ROSEMONT, Ill. – Fighting Illini men's golf was recognized by the Big Ten Conference on Tuesday as the league announced its postseason awards. Head Coach Mike Small was named Big Ten Men's Golf Coach of the Year for the third-straight season, while junior Dylan Meyer earned the league's Player of the Year honor and freshman Michael Feagles was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Junior Nick Hardy and sophomore Edoardo Lipparelli join Meyer and Feagles on the All-Big Ten First Team as well. This marks the third time in program history that the Illini have taken home all three yearly accolades.
Small has led the Orange and Blue to eight conference championship titles in the past nine seasons, and he has coached six players to seven individual Big Ten titles. Small has been recognized as the league's Coach of the Year a total of nine times during his tenure, and has coached eight golfers to player of the year honors.
Coming off of individual medalist honors at the 2017 Big Ten Championships, Meyer has won three consecutive individual titles this season and 
leads the Orange and Blue with his 70.33 stroke average. A Ben Hogan Award and Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year Award semifinalist, Meyer has earned eight top 10 finishes this year, seven of those among the top three. Meyer was also named to the All-Big Ten First Team, earning the third all-conference recognition of his career. An Illini has been tabbed the league's Player of the Year in each of the last six seasons and seven times in the last eight years.
A unanimous selection, Feagles is the sixth Big Ten Freshman of the Year in school history. He boasts a 72.37 stroke average this season and has appeared in the lineup in all 11 of Illinois' competitions, earning four top five finishes and placing top 25 in 10 tournaments.
Junior Nick Hardy also earned his third-career all-conference nod as he joins Meyer as a unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten First Team. Hardy is also a Ben Hogan Award Semifinalist and a semifinalist for the Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year Award, and sits second on the squad with his 71.27 stroke average. Hardy has earned nine top 10 finishes this year, including the Wolf Run Intercollegiate individual title. Also earning All-Big Ten First Team honors, Lipparelli garners the first all-conference recognition in his career. Lipparelli boasts four top 10 finishes this season and is coming off of an eighth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships.
Freshman Bryan Baumgarten was named Illinois' Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. Baumgarten has appeared in the Illini lineup in seven tournaments this season, earning four top 15 finishes.
Illinois is coming off of its third consecutive Big Ten Championship title, using a Big Ten Championships record 829 (-11) to take the trophy by 16-strokes. Four Illini closed the tournament among the top 10 individually, while all five players finished among the top 25, including Meyer who became the seventh consecutive Illini to take medalist honors at the Big Ten Championships. The Orange and Blue captured five tournament trophies during the regular season, including the program's second consecutive East Lake Cup title.
Next up, Illinois will await its regional fate. NCAA Men's Golf Regional selections will be announced live on the Golf Channel Thursday, May 4, at 11 a.m. CT. There will be 81 teams and 45 individuals selected to compete in the six NCAA Men's Regional Championship sites, May 15-17. The six regional sites include The Grove, College Grove, Tennessee, hosted by Middle Tennessee State University; Kampen Course, West Lafayette, Indiana, hosted by Purdue University; Stanford Golf Course, Stanford, California, hosted by Stanford University; University of Texas Golf Club, Austin, Texas, hosted by University of Texas at Austin; University Club, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hosted by LSU and Aldarra Golf Club, Sammamish, Washington, hosted by University of Washington.
The NCAA National Championships will be played May 26-31 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.
Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois men's golf.
2017 BIG TEN MEN'S GOLF ALL-CONFERENCE AND INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS
Big Ten Player of the Year: Dylan Meyer, Illinois
Big Ten Freshman of the Year: MICHAEL FEAGLES, Illinois
Big Ten Coach of the Year: Mike Small, Illinois
ALL-BIG TEN
First Team
Michael Feagles, Illinois
NICK HARDY, Illinois
Edoardo Lipparelli, Illinois
DYLAN MEYER, Illinois
Kyle Mueller, Michigan
Ryan Lumsden, Northwestern
DYLAN WU, Northwestern
CHARLES HUNTZINGER, Penn State
Second Team
Raymond Knoll, Iowa
Matthew Walker, Iowa
Charlie Netzel, Michigan State
Sam Weatherhead, Michigan State
Will Grimmer, Ohio State
Cole Miller, Penn State
Austin Eoff, Purdue
Fernando Barco, Purdue
Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS
Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Bryan Baumgarten, Illinois
Jack Sparrow, Indiana
Carson Schaake, Iowa
Tim Colanta, Maryland
Reed Hrynewich, Michigan
Michael Sharp, Michigan State
Riley Johnson, Minnesota
Cameron Jones, Nebraska
Sam Triplett, Northwestern
Daniel Wetterich, Ohio State
Cole Miller, Penn State
Fernando Barco, Purdue
Jack Pangos, Rutgers
Pete Kuhl, Wisconsin
