SAN BRUNO, Calif. – After hosting another highly competitive West Coast Conference Championship at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton, Calif., the league is pleased to unveil its All-WCC team and major award winners. All-WCC First Team selections and major individual awards were selected solely by the nine conference head coaches.
BYU’s
Peter Kuest, the 2017 WCC Championship medalist, became the second straight Cougar to earn WCC Player of the Year honors after 2018 All-American teammate Patrick Fishburn won two consecutive honors. Kuest was the WCC’s top-ranked golfer in 2018-19, rated No. 6 in the Golfweek with five medalist honors and a stroke average of 69.87. Kuest shared eighth place in the WCC Championships at 2-under.
Pepperdine head coach
Michael Beard captured WCC Coach of the Year honors for an unprecedented fourth straight season leading the Waves to a No. 18 national ranking according to Golfstat.com, despite losing a returning two-time All-American to injury in the preseason. Beard directed the Waves to a second straight WCC Championship at 13-under 851. It is the 20th men’s golf title for the Waves.
Pepperdine’s
Joe Highsmith is the fifth Pepperdine student-athlete to take WCC Freshman of the Year honors and the first since Sahith Theegala in 2016. Highsmith tied for eighth (-2) in his WCC Championship debut and posted three top-10 finishes and six in the top-20.
The 2018-19 All-WCC First Team features just one senior to go along with seven juniors, a sophomore and a freshman. Three student-athletes rank in the top-100 nationally according to GolfStat.com.
LMU’s
Riley Elmes, who tied for the 2019 WCC individual title before falling in the sudden death playoff makes his second straight All-WCC team, while Pepperdine’s Feagler and
Joshua McCarthy, Santa Clara’s
Matt McCarty and San Francisco’s
Tim Widing earn first team honors for the second time.
2018-19 West Coast Conference Major Individual Honors
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Peter Kuest, BYU
COACH OF THE YEAR
Michael Beard, Pepperdine
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Joe Highsmith, Pepperdine
WCC CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALIST
RJ Manke, Pepperdine
2018-19 All-WCC Men’s Golf First Team
| Name |
Institution |
Yr. |
| Riley Elmes |
LMU |
Sr. |
| Clay Feagler |
Pepperdine |
Jr. |
| Blake Hathcoat |
Saint Mary’s |
Jr. |
| Joe Highsmith |
Pepperdine |
Fr. |
| Peter Kuest |
BYU |
Jr. |
| Joshua McCarthy |
Pepperdine |
Jr. |
| Matt McCarty |
Santa Clara |
Jr. |
| RJ Manke |
Pepperdine |
So. |
| Rhett Rasmussen |
BYU |
Jr. |
| Tim Widing |
San Francisco |
Jr. |
HONORABLE MENTION
Soren Lind, San Francisco; Carson Lundell, BYU; Chris Mogg, Gonzaga; Christoffer Palsson, San Francisco; Mike Slesinski, Saint Mary’s