NORMAN, Okla. — Three men's golfers from Friends University were named to one of the three NAIA PING Men's Golf All-America Teams, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced Monday, as the organization finalized their Second and Third All-America teams. They had previously announced their All-America First Team.
Trinton Nobles earned a spot on the PING All-America Second Team. In the 2025-26 season, Nobles earned his third consecutive KCAC Men's Golfer of the Year honor, and was named to the All-KCAC First Team for the third straight year, as well. At the KCAC Men's Golf Championship, Nobles took home the individual title, shooting -3 and eclipsing the second place finisher by four strokes, as part of a team championship performance by the Falcons. The Falcons finished in second place at the 2026 NAIA Men's Golf Championship, and Nobles tied for the second-best score for Friends during that tournament.
Fellow Falcons Bernhard Koster and Gabriele Romani were named to the PING All-America Third Team. Koster was a Second Team All-KCAC honoree, and earned the KCAC Men's Golf Newcomer of the Year honor at the KCAC Men's Golf Championship, finishing in a tie for third at that event. At the NAIA Men's Golf Championship, he was the top scorer for Friends, finishing in a tie for 7th after shooting +6 for the championship. This season, Romani was a First Team All-KCAC honoree, finished in fifth place at the KCAC Men's Golf Championship (one stroke behind Koster), and finished tied for 17th (alongside Nobles and several others) in the individual standings at the NAIA Men's Golf Championship.
NAIA PING All-Americans
FIRST TEAM
Sam Dykema, Indiana Wesleyan
Yann Ferrando, Keiser
Antonio Juarbe, Coastal Georgia
Ben McFadden, Dalton State
Weston Ogden, Marian (IN)
Carter Ray, Oklahoma City
Christopher Richards Jr., Webber International
Vedant Sirohi, Webber International
Iver Sokhan-Sanj, Keiser
Felipe Suarez, Missouri Valley
Christian Yanovitch, Oklahoma City
SECOND TEAM
Sacha Brendle, Wayland Baptist
Jax Brewer, USAO
Owen Croft, Victoria (B.C.)
Luke Hammond, Columbia International
Joshua Killingsworth, MidAmerica Nazarene
Brady Meek, Texas Wesleyan
Patrick Neal, MidAmerica Nazarene
Trinton Nobles, Friends
Cobey Riddle, Blue Mountain Christian
Lane Zedrick, Marian (IN)
THIRD TEAM
Francisco de Bethencourt, Milligan
Ryker Dunkley, Hastings
Jaeden Ellis, USAO
Kolbe Fielder, Texas Wesleyan
Tristan Greenleaf, Webber International
Jacob Joseph, Point
Bernhard Koster, Friends
Tyler Latimer, Dalton State
Jack Newton, Oklahoma City
Alex Nordstrom, Blue Mountain Christian
Jack Peters, Keiser
Gabriele Romani, Friends
Lorenzo Santinelli, Oklahoma City
Trey Schmidt, Reinhardt
Stanley White, Lindsey Wilson
ABOUT PING ALL-AMERICANS
The GCAA has been naming NAIA All-Americans since at least 2005, with PING sponsoring the GCAA’s All-America awards since at least 1991. For NAIA, the First Team consists of 10 golfers (11 if the individual national champion wasn’t already named to the First Team), 10 on the Second Team, and at least 10 earn Third Team All-America honors. Automatic additions from GCAA member schools to the Third Team if not previously named include top-15 finishers at the NAIA Men’s Golf Championship and the top three players in each All-Region ballot.
ABOUT PING
PING designs, manufactures and markets a complete line of golf equipment including metal woods, irons, wedges, putters and golf bags. The family-owned company was founded in 1959 in the garage of the late Karsten Solheim, a mechanical engineer with an extensive background in the aerospace and computer industries. His frustration with his putting inspired him to design his own putter, which created a “pinging” sound when striking a golf ball. This sound was the source of the name now synonymous with innovation, quality and service throughout the world of golf. Solheim and his company are credited with numerous innovations that became industry standards, including perimeter weighting, custom fitting and the use of investment casting in the manufacturing of golf clubs. His insistence on adhering to strict engineering principles and tight manufacturing tolerances raised the level of product performance and quality throughout the golf industry. Solheim is the only person to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as a golf club manufacturer. Today, the Phoenix-based company is under the direction of Solheim’s grandson, John K. Solheim, who leads a team of more than 800 dedicated employees committed to helping improve the games of golfers around the world.
—KCAC—