ATHENS, Ga. – The Illinois men's golf season came to an end in the NCAA Athens Regional at University of Georgia Golf Course on Wednesday, as the Fighting Illini tied for 11th in a race for five spots in the 2026 NCAA Championship field.
Following a strong finish to Round 2 on Tuesday, the No. 12-ranked Illini entered the final round just two strokes off the cut line but got off to an uncharacteristically slow start and slid down the leaderboard over the final 18, finishing with a 54-hole tally of 845 (-7). The Orange and Blue closed the week tied with No. 37 Kansas, 12 shots back of the final qualifier, host and 26th-ranked Georgia (-19).
No. 13 Vanderbilt claimed the regional title at 28-under, followed by No. 36 Louisville (-26), No. 1 Auburn (-22), and No. 24 BYU (-20) in second through fourth, respectively. College of Charleston (-18) finished one shot behind UGA in the battle for the final advancing spot.
"After yesterday's round I thought we played pretty good, and I thought we'd come out and play really good today," head coach Mike Small said. "We came out flat, and at the end we didn't finish the way I expect our teams to finish. That's on me. I need to figure out how this team has had those inconsistencies."
Illinois will miss the NCAA Championship round for just the second time since 2008, and for only the third time in 21 regional appearances under Small's guidance since his first in 2002.
"That's the way golf is - the way life is," Small added. "We've got to deal with it, own it, and make our adjustments for the future."
Max Herendeen was the only Illini to finish under-par in Round 3, carding a 70 (-1) to close out a T19 finish at 4-under 209. The junior has now posted a red number in all nine rounds at NCAA Regionals in his Illinois career.
Behind Herendeen, the other three scoring members of the Illini lineup – senior Ryan Voois, junior Dane Huddleston, and sophomore Freddie Turnell – all posted closing rounds of 72 (+1).
Voois closed his Illinois career with a three-round total of 211 (-2) to finish T28. Huddleston tied for 42nd at 214 (+1), two shots ahead of sophomore Trey Marrion's 3-over 216 in a tie for 49th. Turnell finished in 59th at 218 (+5).
