After an impressive win at the Athens Regional, No. 11 Vanderbilt Men’s Golf traveled to Carlsbad, California, for the 2026 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa, May 29 to June 3. This marked Vanderbilt’s 12th-straight appearance on college golf’s biggest stage.
The field consisted of 30 teams and six individuals, who would each play three 18-hole rounds of stroke play. A cutline then moved the top 15 squads and the nine highest individuals to the final day of stroke play. From there, the top eight teams battled it out in a match play tournament.
The layout was monstrous: a 7,538-yard beast in the par-72 North Course. This was the third year in a row the national finals were played at La Costa, but this year was certainly the location’s most challenging setup yet.
Starting for the Commodores was senior Wells Williams, making his final collegiate appearance before turning pro. Williams entered the week at No. 9 in the PGA TOUR U rankings and would need a stellar performance to jump into the top five standing he needed to guarantee him a Korn Ferry Tour card extension beyond this summer.
The rest of Vanderbilt’s lineup consisted of Ryan Downes and a trio of first-years in Jon Ed Steed, Michael Riebe and Will Hartman, who just won the Athens Regional individual title. Junior Chase Nevins traveled with the team as a substitute.
Stroke play
Vanderbilt shot a 1-under 287 in its first round of the tournament. Hartman and Steed, as they did in the previous tournament, took charge and each shot a 2-under 70, with the former going bogey-free on the front nine. Williams had a frustrating 1-over round that included a double bogey on the par-5 18th hole, and Downes came in at 74. Riebe struggled mightily — shooting a disastrous 9-over 81.
The ’Dores came out swinging on the second day with a round of 11-under 277 in better conditions than the day before. Following this round, they sat in second place, comfortably 16 shots above the first cutline.
Steed was impressive with a bogey-free 67 and saw his name in fourth on the individual leaderboard. Hartman and Williams posted 4-under and 3-under, respectively, to add to the fire, while Riebe bounced back with a solid 1-over day.
“I’m just proud of the team, and the young guys continue to take steps forward,” head coach Scott Limbaugh said after the round. “Jon Ed [Steed] and Will [Hartman] continue to do great things, and it was great to see Wells [Williams] make a bunch of birdies today. He holed some really nice putts, and that gives our team some new energy.”
Teeing off in the third round with No. 1 Auburn and No. 3 Texas, Vanderbilt struggled on moving day. It scored a 3-over 291 and fell to third place overall. The team still made the first cut by a margin of 11 strokes, and sat eight shots ahead of the second cutline going into the final day of stroke play.
Hartman again delivered a stellar round, going 4-under with six birdies, including a bogey-free front nine. He finished the day in second place on the individual leaderboard, trailing the leader — Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout — by only one shot. Downes started his day off 4-under through seven holes, but finished at just even-par, while Williams had a stressful 73. Steed lost much of his momentum with a 6-over 68 on his round.
On the final day, Vanderbilt bounced back with a 3-under 285 round and secured the No. 3 seed in the match play bracket with a Hartman birdie on the final hole — where his approach shot was a 265-yard 3-wood to three feet from the pin. Hartman posted an even-par outing, which was good for a top five finish on the week. Stout went on to win the NCAA Individual Championship at 14-under for the week.
Williams shot 2-under and was bogey-free through 16 holes, while Steed also had a nice recovery round of 71.
“I’ve been doing this a while, and to see a young group like this step up is remarkable,” Limbaugh said on making the cutline. “We didn’t have a ton of momentum early, and we need to give a lot of credit to Wells [Williams] for keeping our ship afloat when things weren’t as smooth as we hoped. The young guys are growing up, and it’s been really cool to see. I’m so proud of them.”
Match play
In the match play quarterfinals, Vanderbilt faced off against No. 12-ranked and No. 6-seeded Arizona, as Nevins subbed in for Riebe. Nevins, in his match against Taishi Moto, went 1-up early but could not match his opponent’s four birdies, as he lost 4&3.
Steed, named a Freshman All-American on the season, went 2-up against Tianyi Xiong on the sixth hole, but fell back to all-square by hole No. 10. Like Nevins, the first-year stumbled on the back nine, as three bogeys in four holes sealed his fate with a 3&2 defeat.
Hartman got the third matchup for Vanderbilt and had the tough test of playing Filip Jakubcik of the Wildcats — the No. 8 player on the PGA Tour U leaderboard. The freshman again proved fearless, hitting his approach shot on the first hole to less than a foot, which set the tone for a blowout victory in which Hartman won 6&5 — the largest margin of victory at an NCAA Tournament in Vanderbilt history.
Downes went up against William Wistrand and put on an absolute clinic. The sophomore, who has been nothing short of a match play wizard in his career, won an easy-looking 4&3 match to even the scoreboard for Vanderbilt.
The Commodores’ season ultimately fell into the hands of its leaders. Williams took on fellow senior Zach Pollo in the anchor match, and the two battled back and forth all day. With four ties on the day, each player made incredible shots to keep the battle going — Williams making an eagle on No. 10 and Pollo draining a 40-foot putt on hole 16. Then, on hole 17, Williams made the shot of his life: draining his approach shot from 146 yards out to take the lead.
On the final hole in regulation, though, Williams hit his tee shot out of bounds — making a double bogey and allowing Pollo to re-tie the match. After two playoff holes, Pollo closed out the win for Arizona.
“These boys put on a show these last couple of weeks,” Limbaugh said of his team’s performance. “I could not be prouder of a group. We’ll take our chances with Wells [Williams] out there every time. He made the shots, and he made the plays. We just came up one short.”
Following the tournament, Williams ended his season in 10th place on PGA Tour U, earning his Korn Ferry Tour card for the remainder of the 2026 season and exemption into the Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School. He will join six former Commodores on the circuit, as he finished his Commodore career with three collegiate victories among a long list of other accolades.
While Vanderbilt is losing its veteran leader in Williams this summer, the rest of the roster will be back in Black and Gold in the fall. Downes and Hartman will be expected to take a step forward as the team’s best players, while Steed, Riebe and rising senior Carlos Astiazaran will all be expected to play big minutes. All of the above will have opportunities to work on their game at some of the biggest amateur events this summer.
