MADISON, Miss. - Back-to-back under-par rounds and four players finishing in the top 20 helped lift the Georgia Southern men's golf team to a third-place finish at the 2025 Sun Belt Championship in stroke play and a spot in the match play semifinals. The Eagles shot 288-284-284=856 (-8) over three days at Annandale Golf Club to advance to the match play for the seventh time in the past eight championships.

The top four teams advance to match play Thursday, and the Eagles (-8) will be the #3 seed and play Arkansas State (-13), the #2 seed. Coastal Carolina (-14) will be the top seed and will take on fourth-seeded Troy (-6).

Lineups for both semifinal matches will be turned it at 7:30 a.m. ET, and the matches are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Eagles and Red Wolves will tee off on the 10th hole, and the Chanticleers and Trojans will tee off the first hole. Live coverage on ESPN+ begins at 11 a.m. ET. The winners meet in the championship match in the afternoon with a spot to the NCAA Golf Championship on the line. Georgia Southern will be looking for its first SBC title since 2021 when the Eagles beat Coastal Carolina and Little Rock. Georgia Southern has been in the championship match in five of the past seven years the championship has been played (2020 was canceled). 

The Eagles were led in the first round by Brantley Baker, Brycen Jones and Edouard Cereto who all shot one-under-par 71s as Southern shot an even-par 288 as a team to sit in fourth place. Cereto paced the team with four birdies Baker, Jones, Hogan Ingram and Parker Claxton all had two. Starting on the back nine, Baker shot a 35 (-1) while Jones, Cereto and Ingram all shot a 35 (-1) on the front nine to end their rounds.

On Tuesday, Georgia Southern was one of three teams to shoot in red numbers, posting a 284 (-4). Led by Claxton's 69 (-3) that featured two birdies and an eagle, the Eagles moved up to third place with the strong showing. Baker moved into a tie for fourth place with a 70 (-2) thanks to four more birdies while Jones used two birdies to shoot a 71 (-1). Ingram led the way with five birdies on the day. Starting on the back nine, Jones shot a 34 (-2) and Baked posted a 35 (-1) while Claxton recorded a 33 (-3) on the front nine to go along with Baker's 35 (-1) to end the day.

In the final round, the Eagles tallied 16 birdies as the four counters all shot even par or lower to secure a spot in the match play with a 284 (-4) on the day. Baker carded five birdies, including a big one on 18 to shoot a 70 to finish tied for third overall. Cereto and Claxton both shot 71s (-1) with Jones firing an even-par 72.

Baker finished tied for third while Jones (-2) finished T11th. Cereto and Claxton both earned top-20 finishes (T18) with their even-par effort. Baker becomes the 11th player in GS men's golf history to finish in the top three at the SBC Championship.

The Eagles led the field on the par 4s with a 4.01 average (+2) and played the par 5s at 13-under par. They tallied 43 birdies and 184 pars over three days.

The Eagles are 6-5 in SBC match play over the years (started in 2017). They are 1-0 vs. Arkansas State, 1-0 vs. Troy and 1-1 vs. Coastal Carolina.

Sun Belt Championship Stroke Play - April 21-23
Annandale Golf Club - Par 72 • Madison, Miss.
14 teams, 70 individuals

Team - 288-284-284=856 (-8), 3rd
Brantley Baker - 71-70-70=211 (-5), T3
Brycen Jones - 71-71-72=214 (-2), T1
Parker Claxton - 76-69-71=216 (E), T18
Edouard Cereto - 71-74-71=216 (E), T18
Hogan Ingram - 75-74-73=222 (+6), T50

Up Next: SBC Match Play vs. #2 seed Arkansas State; Thursday, 8:30 a.m. (ET)