URBANA, Ill. `– Behind a trio of top-15 finishers, highlighted by a runner-up performance from junior Ryan Voois, the No. 14-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf team captured a share of the team title on Wednesday at the NCAA Urbana Regional at Atkins Golf Club and punched its ticket through to the 2025 NCAA Championship.
The third-seeded Illini shot a team score of 15-under and did just enough with a closing round of 279 (-5) to hold off a final-round charge of 8-under by the region's top seed, No. 2 Oklahoma State. The Cowboys closing score pulled them even with the Illini with a 54-hole total of 837.
The team win, Illinois' third of the 2024-25 season, marks the seventh NCAA Regional title for the Fighting Illini under head coach Mike Small, all coming since 2013. It is the team's second in as many seasons after Illinois also secured top honors last year at Stanford and marks the first time the Illini have won back-to-back regional championships since Small led the Orange and Blue on a run of four straight from 2013-16.
Small's seven regional championships rank tied for second in NCAA history – with former Clemson head coach Larry Penley – just one off the lead that Texas' John Fields now shares with Alan Bratton of Oklahoma State.
The Fighting Illini and Cowboys, along with No. 35 UNLV (-6), Troy (-2), and No. 23 Texas Tech (-1) were the only program to finish under par for the week, and secured the five team berths up for grabs in the championship round at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. Michigan's Hunter Thomson (-10) secured both medalist honors and the region's lone individual spot in the championship as the top competitor not on an advancing team.
The Orange and Blue advance to the NCAA Championship for the 16th time in the last 17 national tournaments dating back to 2008 (no tournament was held in 2020). Overall, it marks the 31st NCAA Championship appearance in program history, and the 18th under Small's guidance.
Voois closed the week with a 9-under 204, including back-to-back scores of 67 (-4) in each of the last two rounds. He was the leader in the clubhouse in Round 3 – along with UNLV's Caden Fioroni – as the Illini and Rebels were among the first teams to finish. Cincinnati's Ryan Ford also matched Voois' 9-under, before Thomson, playing in the final group of the day, held on for the one-stroke victory despite closing with a bogey on 18.
Senior Jackson Buchanan (-6) – who opened with a course-record 63 (-8) in Monday's opening round – posted his best regional finish as an Illini in a tie for fifth, while sophomore Max Herendeen, medalist at the 2024 Stanford Regional, finished 4-under in a tie for 11th in his second regional start.
Freshman Jake Birdwell recorded the Illini's fourth counting score of the day with a 74 (+3) and finished his regional debut in a tie for 51st at 8-over. Classmate Trey Marrion – who subbed into the Illini lineup for Rounds 2 and 3 – finished 3-over to place 72nd in his 36 holes of action, and Ethan Wilson's opening round of 77 (+6) placed the sophomore in a tie for 76th.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini advance to compete at the 2025 NCAA Championship on the North Course at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., May 23-28.
