The 2025 boys’ golf high school season is officially underway, and each team enters with different goals and expectations.
Apollo: The Eagles return the majority of last year’s roster, including Kamdyn Ulmer, Beau Brock, and Brady Robbins. Head coach David Lyons expects the trio to lead the way and acknowledged that they have been driving each other and their teammates to improve due to their competitive nature. Joining them are up-and-comers McCoy Taylor, Lucas Cambron, Mason Hammonds, and Grant Connor who Lyons believes are capable of moving up in the roster as the season continues.
Behind them are a few players who are pushing for a spot in the top five, while some of the younger players who are waiting their turn are applying pressure on those above them.
“We want to improve each day from the previous day and build on what the returning players did last year,” Apollo head coach David Lyons said. “Last year was more about learning how to play golf, how to play matches, and tournament golf. This year, it is about improving every aspect of the game of golf. Our expectations are to make it to the first round of semi-state and go to state.”
Daviess County: The Panthers enter the season in a youth movement after losing the majority of last year’s roster that reached semi-state to graduation. Leading the way is sophomore Collin Reynolds and he is joined by a hungry roster that constantly improving.
“We have a few guys that are getting better,” head coach Lars King said. “We will be older but still inexperienced as we have four kids traveling at the moment who have never played in a high school event. Our goal for this season is the improve throughout the season. We hope to be in a spot to compete when the postseason rolls around.”
Hancock County: The Hornets return four of their top five from last year’s roster, including Jacob Shultz, Kolby Keown, Jaxon Blake, and Ethan Heavrin. They are joined by the trio of Ashton Vogt, Kaden Kenny, and Memphis Ball, who are all battling for the fifth spot. Head coach Jeff Shultz and his team have their eyes on reaching “All-A” state.
“We want to have a strong performance in the region and make it to semi-state as a team,” Shultz said. “Or even have a few individuals reach it this year.”
McLean County: A year ago the Cougars had five athletes on the roster, but enter this season with 21 active players and a new head coach in John Vicars. Vicars, who was the assistant coach last year, credits the increased turnout to returners Ian Howard and Treyson Blades’ recruitment efforts.
With plenty of new faces on the roster, Vicars wants to teach his athletes the fundamentals, with a goal of the school becoming competitive enough over the next two-three years to reach the State Tournament.
“McLean County has recently been ranked at the bottom,” Vicars said. “But I think you will see that over the next few years, we will be ranked toward the top.”
Owensboro: Fresh off of finishing seventh at last year’s State Tournament, the Red Devils enter the season with a new head coach in David Hicks. This is Hicks’ second stint as a head coach, after spending one year at McLean County in 2021.
“Mainly, I want the boys to enjoy the game because they are going to be playing it for their entire lives,” Hicks said. “This game has provided me with plenty of great memories and relationships. Even on the business side it always goes back to golf. I just want to share that with these young guys and make sure they are enjoying it.”
Despite viewing this season as a rebuilding year, Hicks has been pleased with his team’s offseason progress. They enter the year with senior Walker Gaddis and eighth grader Colby Vanover leading the way and are joined by Fisher Hicks, Maddox Embry, Raylen Brown, and Paxton Divine.
Hicks wants to see his team compete for City County and believes he can have individuals qualify for region.
“Nothing surprises me with this group because they are really good and really dedicated,” Hicks said.
Owensboro Catholic: Head coach Mark Price has retired, and in his stead is Bretnea Harvey, who previously coached the Aces from 2013-2023. She takes over a roster that includes Vince Hayden, John William Wathen, Triston Logsdon, Jace Merrit, Andrew Powell, Hunter Webb, Tucker Evans, Luke Estes, Kyle Fulkerson, Mason Moser, and Peyton Mullins. Boasting a deep roster, Harvey plans to enter multiple teams at competitions.
The Aces have already started to prove themselves, finishing first and third int he recent Union County Invitational.
“I want us to always be playing on the last day of golf season,” Harvey said. “That would mean we would have to make it through our region and semi-state as well. I know that is no small task, but I just believe that as long as I am pushing my guys to get there and as long as they feel that competitive nature and continue to push themselves, that is something we can build on.”
Trinity (Whitesville): The Raiders enter the season with a young but experienced core. Returning are Camden Aud, Wathen Millay, Zachary Boarman, Isaac Hernandez, Finn Williams, and William Mills. Joining them are junior Grant Howard and newcomers Thomas Payne, Levi Hall, and Sam Johnson. Despite losing their top two golfers to graduation, the Raiders roster has spent the summer on the greens and has shown vast improvement, according to their athletic director John Kirkpatrick.
“We have a core group that really enjoys the game and takes their game seriously,” Kirkpatrick said. “We want to try and field a more competitive team this season. We want to do this by eliminating large numbers and improving our performance around and on the green.”
