MADISON, Miss. (4/25/24) – Winning on a second sudden-death playoff hole, Thomas Schmidt clinched the second Sun Belt Conference championship in program history for the Arkansas State men’s golf team

A-State earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships after defeating Texas State and ULM in match play to cap off the four-day league tournament at Annandale Golf Club. The Red Wolves entered today’s match play as the No. 1 seed after completing stroke play in first place with a 54-hole total of 5-under par 859.

“Huge battle on both matchups today and I didn’t want to play either of those teams to be honest with you,” said A-State head coach Mike Hagen. “We knew Texas State would be a tough test and they were. ULM came out here and had a great week and played really well. It came down to the last few matches just like we expected. Thomas and all our guys played so well this week and it’s so great to see the hard work pay off this week.”

While the Red Wolves won their second Sun Belt title Thursday, it was their third all-time conference championship after also winning the Sun Belt match play title in 2019 and the American South Conference in 1989. The squad will now make their seventh all-time team appearance in an NCAA Regional and first since 2021.

The depth was on display throughout the day as five different golfers won matches. Schmidt won both his matchups, defeating Sakke Siltala of Texas State on the 15th hole and Melan Dhaubhadel of ULM on the 20th hole. Jack Maxey and Hugo Ronnberg added victories in the final while Devyn Pappas and Chris Somerfield earned wins in the semifinal.

A-State will learn its regional destination, as well as their seed, during the NCAA championship selection show on Wednesday, May 1 at 1 p.m. (CT) on GOLF Channel. Selection show watch party details will be announced at a later date.