Horizon League Unveils 2026 #HLGOLF Awards
Rachel White
INDIANAPOLIS (April 30, 2026) – The Horizon League revealed our 2026 #HLGOLF awards on Thursday as voted on by the League’s head coaches.
Wright State’s Shane Ochs and Youngstown State’s Neeranuch Prajunpanich earned Golfer of the Year honors. Oakland’s Rakshit Dahiya and IU Indy’s Sherry Xia collected Freshman of the Year recognition. Cleveland State’s Brody Simms, Detroit Mercy’s Gabriella Tapp, NKU’s Eva Maley and Oakland’s Lily Bargamian are our Sportsmanship Award recipients. WSU’s Conner Lash and OAK’s Heather Fortushniak were voted Coaches of the Year after leading their teams to championships this week.
Dig Deeper:
- Ochs was the individual medalist at the 2026 #HLGOLF championship and now collects his second straight Golfer of the Year honor.
- Ochs has been named to the All-League First Team in each of the last three seasons.
- Wright State has collected Men’s Golfer of the Year honors in five straight seasons.
- Prajunpanich earned Golfer of the Year recognition for the second season in a row.
- She finished tied for sixth at the championship and has now earned All-League First Team honors three times.
- Dahiya collected All-Tournament Team honors at the championship, finishing in second place, and earning All-League Second Team honors.
- He is the first Golden Grizzly to win Men’s Golf Freshman of the Year since Yaro Ilyenko in 2021.
- Xia led the Jaguars in stroke average (77.44), top-10 finishes (2) and individual winning percentage (.655) during the regular season, earning All-League Second Team honors.
- She is IU Indy’s second Women’s Golf Freshman of the Year after Shelby Busker in 2021.
- Lash collected his fourth Coach of the Year honor after his fourth overall and third consecutive #HLGOLF title for the Raiders.
- The Raiders secured the team title in a playoff earlier this week and will represent the League at NCAA Regionals next month.
- Fortushniak won Coach of the Year for the second time following Oakland’s third consecutive #HLGOLF championship victory on Monday.
- Oakland will travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan for NCAA Regionals.
- The Sportsmanship Award recognizes student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior. Sportsmanship is defined as behavior exhibited during competition by student-athletes based on values, respect and integrity.
- “Brody is the type of person that every coach hopes their players become. His personality and respect for others is always on display, if it’s on the golf course, in the classroom, or in the community. His teammates look up to him and strive to match his work ethic and drive, while they love being around him. He’s the first one to offer an encouraging word when needed, but not afraid to push a teammate that isn’t reaching their potential for the betterment of the team,” said CSU Director of Golf Steve Weir.
- “Gabriella Tapp is a great leader of our program and the University…Her character is second to none, and she is an outstanding player on the golf course, both for the opposition and teammates. She truly exemplifies what this award is all about,” shared Detroit Mercy Director of Golf Jordan McArleton.
- “Eva is a second year who will go out of her way to make sure her teammates have what they need to compete. This season she took it to the next level at our home event when she let a competitor borrow her golf shoes because the competitor left her golf shoes at home. Eva is always thinking of everyone else and is a leader on and off the golf course,” stated NKU Head Coach David Shearer.
- “Lily is our biggest/best leader on our team. She leads by example, both on and off the course. She is such a vital part of our team culture because of her drive to be better in everything she does. She is the most trusted on the team, and has a really great teammate relationship with everyone because she is that type of good person. Girls really look up to her because of who she is and how she raises the bar in everything,” commented Fortushniak.
- Cleveland State, Oakland and Wright State totaled two All-League selections each to lead the men’s teams while Youngstown State paced the women’s teams with three All-League honorees.
2026 #HLGOLF Awards
Men’s Golfer of the Year: Shane Ochs, Wright State
Women’s Golfer of the Year: Neeranuch Prajunpanich, Youngstown State
Men’s Golf Freshman of the Year: Rakshit Dahiya, Oakland
Women’s Golf Freshman of the Year: Sherry Xia, IU Indianapolis
Men’s Golf Sportsmanship Award: Brody Simms, Cleveland State
Women’s Golf Sportsmanship Awards: Gabriella Tapp, Detroit Mercy
, Eva Maley, Northern Kentucky & Lily Bargamian, Oakland
Men’s Golf Coach of the Year: Conner Lash, Wright State
Women’s Golf Coach of the Year: Heather Fortushniak, Oakland
Men’s Golf All-League First Team
Brody Simms, Cleveland State
Mason Haupt, Green Bay
Titus Boswell, IU Indianapolis
Timmy Hollenbeck, Wright State
Shane Ochs, Wright State
Women’s Golf All-League First Team
Ariel Chang, Detroit Mercy
Riley Pechinski, Green Bay
Olivia Hemmila, Oakland
Neeranuch Prajunpanich, Youngstown State
Maddi Shoults, Youngstown State
Men’s Golf All-League Second Team
Dillon Pendergast, Cleveland State
Robert Burns, Oakland
Rakshit Dahiya, Oakland
Chuck Tragesser, RMU
Ryan Sam, Youngstown State
Women’s Golf All-League Second Team
Yanah Rolston, IU Indianapolis
Sherry Xia, IU Indianapolis
Eva Maley, Northern Kentucky
Lily Bargamian, Oakland
Sofia Perez Escarcena, Youngstown State
Men’s Golf Sportsmanship Finalists
Brody Simms, Cleveland State*
David Swab, Detroit Mercy
Noah Kirsch, IU Indianapolis
Nick Holder, Purdue Fort Wayne
Ryan Sam, Youngstown State
Women’s Golf Sportsmanship Finalists
Gabriella Tapp, Detroit Mercy*
Reagan Sohn, IU Indianapolis
Eva Maley, Northern Kentucky*
Lily Bargamian, Oakland*
Lillie Cone, Purdue Fort Wayne
Sofia Perez Escarcena, Youngstown State