SAN MATEO, Calif. – Kelton Hirsch headlined a group of four BYU golfers recognized on Thursday with the announcement of the 2021 West Coast Conference Men’s Golf All-Academic honors.
Hirsch was named to the WCC Men’s Golf All-Academic Team, while teammates Cole Ponich, David Timmins and Elijah Turner received All-Academic Honorable Mention.
This marks the second-straight season in which Hirsch has been selected academic all-conference. The senior from Centerville, Utah held a 3.7 GPA in Strategic Management during a season in which he made the Cougars’ lineup in nine of ten events and posted his fourth career top-10 finish at the WCC Championships on May 1.
Hirsch finished his BYU career with eight top-20 finishes, six top-15 and four top-10 in 37 events played. Following the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Hirsch was named an All-America Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
Ponich and Timmins are each Pre-Communications majors and earned GPAs of 3.48 and 3.47, respectively.
Ponich saw success in the classroom while showing tremendous growth during his sophomore season on the golf course. The Farmington, Utah native finished under par in four tournaments this season, including a career-best tie for third at the Lamkin San Diego Classic on March 8-10.
Timmins joined junior Carson Lundell as the only two players to make BYU’s lineup in all 10 of the team’s 2020-21 events. The sophomore from Sandy, Utah helped lead the Cougars to a tournament victory at the Nick Watney Invitational on Feb. 8-9 with a 54-hole score of 6-under 71-70-69—210.
Turner posted a 3.23 GPA as a Communications Studies major while seeing his first collegiate action this season. The sophomore from Highland, Utah recorded a low-round of 2-under 70 in the third round at the Cougar Classic on April 24.
2021 WCC Men's Golf All-Academic Team
Name | School | Year | GPA | Major |
Holden Backes | Gonzaga | Sr. | 3.66 | Business |
Alex Chine | San Francisco | Sr. | 3.83 | Finance |
Gavin Cohen | LMU | Jr. | 3.71 | Management |
Blake Hathcoat | Saint Mary's | Gr. | 3.8 | MBA |
Kelton Hirsch | BYU | Sr. | 3.7 | Strategic Management |
Soren Lind | San Francisco | Sr. | 3.78 | Economics |
Matt McCarty | Santa Clara | Gr. | 3.72 | Marketing |
Cameron Meeks | LMU | Jr. | 3.43 | Finance |
Dylan Menante | Pepperdine | So. | 3.57 | Pre-Business Administration |
Tim Widing | San Francisco | Gr. | 3.53 | Sports Management |