Aug. 31, 2011
SAN DIEGO - Coming off a record-breaking campaign, the San Diego State men's golf team has been ranked 14th nationally in the Golf World/Nike Golf Division I College Preseason Coaches' Poll, released Wednesday. The Aztecs received 196 total points in the 2011-12 poll, which this year will combine the resources of Golf World magazine, Nike Golf and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
SDSU is the lone Mountain West Conference team to be ranked in the preseason top 25. Fellow league members TCU (37 points), Colorado State (3) and UNLV (3), however, are among those receiving votes. UCLA is atop the preseason rankings with 461 points, but No. 2 Oklahoma State received the most first-place votes with nine.
The Aztecs were rated ninth in last year's final coaches' poll, which was released prior to the start of the NCAAs on May 18. Following the national championships in June, the team was ranked ninth by Golfweek/Sagarin and was 12th by golfstat.com.
San Diego State, under ninth-year head coach Ryan Donovan, returns six letterwinners from last year's squad that won seven tournament titles, including the program's first Mountain West and NCAA regional championships. The Aztecs' seven victories were second-most in the country, trailing only Oklahoma State, which had eight. The team had 13 top-five finishes, including 12 in the top three, while boasting a combined head-to-head record of 168-31-1 (84.3). SDSU did not finish lower than seventh at any 2010-11 outing prior to the NCAA national championships and twice was named the national team of the week by GolfWeek.
The Aztecs reported to campus for the fall semester earlier this week and will kick off their 2011 fall schedule in late September.
Division I - August 31, 2011
| Rank | University (First Place Votes) | Points | 2011 NCAA Finish |
| 1 | UCLA (8) | 461 | T5 |
| 2 | Oklahoma State (9) | 449 | T3 |
| 3 | Alabama | 433 | 14 |
| 4 | Georgia Tech (1) | 413 | T5 |
| 5 | Texas (1) | 395 | T12 |
| 6 | Texas A&M | 326 | 9 |
| 7 | Florida | 320 | 23 |
| 8 | Duke | 298 | T3 |
| 9 | Auburn | 271 | N/A |
| 10 | Arkansas | 256 | 15 |
| 11 | Southern California | 253 | T12 |
| 12 | Stanford | 248 | N/A |
| 13 | Illinois | 244 | T5 |
| 14 | San Diego State | 196 | T16 |
| 15 | Georgia | 188 | 2 |
| 16 | Clemson | 187 | N/A |
| 17 | Louisiana State | 176 | 21 |
| 18 | Washington | 141 | N/A |
| 19 | Iowa | 129 | T10 |
| 20 | Ohio State | 127 | T5 |
| 21 | Virginia | 99 | N/A |
| 22 | Augusta State (1) | 94 | 1 |
| 23 | Texas Tech | 74 | N/A |
| 24 | California | 72 | T19 |
| 25 | Oklahoma | 65 | 28 |
| Others Receiving Votes: NC State, 62; Wake Forest, 61; Tennessee, 56; Oregon, 53; San Diego, 38; TCU, 37; Arizona State, 36; Kent State, 33; North Texas, 32; Michigan, 31; Liberty, 20; Arizona, 17; Kennesaw State, 17; North Florida, 17; East Carolina, 11; Central Florida, 10; Florida State, 9; Baylor, 8; South Carolina, 8; Northwestern, 7; Pepperdine, 7; East Tennessee State, 4; Colorado State, 3; Oregon State, 3; UNLV, 3. | |||