The Cavaliers achieved a program first in the fall of 2022 , earning the No . 1 ranking in the Bushnell / Golfweek Division I Coaches Poll . In 2023 and 2024 , UVA advanced to match play at the NCAA championships before running into the eventual national champion in the quarterfinals each year — Florida in 2023 and Auburn in 2024 .

UVA features two players ranked inside the top 20 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking — No . 3 Ben James and No . 16 Bryan Lee , the latter a former winner of the VSGA Junior Match Play Championship . The Wahoos will enter the spring season ranked 7th in the coaches poll , just ahead of fellow ACC member North Carolina . Southeastern Conference teams , led by No . 1 Ole Miss , hold down five of the top six spots in the poll , with No . 4 Arizona State of the Big XII slotting in as the only non-SEC squad .

UVA ’ s continued quest for NCAA glory is one of many storylines for Virginia schools and players as the season is set to resume in February . Let ’ s dive into some of them .

UVA ’ S DEPTH

James and Lee are the unquestioned top two players on the Virginia roster , but what makes the Cavaliers so dangerous is their depth . Sophomore Josh Duangmanee , whose older brother George completed his UVA career last spring , is third on the team in scoring average and finished the fall with a T2 finish ( along with Lee ) at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate . Senior Deven Patel sits at 21st on the PGA Tour U rankings list , and former UVA club-team player Paul Chang rounds out a formidable top five for the Cavaliers .

Lee posted the best round for the Cavaliers in the fall , a 5-under 64 at the Inverness Intercollegiate in September . UVA coach Bowen Sargent has plenty of options as he tries to lead the Cavaliers to an ACC championship and NCAA success .

LEVELING UP

Chesapeake ’ s Trey Marrion found plenty of success at the junior level in Virginia , thrice winning the MAPGA / VSGA Junior Match Play Championship with partner Xander Goboy and capping his pre-college career with a win in last year ’ s Eastern Amateur at Elizabeth Manor Golf & Country Club . There was natural curiosity about how his game would hold up against top-level college competition .

He put any concerns to rest early , tying for 10th at the season-opening Folds of Honor Collegiate while helping 11th-ranked Illinois to a second-place finish in that event . Marrion finished the fall as a staple in the middle of the Fighting Illini ’ s lineup , posting a 71.87 scoring average , good for third on the team . Paced by a second-round 67 in the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational , he finished tied for ninth in that event , helping Illinois to a second-place showing . Marrion is a key piece of an Illini team fighting for a top-8 NCAA spot in the spring .

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