Ryan and Thomas Garner Top CUSA Honors
5/15/2024 1:00:00 PM | Men's Golf
After guiding the Flames to a thrilling win at its first-ever CUSA Men's Golf Championship, Liberty's Josh Ryan and Jeff Thomas have received the league's top annual honors.
Ryan has been named the 2024 CUSA Player of the Year and Thomas has been selected as the 2024 Phillip Hatchett Coach of the Year.
This is the second major award of Ryan's career. He was named the 2023 ASUN Men's Golf Freshman of the Year during the Flames' last season in the league.
In total, Liberty had three players garner all-conference honors. Ryan was a first-team all-conference selection, while senior Isaac Simmons was named to the third team. Additionally, Camden Braidech was named to the CUSA All-Freshman team.
Ryan paced the Flames during the 2023-24 season in nearly every statistical category. He was Liberty's top finisher in 10 of 11 events, holds a team-best 70.64 stroke average, played 24-of-33 rounds at par or better (72.7 percent) and posted 10 sub-70 rounds.
Simmons, who was a third-team All-ASUN selection in 2023, ranks second on Liberty's roster with a 73.03 scoring average and posted four top-25 finishes. He also played 10-of-30 rounds at par or better (33.3 percent), allowing him to near the end of his career with a 72.74 career stroke average.
During his first collegiate season on the course, Braidech has posted a 74.24 season stroke average, playing in six different events. He has three top 30 finishes, including a 13th-place showing at the Johnnie-O Individual.
Thomas takes home his fifth career conference Coach of the Year award. He was named the 2023 ASUN Men's Golf Coach of the Year, last season, and was a three-time Big South Coach of the Year (2010, 2011 and 2018).
Thomas guided the Flames to their eighth conference title and first-ever as a member of Conference USA, winning in a thrilling match play event in April.
Liberty is currently playing at the NCAA Stanford Regional, the program's eighth-straight NCAA Regional appearance and 14th in program history. Twelve of the 14 NCAA Regional appearances have come with Thomas at the helm of the program.
CUSA Men's Golf All-Conference
First Team
Josh Ryan, Liberty
Owen Stamper, MTSU
Erik Jansson, Jax State
Niilo Maki-Petaja, LA Tech
Bret Gray, Sam Houston
Luke Fuller, WKU
Second Team
Dylan Teeter, UTEP
Michael Barnard, MTSU
Hugo Trommetter, Sam Houston
Josh German, Sam Houston
Ting-Wei Hsieh, Sam Houston
Third Team
Markus Varjun, MTSU
Greg Holmes, UTEP
Javier Delgadillo, New Mexico State
Isaac Simmons, Liberty
Kevin Jegers, MTSU
All-Freshman Team
Niilo Maki-Petaja, LA Tech
Hugo Trommetter, Sam Houston
Sheldon McKnight, MTSU
Patrick Foley, UTEP
Camden Braidech, Liberty
Player of the Year
Josh Ryan, Liberty
Freshman of the Year
Niilo Maki-Petaja, LA Tech
Phillip Hatchett Coach of the Year
Jeff Thomas, Liberty
Ryan has been named the 2024 CUSA Player of the Year and Thomas has been selected as the 2024 Phillip Hatchett Coach of the Year.
This is the second major award of Ryan's career. He was named the 2023 ASUN Men's Golf Freshman of the Year during the Flames' last season in the league.
In total, Liberty had three players garner all-conference honors. Ryan was a first-team all-conference selection, while senior Isaac Simmons was named to the third team. Additionally, Camden Braidech was named to the CUSA All-Freshman team.
Ryan paced the Flames during the 2023-24 season in nearly every statistical category. He was Liberty's top finisher in 10 of 11 events, holds a team-best 70.64 stroke average, played 24-of-33 rounds at par or better (72.7 percent) and posted 10 sub-70 rounds.
Simmons, who was a third-team All-ASUN selection in 2023, ranks second on Liberty's roster with a 73.03 scoring average and posted four top-25 finishes. He also played 10-of-30 rounds at par or better (33.3 percent), allowing him to near the end of his career with a 72.74 career stroke average.
During his first collegiate season on the course, Braidech has posted a 74.24 season stroke average, playing in six different events. He has three top 30 finishes, including a 13th-place showing at the Johnnie-O Individual.
Thomas takes home his fifth career conference Coach of the Year award. He was named the 2023 ASUN Men's Golf Coach of the Year, last season, and was a three-time Big South Coach of the Year (2010, 2011 and 2018).
Thomas guided the Flames to their eighth conference title and first-ever as a member of Conference USA, winning in a thrilling match play event in April.
Liberty is currently playing at the NCAA Stanford Regional, the program's eighth-straight NCAA Regional appearance and 14th in program history. Twelve of the 14 NCAA Regional appearances have come with Thomas at the helm of the program.
CUSA Men's Golf All-Conference
First Team
Josh Ryan, Liberty
Owen Stamper, MTSU
Erik Jansson, Jax State
Niilo Maki-Petaja, LA Tech
Bret Gray, Sam Houston
Luke Fuller, WKU
Second Team
Dylan Teeter, UTEP
Michael Barnard, MTSU
Hugo Trommetter, Sam Houston
Josh German, Sam Houston
Ting-Wei Hsieh, Sam Houston
Third Team
Markus Varjun, MTSU
Greg Holmes, UTEP
Javier Delgadillo, New Mexico State
Isaac Simmons, Liberty
Kevin Jegers, MTSU
All-Freshman Team
Niilo Maki-Petaja, LA Tech
Hugo Trommetter, Sam Houston
Sheldon McKnight, MTSU
Patrick Foley, UTEP
Camden Braidech, Liberty
Player of the Year
Josh Ryan, Liberty
Freshman of the Year
Niilo Maki-Petaja, LA Tech
Phillip Hatchett Coach of the Year
Jeff Thomas, Liberty
Players Mentioned
Welcome To The 2025 NCAA Men’s Golf Amherst Regional
Tuesday, April 29
Kieran Vincent: Taking Life One Shot at a Time
Wednesday, April 02
Golf boys getting strong 🏋️👀
Monday, December 09
BTS shoot with Liberty Golf!⛳️🔥 #shorts
Wednesday, October 23