Men's Golf

Six ACC Teams Ready For 2026 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Six Atlantic Coast Conference teams are part of the 30-team field at the 2026 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship set for May 28-June 3 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

Duke, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina, Stanford and Virginia all finished in the top five of their respective regionals to secure spots in this year’s NCAA Championship. The six teams are the second-most sent by one conference and the most the ACC has sent since 2024 when the league sent a league-record seven teams.

The 30-team field will play 54 holes before being cut to 15 teams for the final round of stroke play. The top eight teams will advance to match play. Babygrande Golf will provide coverage of the first three days of stroke play, while Golf Channel will broadcast the final three days of the NCAA Championship.

Virginia, which captured its second consecutive ACC title in April, was the only ACC team to win a regional, as the Cavaliers shared the Winston-Salem Regional title with Pepperdine. Senior Ben James captured medalist honors by three shots, finishing at 19-under-par for the three-day tournament to win his second regional title. Virginia will make its fourth consecutive NCAA Championship appearance, a program record.

Duke placed fourth in the Marana Regional and earned a spot in its 26th NCAA Championship and second in the last four seasons. The fourth-place finish was the program’s best finish since the 2019 season. Junior Bryan Kim carded a 7-under-par 65 in the final round to set a Duke NCAA Regional 54-hole record at 11-under-par (72-68-65=205). Kim finished tied for sixth individually.

Florida State advanced to its sixth straight and 31st overall NCAA Championship following a fifth-place finish at the Columbus Regional. Junior Jack Whaley paced the Seminoles, tying for seventh in the individual standings, capped off by a 1-under 70, as he was just one of four golfers to finish under par for the final round.

Louisville was the lowest seeded ACC team to advance to the NCAA Championship, after being seeded sixth, but finished as the runner-up in the Athens Regional. The second-place finish was the best in program history, as the Cardinals return to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2021.

North Carolina advanced to the NCAA Championship for the eighth time in the last nine postseasons with a fourth-place finish at the Bryan Regional. Freshman Carson Bertagnole tied for fifth at the regional to lead UNC, with a 10-under 206 for the three rounds. Andrew Riley joined Bertagnole as the only Tar Heels to shoot below par in all three rounds.

Stanford returns to the NCAA Championship for the fourth time in the last five seasons following a second-place finish at the Columbus Regional. The Cardinal, which shot 24-over, earned their fourth-straight top five outing since early March. Sophomore Jay Leng led Stanford by tying for 11th.

The action from Carlsbad is set to begin on Friday with the first tee times scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET.

ACC Notes
  • Three different ACC teams have advanced to the national championship match in each of the last three seasons, the longest active streak among all conferences.
    • 2023 – Georgia Tech
    • 2024 – Florida State
    • 2025 – Virginia
  • The ACC seeks its first national championship since Clemson won the title in 2003. Prior to joining the league, Stanford claimed titles in 2007 and 2019. Overall, the ACC has won four national championships.
    • 1974, 1975 & 1986 – Wake Forest
    • 2003 – Clemson
  • Virginia captured its second straight ACC Men’s Golf championship in April, following a 3-1 win over Stanford in the match play final at Shark’s Tooth Golf Course in Panama City, Florida.
  • In the final spring Division I Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll (May 8), five ACC teams were ranked in the top 25, headlined by No. 2 Virginia. The Cavaliers were followed by No. 10 North Carolina, No. 14 Stanford, No. 22 Georgia Tech and No. 23 Florida State. Clemson, Duke and Notre Dame received votes.
  • The ACC has five teams ranked in the top 25 in the latest rankings by Scoreboard powered by Clippd (May 14), headlined by No. 3 Virginia. North Carolina is No. 9, Stanford is No. 14, Georgia Tech is No. 22 and Florida State is No. 25.
  • In the most recent Scoreboard powered by Clippd Individual Rankings (May 14), six ACC players are ranked among the top 25, headlined by No. 3 Ben James of Virginia. William Sides (SMU) is No. 7, Tyler Weaver (Florida State) is No. 10, Paul Chang (Virginia) is No. 12, Niall Sheils Donegan (North Carolina) is No. 13 and Bryan Kim (Duke) is No. 17.
  • Six ACC players are in the latest PGA TOUR University top 25 rankings, headlined by Virginia’s Ben James, who holds the No. 1 spot. Joining James are No. 5 William Sides (SMU), No. 14 Paul Chang (Virginia), No. 16 Bryan Lee (Virginia), No. 23 Ethan Evans (Duke) and No. 25 Hiroshi Tai (Georgia Tech).
  • Josh Duangmanee (Virginia), Ben James (Virginia), Bryan Kim (Duke) and Bryan Lee (Virginia) were named to the 2026 Haskins Award presented by Stifel Spring Watch List.
  • Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai and SMU’s William Sides were named two of the three finalists for the Byron Nelson Award, which recognizes the nation’s scholar-athlete of the year for men’s golf.
  • Georgia Tech named former Oklahoma head coach Ryan Hybl as its new head coach, replacing GCAA Hall of Famer Bruce Heppler.
  • ACC teams combined to win 19 team titles during the regular season, led by Virginia with four victories. Individually, ACC players won 24 tournaments, paced by SMU’s William Sides, who earned three medalist honors during the 2025-26 season.