PREVIEW: Eagles Set for Sun Belt Championship
4/26/2026 11:30:00 AM | Men's Golf
The tournament runs April 27-30 in Mississippi
Tournament Name: Sun Belt Championship
Dates: April 27-30
Host: Sun Belt
Format: 18 holes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; top 4 advance to match play Thursday
Live Video: ESPN+ Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Semifinal Matches | Finals Match
Live Scoring: Clippd Scoreboard
Field: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, ULM, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas State and Troy
Georgia Southern Lineup (scoring average)
Morgan Blythe
Parker Claxton
Trace Carter
Harrison Sewell
Thomas Horne
Edouard Cereto*
*Super sub
Georgia Southern will compete for the Sun Belt's automatic bid to the NCAA Regional when the Eagles travel to Madison, Mississippi, for the Sun Belt Championship, which starts Monday, April 27, at Annandale Golf Club.
The Sun Belt champion will be determined by match play for the seventh straight championship. The teams play 18 holes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and the top four teams advance to match play Thursday. The top seed will take on the fourth seed, and No. 2 will meet No. 3 in a morning session with the winners squaring off in the afternoon. All three rounds of stroke play, along with Thursday's semifinal and championship matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The event will be held at Annandale Golf Club for the fourth season. Georgia Southern won the championship in 2021 and 2015 (stroke play only) and has advanced to match play in seven of the past eight championships. The Eagles finished first in stroke play in 2019, 2021 and 2023 and tied for first in 2022, earning the top seed for match play by virtue of winning the non-counting score tiebreaker.
A Few Notes:'
• Currently ranked 53rd in the country by Clippd (4/22 rankings), Georgia Southern enters the Sun Belt Championship match play looking to earn an automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Regionals. It would be the 29th appearance for the Eagles should they make it.
• Georgia Southern has made 11 appearances in the past 16 NCAA Championships. Georgia Southern won the SoCon Tournament in 2011 and 2014, the Sun Belt Tournament in 2015 and 2021 and received at-large bids in 2009, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023. Georgia Southern made six consecutive NCAA Championship appearances from 2001-06 and then four in a row from 2019-23 (2020 was canceled due to COVID).
• The Eagles have made six appearances in the NCAA Championships under head coach Carter Collins and 11 in Collins' tenure on the coaching staff.
• Parker Claxton, Harrison Sewell and Morgan Blythe have made the lineup for all nine tournaments. Claxton has played at the #1 spot for the past four events and six of the nine total. Horne was in eight of the nine tournaments and the same five players have been in the lineup for all five spring events.
• Freshman Trace Carter, sophomore Thomas Horne, along with transfers Harrison Sewell and Morgan Blythe will all be making their first appearance at the SBC Championship. Claxton is making his fourth appearance. He finished tied for 15th as a freshman, tied for seventh in 2024 and tied for 18th last season.
• The Eagles have advanced to match play at the Sun Belt Championship in eight of the past nine championships played. Southern also won stroke play at the Sun Belt Championship in 2015 (stroke play only), 2019 and 2021 and tied for first in 2022.
• Georgia Southern has finished no lower than third place in eight of the past nine Sun Belt Championships, taking first four years in a row from 2019-2023 (2020 was canceled).
• While they've had success in stroke play, Georgia Southern has won the match play title just once since 2017. That came in 2021 when the Eagles beat Coastal Carolina and Little Rock. Georgia Southern has been in the championship match in five of the past nine years the championship has been played (2020 was canceled).
• Georgia Southern (#53) is one of five Sun Belt teams ranked in the top 100 of the latest Clippd rankings, joining Arkansas State (#45), Southern Miss (#66), South Alabama (#78) and Coastal Carolina (#82).
• The Eagles are paired with Arkansas State and Southern Miss in Monday's first round and will tee off the 1st hole at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Dates: April 27-30
Host: Sun Belt
Course: Annandale Golf Club – Par 72 – 7,190 yards
Location: Madison, Miss.Format: 18 holes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; top 4 advance to match play Thursday
Live Video: ESPN+ Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Semifinal Matches | Finals Match
Live Scoring: Clippd Scoreboard
Field: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, ULM, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas State and Troy
Georgia Southern Lineup (scoring average)
Morgan Blythe
Parker Claxton
Trace Carter
Harrison Sewell
Thomas Horne
Edouard Cereto*
*Super sub
Georgia Southern will compete for the Sun Belt's automatic bid to the NCAA Regional when the Eagles travel to Madison, Mississippi, for the Sun Belt Championship, which starts Monday, April 27, at Annandale Golf Club.
The Sun Belt champion will be determined by match play for the seventh straight championship. The teams play 18 holes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and the top four teams advance to match play Thursday. The top seed will take on the fourth seed, and No. 2 will meet No. 3 in a morning session with the winners squaring off in the afternoon. All three rounds of stroke play, along with Thursday's semifinal and championship matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The event will be held at Annandale Golf Club for the fourth season. Georgia Southern won the championship in 2021 and 2015 (stroke play only) and has advanced to match play in seven of the past eight championships. The Eagles finished first in stroke play in 2019, 2021 and 2023 and tied for first in 2022, earning the top seed for match play by virtue of winning the non-counting score tiebreaker.
A Few Notes:'
• Currently ranked 53rd in the country by Clippd (4/22 rankings), Georgia Southern enters the Sun Belt Championship match play looking to earn an automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Regionals. It would be the 29th appearance for the Eagles should they make it.
• Georgia Southern has made 11 appearances in the past 16 NCAA Championships. Georgia Southern won the SoCon Tournament in 2011 and 2014, the Sun Belt Tournament in 2015 and 2021 and received at-large bids in 2009, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023. Georgia Southern made six consecutive NCAA Championship appearances from 2001-06 and then four in a row from 2019-23 (2020 was canceled due to COVID).
• The Eagles have made six appearances in the NCAA Championships under head coach Carter Collins and 11 in Collins' tenure on the coaching staff.
• Parker Claxton, Harrison Sewell and Morgan Blythe have made the lineup for all nine tournaments. Claxton has played at the #1 spot for the past four events and six of the nine total. Horne was in eight of the nine tournaments and the same five players have been in the lineup for all five spring events.
• Freshman Trace Carter, sophomore Thomas Horne, along with transfers Harrison Sewell and Morgan Blythe will all be making their first appearance at the SBC Championship. Claxton is making his fourth appearance. He finished tied for 15th as a freshman, tied for seventh in 2024 and tied for 18th last season.
• The Eagles have advanced to match play at the Sun Belt Championship in eight of the past nine championships played. Southern also won stroke play at the Sun Belt Championship in 2015 (stroke play only), 2019 and 2021 and tied for first in 2022.
• Georgia Southern has finished no lower than third place in eight of the past nine Sun Belt Championships, taking first four years in a row from 2019-2023 (2020 was canceled).
• While they've had success in stroke play, Georgia Southern has won the match play title just once since 2017. That came in 2021 when the Eagles beat Coastal Carolina and Little Rock. Georgia Southern has been in the championship match in five of the past nine years the championship has been played (2020 was canceled).
• Georgia Southern (#53) is one of five Sun Belt teams ranked in the top 100 of the latest Clippd rankings, joining Arkansas State (#45), Southern Miss (#66), South Alabama (#78) and Coastal Carolina (#82).
• The Eagles are paired with Arkansas State and Southern Miss in Monday's first round and will tee off the 1st hole at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Players Mentioned
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