors coupled with a group of underclassmen with a heck of a lot of potential. Two tournament wins that fall and another in the spring catapulted the Eagles into the NCAA Regionals, starting a current string of three straight appearances.
The five returners to the 2015-16 roster have a combined 40 collegiate tournament starts. For comparison's sake, two seniors on last year's squad entered the season with a combined 65 starts between them. It's safe to say that the first order of business for the Eagles will be to get some collegiate tournament seasoning.
"We lost two great senior classes in a row, but our goals haven't changed," said men's golf coach Carter Collins. "It's just the growth of this team is going to be more important in the short term than it has been in years past. We'll go into each tournament with the same mindset, which is to compete for a win, and we're looking forward to growing this year and making sure we're learning from every experience."
That growth starts Friday at The Invitational at the Ocean Course in Kiawah, S.C., where seven Eagles will tee it up. It's a 6-count-4 tournament, which means six student-athletes will be in the lineup with four scores counting each round, and Georgia Southern will bring one individual. Seniors Henry Mabbett and Andrew Klasing, junior Cody O'Toole, sophomores Archer Price and Jake Storey and freshman Steven Fisk will be in the lineup. Sophomore Jonas Vaisanen will play as an individual.
The tournament is the first of five in the fall, which includes a trip to Mexico and the Sun Belt Preview in Destin, Fla., which will be played on the Raven Course. That will give the Eagles a chance to play the same course the Sun Belt Championship will be played on in April and also gives the team a rare opportunity to see how they stack up against other teams in the league.
"It gives us a good look at what we'll see in the spring and gives these new guys a chance to go see it and play it," said Collins. "The fall schedule sets up well for us, and it gives us a nice test against national competition and lets us see where we're at."
The schedule is set with the Sun Belt Championships in mind. With such a young roster, Collins wants the Eagles to have ample opportunity to play similar style courses, starting Friday.
"With the Sun Belt Championship being held at a resort, beach style course, we're playing five beach-style courses throughout the year so it's a nice way for us to speed up the preparation process for that style of course," said Collins.
Georgia Southern has the talent to get back to the NCAA Regional for a fourth straight season, and having a PGA Tour pro and former Eagle on the coaching staff in Blake Adams will aid in the Eagles' development.
"Having Blake helping the team has really aided in bringing along the new and younger players so far this season," said Collins.
The key will be playing quality golf consistently from shot to shot, round to round and tournament to tournament, and the Eagles want to be playing their best golf in April and May.
"The growth of this team is going to be very important, and I have been very impressed with the team chemistry and the work ethic," said Collins. "I believe with the talent we have and the work we've been putting in, the results will come – we just have to be patient."
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events can be purchased by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com and clicking on the tickets link in the top menu.
| Tournament Name: The Invitational at The Ocean Course Host: College of Charleston Location: Kiawah Island, S.C. Dates: Sept. 11-12 Course: The Ocean Course Par: 72 (7,115 yards) Format: 54 holes (36 Friday, 18 Saturday) Tee Times: Shotgun start at 8 a.m Friday and tee times at 8 a.m. Saturday Field: College of Charleston, Akron, Charleston Southern, Cincinnati, Francis Marion, Georgia State, Kentucky, Lamar, NC State, Troy and UAB. |
STATESBORO, Ga. – It's been a couple of years since the Georgia Southern men's golf program entered a season with this much youth on the squad.
It's the great challenge in college athletics. In most cases, you get student-athletes for four or five years, they move on and a new crop comes in. Each and every season is a completely new chapter in the story of the program.
Fortunately, the Eagle coaching staff has been around for a while and can draw on that experience to get the most out of their squad. It wasn't too long ago - the 2012-13 season to be exact - that the Eagles had just one senior on the roster and four juniors coupled with a group of underclassmen with a heck of a lot of potential. Two tournament wins that fall and another in the spring catapulted the Eagles into the NCAA Regionals, starting a current string of three straight appearances.
The five returners to the 2015-16 roster have a combined 40 collegiate tournament starts. For comparison's sake, two seniors on last year's squad entered the season with a combined 65 starts between them. It's safe to say that the first order of business for the Eagles will be to get some collegiate tournament seasoning.
"We lost two great senior classes in a row, but our goals haven't changed," said men's golf coach Carter Collins. "It's just the growth of this team is going to be more important in the short term than it has been in years past. We'll go into each tournament with the same mindset, which is to compete for a win, and we're looking forward to growing this year and making sure we're learning from every experience."
That growth starts Friday at The Invitational at the Ocean Course in Kiawah, S.C., where seven Eagles will tee it up. It's a 6-count-4 tournament, which means six student-athletes will be in the lineup with four scores counting each round, and Georgia Southern will bring one individual. Seniors Henry Mabbett and Andrew Klasing, junior Cody O'Toole, sophomores Archer Price and Jake Storey and freshman Steven Fisk will be in the lineup. Sophomore Jonas Vaisanen will play as an individual.
The tournament is the first of five in the fall, which includes a trip to Mexico and the Sun Belt Preview in Destin, Fla., which will be played on the Raven Course. That will give the Eagles a chance to play the same course the Sun Belt Championship will be played on in April and also gives the team a rare opportunity to see how they stack up against other teams in the league.
"It gives us a good look at what we'll see in the spring and gives these new guys a chance to go see it and play it," said Collins. "The fall schedule sets up well for us, and it gives us a nice test against national competition and lets us see where we're at."
The schedule is set with the Sun Belt Championships in mind. With such a young roster, Collins wants the Eagles to have ample opportunity to play similar style courses, starting Friday.
"With the Sun Belt Championship being held at a resort, beach style course, we're playing five beach-style courses throughout the year so it's a nice way for us to speed up the preparation process for that style of course," said Collins.
Georgia Southern has the talent to get back to the NCAA Regional for a fourth straight season, and having a PGA Tour pro and former Eagle on the coaching staff in Blake Adams will aid in the Eagles' development.
"Having Blake helping the team has really aided in bringing along the new and younger players so far this season," said Collins.
The key will be playing quality golf consistently from shot to shot, round to round and tournament to tournament, and the Eagles want to be playing their best golf in April and May.
"The growth of this team is going to be very important, and I have been very impressed with the team chemistry and the work ethic," said Collins. "I believe with the talent we have and the work we've been putting in, the results will come – we just have to be patient."
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events can be purchased by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com and clicking on the tickets link in the top menu.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
Georgia Southern Football Media Availability (3/3/26)
Tuesday, March 03
The GATA Zone - Women's Basketball Post Season
Tuesday, March 03
2026 Only For Southern
Thursday, February 26
2026 Georgia Southern Football Ticket Video
Wednesday, February 25
