ODESSA, Texas (January 29, 2026) – A total 50 golfers – 26 from the 13 women's teams and 24 from the 12 men's teams – were nominated by their institution to the 2026 Lone Star Conference preseason players to watch list. Recognized from the University of Texas Permian Basin were Ioan Rowe and Will Tate from the men's team and Lorena Etxeberria and Lakshita Pragnya from the women's team. It was the second straight recognition for both Tate and Etxeberria.

The UTPB men's golf team heads into the Spring season ranked No. 17 in NCAA Division II and No. 5 in the South Central Region after posting a 287.1 scoring average in the Fall. Throughout its Fall season, UTPB finished sixth at the Shootout at PGA Rivera Maya (Sept. 28-30), won The Hrnciar (Oct. 6-7), finished second overall at the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invite (Oct. 14-15), and lastly, finished sixth as well at the DBU Classic (Oct. 27-28). The Falcons never finished lower than sixth place during the Fall and shot under 300 as a team in 10 of their 12 rounds and in each of their final nine rounds of the semester. In addition, UTPB shot under-par as a team five times during the semester. UTPB won The Hrnciar by 17 strokes for the fourth tournament title in program history. The Falcons then finished as the top NCAA Division II team en route to a second-place finish at the Ryan Palmer, where UTPB tied the program single-round record (273) and broke the three-round record (835) by eight strokes. During the Fall season, the Falcons tied their highest national ranking in program history (No. 11 in the Clippd Scoreboard rankings) and ranked as high as No. 2 in the South Central Region.

Ioan Rowe is a junior from Swansea, Wales, majoring in Management. He is currently ranked No. 36 in NCAA Division II and No. 6 in the South Central Region after posting a 71.0 scoring average and a pair of top-three finishes in the Fall season. During the Fall season, Rowe finished second at The Hrnciar and third at the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invite. With his second-round score of 64 at The Hrncir, Rowe (72-64-71; 207; -9) set a new tournament record and tied for the third-lowest single round score in program history. Rowe (67-68-71; 206; -7) was then named the LSC Men's Golfer of the Week after finishing third at the Ryan Palmer. In the first National Collegiate Golf Rankings (Clippd Scoreboard rankings) of the 2025-26 season, Rowe ranked No. 10 in all of NCAA Division II and No. 2 in the South Central Region.

Quote from Head Coach Paul Chavez: "Ioan had a tremendous Fall season for the Falcons and led the team to victory at The Territory and numerous other top-five finishes. He is currently ranked within the top-15 of our region."

Will Tate is a redshirt senior from Reading, England, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Tate is currently ranked No. 83 in NCAA Division II and No. 14 in the South Central Region after posting a 71.4 scoring average in the Fall. Tate started his Fall 2025 season with a pair of top-10 finishes at the Shootout at PGA Rivera Maya (7th place) and at The Hrnciar (9th place). Last year, Tate was named UTPB's 2024-25 Edgardo Madrid & Associates Men's Student-Athlete of the Year, was named Second-Team All-LSC, and earned a spot on the LSC All-Tournament Team. His 2024-25 season highlights include: Winning the 2025 Midwestern State Invitational Individual Championship, being the runner-up in the 2024 RJGA South Central Shootout, finishing in fourth place in the 2025 Shadow Valley Invitational, finishing in fifth place in the 2025 Lone Star Conference Championship, taking 10th place in the 2025 Palm Valley Classic, and qualifying as an Individual for the NCAA Regional Championship. At the NCAA Division II West/South Central Regional Championship, Tate become the first Falcon to shoot under-par during all three rounds at the regional championship, shooting one-under during all three rounds to finish at three-under-par, tie for 38th place overall, and tie for first among the eight individuals playing in the field.

Quote from Head Coach Paul Chavez: "Will had a solid Fall season after a tremendous 2024-25 campaign. He is one of the top Lone Star Conference players returning from last year."

Ioan Rowe (October) and Will Tate (September) were both UTPB men's golfer to earn Athlete of the Month honors during the Fall.

The UTPB women's golf team heads into the Spring season ranked No. 91 in NCAA Division II and No. 29 in the West Region after posting a 315.7 scoring average in the Fall. The Falcons started their Fall season with a third-place finish at the Oklahoma Women's Intercollegiate (Sept. 15-16). With three freshmen and two sophomores in the lineup, the Falcons got their year off to a great start as UTPB led the tournament in par-5 scoring (5.22; +9) and tied for first in total pars (108). UTPB also had two individuals in the top-10 and four in the top-15 in the field of 38 golfers. UTPB shot 304-303, finished with a score of 607 (+39), and found itself in third place after each round of the tournament.

Lorena Etxeberria is a sophomore from Mungia, Spain, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. She is currently ranked No. 112 in the West Region and posted a 78.4 scoring average in the Fall season. Her best finish in the Fall was a 13th-place finish at the Oklahoma Women's Intercollegiate. As a freshman last season, Etxeberria started her collegiate career with a fourth-place finish at the Oklahoma Women's Intercollegiate, had another top-10 finish (9th place) at the Jack Brown Memorial Tournament to kick off the Spring season, went an undefeated 3-0 in dual matches, and placed 49th at the 2025 Lone Star Conference Women's Golf Championship.

Quote from Head Coach Paul Chavez: "Lorena led the Falcons to a third-place finish at the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Invitational, and led the team in scoring average for the Fall 2025 season."

Lakshita Pragnya is a freshman from Hyderbad, India, majoring in Information Systems. Pragnya is currently ranked No. 116 in the West Region and posted a 79.5 scoring average in the Fall. In her collegiate debut, Pragnya was the Falcons top player at the Oklahoma Woman's Intercollegiate, shooting just three-over-par during each round and tying for fifth place after each round. Pragnya also led the tournament in par-5 scoring (4.75; -2) and was tied for third with six birdies.

Quote from Head Coach Paul Chavez: "Lakshita, I believe, is one of the top freshman players in the conference, and had a solid Fall season. Lakshita is definitely a freshman to keep an eye on."

This year, the season for the UTPB women's team starts Monday-Tuesday, February 2-3, at the Jack Brown Memorial Golf Tournament hosted by Texas A&M International University. The men's season, meanwhile, starts Monday-Tuesday, February 16-17, at the Rattler Invitational hosted by St. Mary's University.

The 2026 LSC Golf Championship Tournaments will be held at the Rockwall Golf and Athletic Club in Rockwall, Texas. The women's competition rounds are set for April 13-14-15 with the men's competition rounds following on April 20-21-22. LSC Championship format includes 54-hole stroke play with four teams advancing to medal play.