New College of Florida Men's and Women's Golf return to action Monday as the Mighty Banyans host the second annual Battle at Black Diamond.
The three-day men's and women's tournaments will be held Monday through Wednesday at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Florida.
The event marks the second consecutive season NCF has hosted the Battle at Black Diamond after the inaugural tournament served as the first home event in the history of both programs.
IMPORTANT LINKS
MEN'S LIVE LEADERBOARD
WOMEN'S LIVE LEADERBOARD
MEN'S TOURNAMENT NOTES
THE FIELD: The Mighty Banyans will compete in a nine-team men's field alongside Ave Maria, Eastern Florida State, Florida College, Lake-Sumter State, Lighthouse Christian College, Oxford College of Emory University, Palm Beach State and Spartanburg Methodist.
DEFENDING CHAMPION RETURNS: Avery Shahriari returns to Black Diamond Ranch as the defending individual champion after making history at the inaugural event. Shahriari fired a 5-under 67 to win the rain-shortened tournament and become the first individual tournament champion in NCF history. His performance also earned him Sun Conference Men's Golfer of the Week honors.
STRONG START TO YEAR THREE: NCF opened its third season with a sixth-place finish in the 15-team Coastal Georgia Men's Fall Invitational at The Club at Sea Palms in St. Simons Island, Georgia. All five Mighty Banyans in the lineup finished within 11 strokes of par.
KRUEGER LEADS THE OPENER: Jackson Krueger led the Mighty Banyans at the Coastal Georgia Men's Fall Invitational, tying for 33rd at 5-over with a three-round total of 218. Krueger opened with a 76 before firing a 4-under 67 in the second round, the lowest round by an NCF golfer during the tournament, and closed with a 75.
NEW-LOOK LINEUP DELIVERS: NCF's season-opening five featured three newcomers in Ogle, Watkins and Tyler alongside returning golfers Shahriari and Krueger. The group helped the Mighty Banyans finish in the top half of the 15-team field in Georgia.
HOME COURSE SUCCESS: NCF placed seventh as a team at the inaugural Battle at Black Diamond last season. Behind Shahriari's championship round, Oscar Munoz and Krueger each shot 6-over 78, while Sean O'Reilly and Sean Martin each finished at 10-over.
WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT NOTES
BACK FROM PGA NATIONAL: NCF enters the Battle at Black Diamond following its second tournament of the season at the PDI Shootout, hosted by Keiser at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens. The tournament continued a busy opening stretch for the Mighty Banyans, who have competed in each of the first two weeks of September and will now host their third tournament of the season.
HOME SUCCESS FOR ODIC: Brittany Odic returns to Black Diamond Ranch after producing one of her top finishes of the 2025-26 season at the inaugural event. Odic placed third at the Battle at Black Diamond before going on to earn Second-Team All-Sun Conference and Third-Team NAIA All-American honors. She became the first NAIA All-American in program history.
BALASKIEWICZ STARTS STRONG: Madison Balaskiewicz led NCF at its season-opening Coastal Georgia Fall Invitational, finishing at 22-over with a three-round total of 238. She opened the tournament with consecutive rounds of 77 and sat 12th individually through the opening 36 holes.
EXPERIENCED CORE: Seniors Balaskiewicz, Odic and Rebecca Luchs have helped lead an experienced NCF group through the opening two tournaments of the season. At Coastal Georgia, the trio finished within two strokes of one another, with Balaskiewicz at 22-over, Odic at 23-over and Luchs at 24-over. Luchs also recorded NCF's lowest round of the tournament with a second-round 76.
THREE STRAIGHT TO OPEN THE YEAR: The Battle at Black Diamond will be NCF's third tournament of the young season. The Mighty Banyans opened with an eighth-place finish among 15 teams at the Coastal Georgia Fall Invitational before traveling to PGA National for the PDI Shootout and now return to Black Diamond Ranch for their lone home tournament of the fall.
BUILDING ON YEAR TWO: NCF enters its third season after receiving votes in the final NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll last year. The Mighty Banyans finished fourth at the Sun Conference Tournament and captured the first team tournament championship in program history at the New College Invitational.
UP NEXT: New College of Florida Men's and Women's Golf will travel to the Invite at Innisbrook, hosted by Dalton State, Sept. 28-29 at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida.
