NCAA regional three-peat? Illinois golfers enter with optimism

May 16—URBANA — Like always, the only goal for the Illinois men's golf team at the upcoming NCAA Regional in Athens, Ga., is straightforward.

Win. Period.

It has worked like a charm the last two years, with Illinois taking regional titles at Stanford, Calif., in 2024 and at Urbana's Atkins Golf Club in 2025.

"If you win a regional title, it shows you're playing good at the end of the year," Illinois coach Mike Small said. "That's what you really want to do. Golf, the regular season is long. The whole purpose of that is to get better and improve. It's also to lay a foundation, get your team ranking where you want it to be, so you can make the postseason."

Illinois isn't the favorite at the University of Georgia Golf Course. That would be No. 1-ranked Auburn, which is part of the 13-team field.

Illinois is the No. 2 seed, joined by Vanderbilt, BYU, Georgia, Louisville, Kansas, Northwestern, College of Charleston, Rice, Southern Mississippi, Harvard and Howard.

The three-round regional tees off Monday. The top five finishing teams advance to the NCAA Championships May 29 to June 3 in Carlsbad, Calif. Illinois has made it 16 out of the last 17 times.

Small knows all about winning regional titles. He has seven of them (so far) at Illinois, tied for the third most in NCAA history with former Clemson coach Larry Penley and one behind all-time leaders John Fields of Texas and Oklahoma State's Alan Bratton.

The players' mindset changes at the qualifying tournament.

"Once they get into regionals, then the gloves are off," Small said. "You're playing for real. You're playing for legacy. You're playing for history. It's a big deal for me because this is what people remember. This is what the kids come here to do."

On a roll

Illinois is coming off a joyful near-miss in the Big Ten championships, where the team rallied from 15 shots down going into the final round and ended up four shots behind league champion UCLA.

Small and the Illinois players are hoping the momentum from the hot finish carries over to the NCAA regional.

"That's the plan," Small said. "We've talked at length about that. That's what we've been trying to say all year long.

"To be an athlete in this sport, you've got to go out and impose your will on the golf course and you have to put pressure on the golf course. You can't just be a product of what happens. That's what our team does sometimes. If things don't go well, they get a little feeling sorry for themselves and thinking about the past. You can't do that. You've got to be scratching and clawing for every thing you do. That has to be a habit of a way of life."

The players get it. Their strong finish at Big Tens showed the potential.

"That was the first time all year this group of guys has seen what team golf really is," senior Ryan Voois said. "That last round could be a catalyst for the rest of the year."