ROSEMONT, Ill. – Three Fighting Illini men's golfers were recognized by the Big Ten on Thursday when senior Jackson Buchanan, sophomore Max Herendeen, and junior Ryan Voois were named to the conference's 2024-25 Preseason Honors list.
The trio return to the Fighting Illini after All-America seasons in 2023-24 in which they helped the Orange and Blue capture six stroke play titles. The Illini's stable of wins included the NCAA Stanford Regional title and first place in Stroke Play at the NCAA Championship. The latter qualified the Illini for the program's ninth NCAA match play berth, tied for the most in the nation since the current championship format was adopted in 2009.
The preseason recognitions are the latest for the Illini after Buchanan and Herendeen were also recognized earlier this month with Preseason All-America nods from Golfweek and Golf Channel and were both named to the Haskins Award Fall Watch List.
Buchanan enters his senior season ranked No. 6 in the initial PGA TOUR University Class of 2025 rankings released July 31. He was tabbed as the 2024 Big Ten Men's Golfer of the Year and was also a unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection last season, while collecting GCAA All-America third team honors. He competed in all 13 of the team's stroke play events last year and closed the season five hundredths of a point (two total strokes) behind Herendeen with the Illini's second-best stroke average of 70.92. Buchanan was runner-up at the Big Ten Championship after claiming medalist honors at a team-leading two events – the Purdue Fall Invitational and the Duck Invitational – during the regular season. Overall, Buchanan posted a team-most eight top-10 finishes. He tied for the team lead with 12 sub-70 rounds on the year and ranked second on the squad with 20 rounds of par or better.
Over the summer, Buchanan competed in the U.S. Open and at the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic, in addition to his appearance on the Korn Ferry Tour at the Memorial Health Championship and a run to the semifinal round of match play at the U.S. Amateur.
As a true freshman last season, Herendeen became just the fourth freshman in Illinois history to earn All-America honors from the GCAA (second team), and the first to be named to the second team or better. He played in every event in the Fighting Illini lineup and opened the year with a runner-up finish (via playoff for medalist honors) at the Sahalee Players Championship in his collegiate debut. He closed his first season of collegiate golf in spectacular fashion, winning the NCAA Stanford Regional for the first victory of his collegiate career, then placing second by one shot in stroke play at the NCAA Championship. He led the team with a stroke average of 70.87, the 10th-best single-season mark in program history and the best average ever recorded by an Illini freshman, surpassing Adrien Dumont de Chassart's mark of 71.39 set by in 2018-19. Herendeen led the team with 10 tournaments as Illinois' No. 1 or No. 2 finisher and paced the Illini with top-20 finishes in 12 of 13 stroke play events. He ended the year with a team-most 24 rounds of par or better and tied for the team lead with 12 rounds in the 60s.
Herendeen's summer included top-10 finishes at the Sunnehanna Amateur (5th), the Washington State Amateur Championship (2nd), and the Western Amateur Championship (9th).
Voois enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign last season that also included the first win of his collegiate career at the Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate, the team's final tournament of the regular-season schedule. He earned GCAA All-America honorable mention and second team All-Big Ten honors, playing in all 13 of the team's stroke play events, 12 in the lineup. In addition to his win, Voois led the Illini as the team's top finisher at the Flyer Invitational (T4) in October and the Hal Williams Collegiate (T4) in February. During the postseason, he posted a tie for 10th at the NCAA Stanford Regional and tied for 11th at the NCAA Championship to earn a spot on the 15-member All-Championship team. Voois ranked fifth on the team with a stroke average of 71.63 and was third on the team in both rounds in the 60s (12) and rounds at par or better (18).
Over the summer, Voois finished 17th at the North & South Amateur Championship, and seventh at the Pacific Coast Amateur, while also joining Buchanan and Herendeen in the field at the U.S. Amateur Championship.
The Illini opened the 2024-25 schedule this week with a runner-up team finish at the Folds of Honor Collegiate. The team now prepares to host one of the nation's premier collegiate events in the 18th annual OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational, Sept. 20-22, at famed Olympia Fields Country Club.
