Haarer Selected CUSA Freshman of the Year; 4 Named to All-Conference Teams
5/15/2026 1:55:00 PM | Men's Golf
Following a title run in last month's CUSA Men's Golf Championship, Liberty was well represented on the 2026 CUSA Men's Golf All-Conference teams.
Liberty's Silas Haarer was named the 2026 CUSA Men's Golf Freshman of the Year. Additionally, four members of the championship team were named to various CUSA Men's Golf All-Conference teams.
Sophomore Michael Lugiano highlighted the quartet as he was one of six members on the 2026 CUSA Men's Golf All-Conference first team.
Seniors Ike Joy and Josh Ryan were second-team all-conference honorees, while Haarer was named to the third team and All-Freshman team.
Lugiano is having a banner season, as he leads the Flames with a 70.81 season stroke average. Lugiano has played 21-of-32 rounds at par or better (65.6 percent), posted a pair of top five finishes and signed for 11 sub-70 rounds.
Joy and Ryan helped lead the Flames to their second CUSA Men's Golf Championship in the last three seasons. Joy sank a birdie putt on the 17th hole of his match play event in the championship round against UTEP to seal Liberty's ninth conference title in program history.
Ryan ranks second on Liberty's roster with a 71.53 season stroke average and has played 20-of-32 rounds at par or better (62.5 percent). He is Liberty's active career stroke leader, having recorded a 71.39 stroke average in 131 rounds of golf during the last four years.
Joy ranks third on the team with a 72.06 season stroke average and has played 16-of-32 rounds at par or better in 2025-26 (50.0 percent). Joy will be making his third NCAA Regional appearance next week at the NCAA Corvallis Regional, after individually qualifying for the NCAA postseason event last year.
Haarer becomes the eighth player in program history to be named the league's Freshman of the Year and Liberty's first since joining Conference USA three seasons ago. Ryan was the last Flame to receive the honor when he was selected the ASUN Conference Freshman of the Year in 2023.
Haarer is the top ranked freshman golfer in Conference USA as he ranks No. 440 in the latest Scoreboard powered by clippd national rankings.
During his rookie campaign, Haarer has teed it up in 11 events, including four events as an individual. He ranks fourth on the team with a 72.19 season stroke average and has played 16-of-32 rounds at par or better (50.0 percent).
At his first CUSA Men's Golf Championship, Haarer finished the stroke play portion of the event tied for 11th place with a 4-under par 212 (69-75-68). He recorded a pair of convincing victories during the match play portion of the event, winning 4&3 over New Mexico State's Mateo Payan in the semifinals and 4&2 over UTEP's Marc Keller in the title match.
The four golfers, along with senior Brett Reid and sophomore Luke Libbey, will compete at the 2026 NCAA Corvallis Regional, next week (May 18-20) in Corvallis, Ore. A top-five finish in the regional event will secure Liberty's fifth trip to the NCAA Men's Golf Championship in program history.
2026 CUSA Men's Golf All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year: Dylan Teeter, UTEP
Freshman of the Year: Silas Haarer, Liberty
Phillip Hatchett Coach of the Year: Aaron Puetz, UTEP
First Team All-Conference:
Shaun Cook, Kennesaw State
Michael Lugiano, Liberty
Carter Maneth, MTSU
Javier Delgadillo, NM State
Mateo Payan, NM State
Dylan Teeter, UTEP
Second Team All-Conference:
Arsit Areephun, Delaware
Kyle Bachkosky, Kennesaw State
Ike Joy, Liberty
Josh Ryan, Liberty
Alex Malanga, Sam Houston
Third Team All-Conference:
Stanley Campbell, Jax State
Ryley Heath, Jax State
Hunter Gillard, Kennesaw State
Silas Haarar, Liberty
Pat Foley, UTEP
All-Freshman Team:
Will Drake, Jax State
Tyler Neidel, Jax State
Silas Haarer, Liberty
Grayson Petru, Sam Houston
Will Easterlin, WKU
Liberty's Silas Haarer was named the 2026 CUSA Men's Golf Freshman of the Year. Additionally, four members of the championship team were named to various CUSA Men's Golf All-Conference teams.
Sophomore Michael Lugiano highlighted the quartet as he was one of six members on the 2026 CUSA Men's Golf All-Conference first team.
Seniors Ike Joy and Josh Ryan were second-team all-conference honorees, while Haarer was named to the third team and All-Freshman team.
Lugiano is having a banner season, as he leads the Flames with a 70.81 season stroke average. Lugiano has played 21-of-32 rounds at par or better (65.6 percent), posted a pair of top five finishes and signed for 11 sub-70 rounds.
Joy and Ryan helped lead the Flames to their second CUSA Men's Golf Championship in the last three seasons. Joy sank a birdie putt on the 17th hole of his match play event in the championship round against UTEP to seal Liberty's ninth conference title in program history.
Ryan ranks second on Liberty's roster with a 71.53 season stroke average and has played 20-of-32 rounds at par or better (62.5 percent). He is Liberty's active career stroke leader, having recorded a 71.39 stroke average in 131 rounds of golf during the last four years.
Joy ranks third on the team with a 72.06 season stroke average and has played 16-of-32 rounds at par or better in 2025-26 (50.0 percent). Joy will be making his third NCAA Regional appearance next week at the NCAA Corvallis Regional, after individually qualifying for the NCAA postseason event last year.
Haarer becomes the eighth player in program history to be named the league's Freshman of the Year and Liberty's first since joining Conference USA three seasons ago. Ryan was the last Flame to receive the honor when he was selected the ASUN Conference Freshman of the Year in 2023.
Haarer is the top ranked freshman golfer in Conference USA as he ranks No. 440 in the latest Scoreboard powered by clippd national rankings.
During his rookie campaign, Haarer has teed it up in 11 events, including four events as an individual. He ranks fourth on the team with a 72.19 season stroke average and has played 16-of-32 rounds at par or better (50.0 percent).
At his first CUSA Men's Golf Championship, Haarer finished the stroke play portion of the event tied for 11th place with a 4-under par 212 (69-75-68). He recorded a pair of convincing victories during the match play portion of the event, winning 4&3 over New Mexico State's Mateo Payan in the semifinals and 4&2 over UTEP's Marc Keller in the title match.
The four golfers, along with senior Brett Reid and sophomore Luke Libbey, will compete at the 2026 NCAA Corvallis Regional, next week (May 18-20) in Corvallis, Ore. A top-five finish in the regional event will secure Liberty's fifth trip to the NCAA Men's Golf Championship in program history.
2026 CUSA Men's Golf All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year: Dylan Teeter, UTEP
Freshman of the Year: Silas Haarer, Liberty
Phillip Hatchett Coach of the Year: Aaron Puetz, UTEP
First Team All-Conference:
Shaun Cook, Kennesaw State
Michael Lugiano, Liberty
Carter Maneth, MTSU
Javier Delgadillo, NM State
Mateo Payan, NM State
Dylan Teeter, UTEP
Second Team All-Conference:
Arsit Areephun, Delaware
Kyle Bachkosky, Kennesaw State
Ike Joy, Liberty
Josh Ryan, Liberty
Alex Malanga, Sam Houston
Third Team All-Conference:
Stanley Campbell, Jax State
Ryley Heath, Jax State
Hunter Gillard, Kennesaw State
Silas Haarar, Liberty
Pat Foley, UTEP
All-Freshman Team:
Will Drake, Jax State
Tyler Neidel, Jax State
Silas Haarer, Liberty
Grayson Petru, Sam Houston
Will Easterlin, WKU
Players Mentioned
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