April 28, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. — With the NCAA Division I Regional Selection Show looming, University of South Carolina Men’s Golf head coach Bill McDonald and senior Will Starke addressed the media on Thursday. The duo discussed the team’s performance during the 2015-16 regular season and the upcoming postseason, which is just over two weeks away.

“I think when you take everything into account, how we’ve played this spring and how we’ve developed some of our younger guys, I think you’ve got to be really excited, not just about our prospects of how we look going into the postseason but also how the team looks going forward for the next couple of years,” McDonald said. “I am very pleased as a coach. I’ve got three incredible seniors in Sean Kelly, Will Starke and Matt NeSmith. They’re like sons to me; I’m going to miss them, and I want them to go out on a really good note.”

“It’s been a great run,” Starke added as he approaches his final NCAA postseason journey. “I think when we came as freshman, we were not even in the top-100, and then we slowly worked our way up. We were in the top-five most of the year last year, and have been in the top-20 pretty much every year. Being able to improve the program… we’ve had a lot of memories and a lot of good times together that we’ll cherish.”

Ranked 17th in the latest Golfstat national standings, the Gamecocks will make their 24th NCAA Regional appearance and their 20th in the last 21 seasons when the NCAA announces the 81 qualifying teams on Thursday, May 5. The NCAA Regional Selection Show will air live on Golf Channel beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Starke, along with fellow seniors NeSmith and Kelly, has guided the Gamecocks out of Regionals and into the NCAA Championship in each of the last three seasons. The top-five from each Regional site advances to the final stage; Carolina tied for second in 2013 in Columbus, Ohio, finished fifth in 2014 in Eugene, Ore., and placed second last season as the top seed in Bremerton, Wash.

South Carolina’s best finish at the NCAA Championship came in 1988, when they tied for eighth. In the last three seasons, the Gamecocks have tied for 27th in 2013, finished ninth in 2014 and placed 13th one season ago.

In addition to the senior trio, McDonald will bring sophomore Keenan Huskey and freshman Scott Stevens to Regionals. Huskey, like NeSmith, is a two-time medalist in 2015-16, and the quintet has led South Carolina to four tournament victories this season.

“With the combination of experience and firepower that we have, I’ve very pleased with the group that we’re taking to Regionals,” McDonald said.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

The Gamecocks will learn their NCAA Regional fate on Thursday, May 5 at 9:30 a.m., when selections are revealed live on Golf Channel. The 2016 NCAA Regionals will be held in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Marana, Ariz., Kohler, Wis., Albuquerque, N.M., Stillwater, Okla., and Franklin, Tenn.