May 30, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina juniors Matt NeSmith and Will Starke have been named to the PING All-Southeast Region Team, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced Saturday.

NeSmith earns a spot on the team for the third-straight year, while this is Starke’s first All-Southeast Region honor.

NeSmith and Starke led the Gamecocks back to the NCAA Championship for the third-straight year with a record-setting season, helping Carolina win a school-record five tournament titles and record a school-record 10 top-10 finishes.

A native of North Augusta, S.C., NeSmith has finished in the top 20 in eight of 11 events this season, including two tournament wins. He became just the second Gamecock to win an SEC title as he claimed a six-stroke victory at the SEC Championship with a school-record 54-hole total of 196 (-14). Entering the NCAA Championship, his stroke average of 70.06 ranks second all-time at Carolina for a single season. The first-team All-SEC selection is tied for the fourth most career top-10 finishes (17) and fifth most career top-five finishes in school history (9).

Starke, a native of Chapin, S.C., has finished in the top 15 in nine of 11 events this season, including one tournament win. He has posted six top-five finishes, which is tied for the most in a single season in school history. A first-team All-SEC selection, Starke had a season stroke average of 70.03 entering the NCAA Championship, which is the lowest single-season scoring average in school history. His 11 career top-five finishes are tied for the third most in school history, while his 14 career top-10 finishes are tied for the seventh most all-time at Carolina.

A total of 155 players across six regions – Northeast, East, Southeast, Midwest, Central and West – earned All-Region honors.

Starke, NeSmith and the Gamecocks finished their second round at the NCAA Championship earlier this afternoon.

2015 PING All-Southeast Region Team
Tomasz Anderson, Jacksonville State
Jimmy Beck, Kennesaw State
Ryan Benton, Auburn
Rowin Caron, Florida State
Claudio Correa, USF
Rigel Fernandes, USF
Matt Gilchrest, Auburn
Theo Humphrey, Vanderbilt
Michael Johnson, Auburn
Stewart Jolly, LSU
Chase Koepka, USF
Hank Lebioda, Florida State
Josh Lee, Florida State
Tom Lovelady, Alabama
Jack Maguire, Florida State
Lee McCoy, Georgia
Matt NeSmith, South Carolina
Brandon Pierce, LSU
Eric Ricard, LSU
Martin Rohwer, UAB
Ben Schlottman, Auburn
Matthias Schwab, Vanderbilt
Robby Shelton, Alabama
Will Starke, South Carolina
Hunter Stewart, Vanderbilt
Daniel Stringfellow, Auburn
JD Tomlinson, Florida
Zach Wright, LSU
Scott Wolfes, Georgia Southern