SAN MATEO, Calif. – Two days after Pepperdine claimed its 22nd West Coast Conference Men’s Golf Championship in program history, the WCC announced its men’s golf all-conference and major award winners for the 2021-22 season.
WCC all-conference selections and major individual awards were selected solely by the nine conference head coaches.
Pepperdine’s Dylan Menante earned WCC Player of the Year honors for the second straight year, giving the Waves their fourth Player of the Year accolade in program history. Menante was the WCC’s top-ranked golfer in 2021-22, currently ranked No. 24 on GolfStat with a stroke average of 70.79 and a 53-25 record vs. top-100 ranked individuals. Menante picked up his first two collegiate victories this season, winning the Valspar Collegiate Invitational in March and the Western Intercollegiate in April. He boasts four top-10 finishes and a team-high six top-20 results this season.
Pepperdine head coach Michael Beard captured WCC Coach of the Year honors for an unprecedented sixth-straight season leading the Waves to a current No. 6 national ranking on Golfstat.com. Beard guided his Waves to a fourth-straight WCC title last Saturday at Reflection Bay Golf Club in Henderson, Nev.
Kristian Bressum of Saint Mary’s was tabbed the WCC Freshman of the Year, becoming the first Gael to earn the award since Andrew Putnam in 2008. Bressum shot a 1-over 217 at the WCC Championship last weekend.
The 2021-22 WCC all-conference team features eight student-athletes currently ranked in the Top 150 on the GolfStat individual rankings – Menante, No. 54 Carson Lundell (BYU), No. 66 Joey Vrzich (Pepperdine), No. 69 Derek Hitchner (Pepperdine), No. 86 Harrison Kingsley (San Diego), No. 94 William Mouw (Pepperdine), No. 135 Joe Highsmith and No. 149 Toby Briggs (San Francisco).
In addition, Briggs adds to his WCC awards resume after having previously been named the 2018 WCC Freshman of the Year and honorable mention honors.
LMU’s Riley Lewis, the 2021 WCC Freshman of the Year honoree, earned a spot on the all-conference team after winning the WCC Individual Championship on Saturday. He held off two Waves golfers on the final holes, recording a score of 7-under 209.
Highsmith found his name on the WCC All-Conference team for the third time, while San Francisco’s Soren Lind, Lundell, Vrzich and Menante earned recognition for the second time.
2021-22 Men’s Golf Major Awards
Player of the Year: Dylan Menante, Pepperdine
Freshman of the Year: Kristian Bressum, SCU
Coach of the Year: Michael Beard, Pepperdine
2021-22 All-WCC Men’s Golf All-Conference Team
Toby Briggs, San Francisco
Joe Highsmith, Pepperdine
Derek Hitchner, Pepperdine
Harrison Kingsley, San Diego
Riley Lewis, LMU
Soren Lind, San Francisco
Carson Lundell, BYU
Dylan Menante, Pepperdine
William Mouw, Pepperdine
Joey Vrzich, Pepperdine