IRVINE, Calif. (May 12, 2022) – The 2022 All-Big West Men’s Golf Team and major award winners have been revealed, and it should come as no surprise who headlines the list. UC Davis senior and Big West team and individual champion Thomas Hutchison headlines the honorees as Golfer of the Year, as voted on by the league’s head coaches.
Hailing from San Jose, Calif., Hutchison enters the national postseason ranked 21st in the Golfstat individual rankings averaging and impressive 69.39 strokes per round on the year. He turned in eight top-10 finishes in 11 tournaments played, including three medalist honors. In the fall segment, Hutchison topped the field of 104 at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invite, turning in a season-low 62 to set the UC Davis school record in the second round. He glided to victory while setting a tournament-record total of 15-under 201 as the Aggies ran away from the 21-team field with a 24-stroke victory.
Hutchison closed the regular season with aplomb as he took home the title at the El Macero Classic, and followed that up with the wire-to-wire win at the Big West Championships, guiding the Aggies to the conference crown and automatic berth into the NCAA Regional field.
This is Hutchison’s second Golfer of the Year award, also earning acclaim in 2019, and he is just the second UC Davis man to claim the award (Luke Vivolo, 2015).
Hutchison is joined on the 2022 All-Big West first team by Carper, last year’s Big West individual medalist. This season, the sophomore from San Jose, Calif., recorded a second-place finish in the 146-man field at The Goodwin, where he fired off sub-par rounds of 66-65-67 to finish one stroke off the top line. In his 11 tournaments played, Carper averaged 71.91 strokes per round.
The pair of Aggies is joined on the first team by two from Big West Championships runners-up Long Beach State. Freshman of the Year Ian Gilligan claimed second place in the conference capper at La Quinta Country Club, four strokes back of Hutchison on the individual leaderboard. On the year, Gilligan recorded three top 10s in the final four events of the season, and closed his freshman campaign averaging 72.20 strokes per round.
Long Beach State senior Tyler Schafer also earned the first-team nod, after his year included four top-10 results in eight events played and an average of 71.38 strokes per round. Schafer will join the regional field that includes the Aggies after being selected as an at-large competitor in the postseason field heading to Stockton, Calif., next week. This is Schafer’s first first-team nod after seeing his name on the second team in 2019 and as an honorable mention selection in 2021.
UC Irvine’s Darien Zhao is representing the Anteaters on the first team. The sophomore from San Diego, Calif., carded three finishes within the top 5, including taking third at the Big West Championships. Zhao averaged 71.13 strokes per round, and fired off five sub-70 rounds on the year.
The All-Big West first team is rounded out by CSUN senior Blake Brothers. The Los Angeles native’s season was cut short due to injury, only able to compete in five fall events. In his abbreviated year, Brothers recorded two top-10 finishes while averaging 71.07 strokes per round for the Matadors. Brothers is making his return on the All-Big West first team, joining Hutchison and Carper as repeat selections.
Coach of the Year honors belong to UC Davis’ Cy Williams, after he guided the Aggies to their fourth Big West Championships title, and their first since 2012. This marks Williams’ third Coach of the Year award, also being voted by his peers to the position in 2009 and 2011.
The All-Big west second team sees a primarily underclassmen makeup. Cal Poly freshman Baron Szeto is joining by a trio of sophomores from a trio of schools: Isaac Rodea (Long Beach State), Eirik Thomassen (CSUN), and Jacob Westberg (UC Davis). CSUN junior Felix Schrott rounds out the second team selections. Including the six honorable mention golfers, eight schools are represented on the 2022 listings.
| The Big West 2022 All-Conference Team |
| Golfer of the Year: |
Thomas Hutchison, UC Davis |
| Freshman of the Year: |
Ian Gilligan, Long Beach State |
| Coach of the Year |
Cy Williams, UC Davis |
| All-Big West First Team
|
| Student-Athlete |
Year |
Institution |
Hometown |
| Blake Brothers |
Sr. |
CSUN |
Los Angeles |
| Lucas Carper |
So. |
UC Davis |
San Jose, Calif. |
| Ian Gilligan |
Fr. |
Long Beach State |
Reno, Nev. |
| Thomas Hutchison |
Sr. |
UC Davis |
San Jose, Calif. |
| Tyler Schafer |
Sr. |
Long Beach State |
Long Beach, Calif. |
| Darien Zhao |
So. |
UC Irvine |
San Diego, Calif. |
| All-Big West Second Team |
| Student-Athlete |
Year |
Institution |
Hometown |
| Isaac Rodea |
So. |
Long Beach State |
San Diego, Calif. |
| Felix Schrott |
Jr. |
CSUN |
Bolzano, Italy |
| Baron Szeto |
Fr. |
Cal Poly |
Moraga, Calif. |
| Eirik Thomassen |
So. |
CSUN |
Rygge, Norway |
| Jacob Westberg |
So. |
UC Davis |
Sacramento, Calif. |
| Honorable Mention: Will Draper (Cal Poly), Nick Fowlkes (CSUN), Josh Hu (UC Riverside), Davis McDowell (UC Dan Diego), Trevor McNary (Cal State Fullerton), Mark Stephens (UC Davis) |