New College of Florida Men's Golf will open its third season in program history Monday at the Coastal Georgia Invitational.
The two-day tournament will be held Monday and Tuesday at The Club at Sea Palms in St. Simons, Georgia.
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THE FIELD: The Mighty Banyans will compete in a 15-team field alongside host Coastal Georgia, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Blue Mountain Christian, Brewton-Parker, Columbia College (S.C.), Columbia International, Dalton State, Georgia Military, Montreat, Point, Reinhardt, Southeastern, Tennessee Wesleyan and Truett McConnell.
STARTING LINEUP: Junior Avery Shahriari will play in the No. 1 position, followed by Tripp Watkins at No. 2, Alexander Ogle at No. 3, junior Jackson Krueger at No. 4 and freshman Cameron Cantine at No. 5. Watkins, Ogle and Cantine will make their Mighty Banyan debuts after transferring to NCF during the offseason.
VETERAN CORE RETURNS: Head coach Drew Mitchell returns 11 players from last season's roster, including Shahriari, Krueger, Patrick Bond, Will Cornett, Gordon Goetz, Aidan MacInnes, Sean Martin, Florian Mazieres, Oscar Munoz, Sean O'Reilly and Dallas Torres. The group returns after helping NCF capture the first team tournament championship in program history during the 2025-26 season.
NEW FACES: The Mighty Banyans added 10 newcomers ahead of their third season, including five freshmen and a group of experienced transfers. Watkins joins NCF from Lake-Sumter State College, Ogle arrives from Palm Beach Atlantic, Tyler transfers from Saint Leo and Brady Hall comes to Sarasota after competing at Northwestern Oklahoma State.
SHAHRIARI RETURNS: Shahriari enters his junior season after becoming the first individual tournament champion in program history in 2025-26. He fired a 5-under 67 to win the Battle at Black Diamond and earned Sun Conference Men's Golfer of the Week honors following the victory. Shahriari also went 2-1 in individual matches at the Warrior's Nancy Nichols Matchplay to close the fall.
KRUEGER PROVIDES CONSISTENCY: Krueger returns after leading NCF at both the season-opening Seahawk Shootout and the Sun Conference Tournament last season. He placed 31st in a field of more than 90 golfers at PGA National before finishing as NCF's top golfer at the conference championship, tying for 27th at 19-over.
HISTORY MADE IN YEAR TWO: NCF recorded several program firsts during the 2025-26 season. Shahriari became the program's first individual tournament champion at the Battle at Black Diamond before Goetz captured the New College Invitational individual title during the spring. Goetz's victory came as the Mighty Banyans secured their first team tournament championship in program history.
STRONG FALL STRETCH: The Mighty Banyans showed their potential during the second half of last fall, highlighted by a 9-under opening round at the Jupiter Collegiate Invitational. NCF held the tournament lead through 18 holes before finishing fifth in a field that featured six Sun Conference opponents. O'Reilly and Shahriari later each went 2-1 at the Warrior's Nancy Nichols Matchplay to close the fall schedule.
UP NEXT: New College of Florida will host the Battle at Black Diamond at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Florida Sept. 20-22.
