WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – First-team selection Brandon Hagy leads four Cal players named to the 2014 Pac-12 Conference Men’s Golf All-Academic teams announced Thursday by Commissioner Larry Scott. Michael Weaver was a second-team pick, while Keelan Kilpatrick and Joël Stalter earned honorable mention recognition.
Hagy, Weaver and Stalter were all 2013-14 seniors that wrapped up their collegiate careers at the NCAA Championship on Monday after graduating from the Haas School of Business the previous Monday. Kilpatrick just completed his sophomore season and is also a business major.
Hagy boasted a 3.72 cumulative grade point average, while Weaver (3.39), Stalter (3.25) and Kilpatrick (3.23) also met the conference’s 3.0 standard to be eligible for selection to the academic teams. Selections must also be either a starter or significant contributor and in their second year of academic study on campus.
Hagy was a first-team selection for the third consecutive season. Weaver and Stalter were also both honored for the third consecutive year with each of their previous two selections honorable mention. Kilpatrick was selected for the first time.
“The beat goes on and it’s a great beat,” head coach Steve Desimone said. “The four guys honored by these selections came in with a game plan. They understood what the expectations are and they’ve more than lived up to all of it. They are high achievers and they push themselves in positive ways to be the best student-athletes they can be. I’m really happy and really proud of them.”
The honor is the latest on a long list of awards in 2013-14 for the team’s tri-captain Hagy, a Division I PING First-Team All-American who also previously captured the Byron Nelson Award, Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Tom Hansen Pac-12 Conference Medal, co-team MVP honors, Cal’s Ben Furth Award and a Golden Bear Achievement Award. He was also a national semifinalist for The Ben Hogan Award, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection, chosen to represent Team USA in the 2014 Palmer Cup and the Pac-12’s Player of the Month for September of 2013. Hagy was an individual medalist three times in 2013-14 (Jack Nicklaus Invitational, Arizona Intercollegiate, Aggie Invitational) and finished in the top 10 in 10 of 14 events with nine of those showings in the top five. He was also Cal’s top finisher in five events, led the team with a 70.98 stroke average and the only player on the Bears to play in each of the team’s 14 events and 42 rounds.
Weaver was an honorable mention All-Pac-12 choice in 2013-14, one of two winners of the team’s Ed Arnold Coaches Award and a team tri-captain, as well as a member of The Ben Hogan Award Watch List and a nominee for the Byron Nelson Award. Weaver equaled Hagy by playing in a co-team high 14 events and 42 rounds with one of those events an individual non-team event that Hagy did not participate in. He had a pair of top-five finishes and was in the top 10 three times, finishing with a 73.38 stroke average.
Kilpatrick was also an honorable mention All-Pac-12 pick in 2013-14 as well as the team’s co-most Improved Player. Kilpatrick played in only one of five events in the fall after redshirting in 2012-13 but was a key contributor in the spring, playing in seven consecutive events at one point. He had the top finish of his collegiate career when he tied for eighth at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate and was in the top 15 four times, including a tied for 12th finish that led the Bears at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters. He finished the season with a 73.83 stroke average over eight events and 24 rounds.
Stalter joined Hagy as a Division I PING First-Team All-American and was also a national finalist for the Byron Nelson Award, a first-team All-Pac-12 pick, the team’s co-MVP along with Hagy and a tri-captain. He matched Hagy’s three victories in 2013-14 (Alister MacKenzie Invitational, Arizona Intercollegiate, National Invitational Tournament) while totaling six top-five finishes and seven top-10 showings among his 13 events. In addition, he was Cal’s top or tied for the top finisher a team-high eight times all coming over the Bears’ last 11 events, including a tied for fourth place showing at the Pac-12 Championship and a tied for 19th place finish at the NCAA Championship that were both the best of his career at the events. Stalter finished the season with a 71.64 stroke average over 39 rounds that was second among the team’s regulars behind only Hagy.
