ODESSA, Texas (May 5, 2026) – The University of Texas Permian Basin men's golf team will continue its season this week after earning an at-large bid to participate in regional competition of the 2026 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships. The South Central Region and West Region have combined to compete for the title, looking to punch their ticket into this year's National Championship.

The Falcons are seeded No. 5 in the South Central Region and will be one of 20 teams competing in the West/South Central Regional at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton, California, on May 7-9.

Play begins on Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. (Pacific Time) with the Falcons teeing off between 1:50 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Three rounds of 18 will be played over the next three days, so to follow live scoring, click here. 

WEST/SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL
The Reserve at Spanos Park, Stockton, California; Visit Stockton and California Collegiate Athletic Association, hosts.
South Central Region

1. West Texas A&M
2. Colorado State University Pueblo
3. Colorado Mesa
4. St. Mary's (Texas)
5. The University of Texas Permian Basin
6. Dallas Baptist University
7. Cameron
8. The University of Texas at Tyler
9. Colorado Christian
10. Midwestern State

Individuals:

1. Traejan Andrews, Fort Lewis
2. Juan Monckeberg, Texas A&M International
3. Liam Allan, Colorado School of Mines
4. Lukas Taggart, Colorado School of Mines

West Region

1. Western Washington
2. Chico State
3. Cal State East Bay
4. Hawaii Hilo
5. Cal State San Bernardino
6. Simon Fraser
7. Cal State Monterey Bay
8. Cal State San Marcos
9. Dominican (California)
10. Vanguard

Individuals:

1. Kyle Krupp, Hawaii Pacific
2. Rasmus Tamker, Saint Martin's
3. Jacobus Brakkee, Jessup
4. Troy Song, Cal State Dominguez Hills

 
FALCONS UNDER THE LENS
This has been a strong season for the Falcons as they have finished among the top-six in eight of 10 tournaments played. The Falcons shot under 300 as a team in 22 of their 29 rounds this season, and shot under-par as a team in eight rounds.

The UTPB men's golf team has posted a 288.4 adjusted scoring average in 10 tournaments this season. In the most recent Scoreboard powered by Clippd rankings, the Falcons are ranked 23rd with a 95-32-2 record and a weighted average of 42.79. The Falcons are also ranked sixth in the Clippd South Central Region rankings and are the second team receiving votes in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek DII Coaches Poll.

As a team, UTPB has two tournament wins under its belt this season at The Hrnciar (Oct. 6-7) and the Midwestern State Invitational (Mar. 23-24), and was the top NCAA Division II team (2nd overall) at the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invitational (Oct. 14-15). The 2025-26 Falcons tied for first in school history for most tournaments won in a single season. At the Ryan Palmer, UTPB tied the program single-round record (273) and broke the three-round record (835) by eight strokes. The Falcons also tied the highest ranking in program history after ranking as high as No. 11 in the country and second in the South Central Region in the National Collegiate Golf Rankings (Clippd Scoreboard rankings) in late-October.

THE LINEUP
UTPB will be represented by senior Will Tate, junior Ioan Rowe, junior Nizar Bourehim, senior Thonsaeng Nunya and freshman Laurent Beech. UTPB's roster is highlighted by three players who were named all-conference and who are ranked in the top-30 in the South Central Region.

Will Tate: Tate has posted a 70.7 adjusted scoring average this season. He has a current NCAA Division II National Ranking of No. 25 and is ranked No. 4 in the South Central Region. He has won one tournament (Midwestern State Invitational), totaled eight top-10 finishes, and finished top-25 in all 10 tournaments. He has led the Falcons in seven of their 10 tournaments this season and has finished in the top-10 in all six tournaments this Spring, including the Lone Star Conference Championship. In addition, he has finished under-par in five tournaments this season, including a score of 10-under in each of the last two tournaments heading into the postseason. The first of those 10-under scores came at the 2026 Midwestern State Invite, where Tate defended his 2025 title and set a new program record by one stroke with a three-round score of 2023. In addition, with two individual championships now in his career, Tate ranks second all-time in wins at UTPB. At the conclusion of the regular season, Tate became the second Falcon in program history to be named First-Team All-LSC and was also the second to earn two All-LSC certificates in their career.

Ioan Rowe: Rowe has posted a 71.8 adjusted scoring average this season. He has a current NCAA Division II National Ranking of No. 81 and is ranked No. 12 in the South Central Region. He has totaled three top-10 finishes and six top-25 finishes. Rowe also has three top-four finishes this season: The Hrnciar (2nd), the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invitational (3rd), and the Rattler Invitational (4th). He has finished under-par in three tournaments this season, including a score of nine-under at The Hrnciar. Rowe went eight-under during round two of The Hrnciar, the best individual round of any Falcon this season. With his second-round score of 64, Rowe tied for the third-lowest single round score in program history. It was also a tournament record. At the very next tournament, Rowe took third place in a field of 89 total golfers at the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invitational. This Spring, Rowe highlighted the Shadow Valley Invitational by shooting back-to-back eagles on a par-4 and a par-5, becoming the first player in program history to accomplish the extremely rare feat. Rowe performed his magic on the par-4 hole two (374 yards) and the par-5 hole three (502 yards) during round three. At the conclusion of the regular season, Rowe was named Second-Team All-LSC.

Nizar Bourehim: Bourehim has posted a 73.1 adjusted scoring average this season. He has a current NCAA Division II National Ranking of No. 164 and is ranked No. 30 in the South Central Region. He has won one tournament (The Hrnciar), totaled two top-10 finishes, and finished top-25 in four tournaments. Bourehim has finished under-par in two tournaments this season, including a score of 10-under to win The Hrnciar. Bourehim won The Hrnciar by one stroke over teammate Ioan Rowe, and was the only player in the field of 76 golfers to shoot under-par during all three rounds. With the win, Bourehim became just the fourth-ever UTPB golfer to win a tournament. At the conclusion of the regular season, Bourehim was named Second-Team All-LSC and also became the second Falcon to win the LSC Newcomer of the Year award.

Thonsaeng Nunya: Nunya has posted a 73.8 adjusted scoring average this season and has shot under-par in two tournaments this season. He has a current NCAA Division II National Ranking of No. 396 and is ranked No. 68 in the South Central Region.

Laurent Beech: Beech has posted a 73.8 adjusted scoring average this season. He has a current NCAA Division II National Ranking of No. 370 and is ranked No. 66 in the South Central Region. He has one top-10 finish on the year. His best finish this year was at the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invitational (T8th; -5), where he was the lone UTPB golfer to shoot under-par during all three rounds.

LSC CHAMPIONSHIP REWIND
UTPB closed out the 2026 Lone Star Conference Championship in sixth place. Entering the final round in fourth place, UTPB was paired with Midwestern State and St. Mary's for the final round of stroke play, but was unable to stay in front of either team in an effort to qualify for Medal Match play for the first time in program history. In the end, UTPB (311-289-305; 905; +41) finished sixth while St. Mary's (308-297-296; 901; +37) finished fifth and Midwestern State (319-283-297; 899; +35) finished fourth.

Individually, Will Tate (77-69-72; 218; +2), became first UTPB golfer with two top-five finishes (All-Tournament honors) at the championship. Tate finished the tournament in third place after shooting plus-two. Junior Ioan Rowe (78-70-80; 228; +12) finished tied for 23rd, senior Thonsaeng Nunya (77-75-79; 231; +15) finished tied for 34th, and freshman Laurent Beech (80-75-78; 233; +17) and junior Nizar Bourehim (79-78-76; 233; +17), tied for 39th place.

WORDS FROM HEAD COACH PAUL CHAVEZ
"This year has been great. We got off to a great start, and now we culminate all of our success with a bid to the regional championship. The team has worked very hard to get to this point in the season, and we want to continue with that success. We have some momentum heading in to the regional, and we of course want to continue to do well. We have some great leaders on this team, have great team chemistry, and now we just have to go out and execute and play our best golf."

PREVIOUS REGIONAL APPEARANCES
The Falcons made the regional as a team in 2023 and 2024, and will now do so for the first time under Head Coach Paul Chavez.

In its first regional appearance in 2023, UTPB tallied their lowest score of the Regionals on Saturday, posting a 297 and a nine-over for the afternoon while Sangha Park missed a spot in the NCAA Championships by two strokes, coming fourth among non-qualifying individuals with the top two advancing. As a team, the Falcons ended up with 43-over for the tournament, but there were flashes of potential with the quartet of freshmen (Kongpop Kaikaew, Sebastian Bengtsson, Thonsaeng Nunya, Tanner Wardlaw) competing alongside Park.

In 2024, Sangha Park saved his best for last at the NCAA Regional at the University Golf Course in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The senior matched the lowest score of the day at four-under (67) to finish third overall at six-under (207). He was not the only Falcon to go low on the day. Will Tate and Thonsaeng Nunya both shot a one-over (72) on the final day of action. Tate was the second-highest finisher for UTPB overall in 42nd at six-over (219), while Nunya was 83rd at 15-over (228). Nolan Otto had a strong final round at three-over (74), placing 71st at 12-over (225). Ioan Rowe was four-over (75) for the day. The Falcons shot a one-over (285) in the final round as a team, only bested by two teams on the day.

Last year in 2025, Will Tate competed as an individual at the NCAA Division II West/South Central Regional and shot one-under during the third and final round to wrap up the tournament at three-under and finish in a nine-player tie for 38th place. Tate (71-71-71; 213; -3) became the first Falcon to shoot under-par during all three rounds at the regional championship. He rose four spots from round two to round three to secure his spot in the top-half of the field out of 108 golfers. Tate also finished tied for first among the eight individuals playing in the field.

OTHER LSC TEAMS AT THE REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The Lone Star Conference will have seven teams and one individual competing at the NCAA Division II Men's Golf West/South Central Regional on May 7-9 at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton, California.

West Texas A&M is the top-seeded team in the Regional with St. Mary's the No. 4 seed, UT Permian Basin the No. 5 seed and DBU the No. 6 seed. LSC champion Cameron is seeded No. 7 with conference runner-up UT Tyler the No. 8 seed and Midwestern State the No. 10 seed. Juan Monckeberg of Texas A&M International qualified as an individual.

Three LSC teams advanced to the Division II tournament finals in 2025 with St. Mary's finishing seventh, Oklahoma Christian eighth and West Texas A&M tied at 14th.

SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL RANKINGS
According to the latest Scoreboard by Clippd national rankings, the South Central Region remains one of the most competitive regions in Division II men's golf. Several programs in the region currently sit inside the national top-25, including No. 8 St. Mary's (Texas), No. 15 Colorado State Pueblo, No. 19 West Texas A&M, No. 21 Dallas Baptist, No. 22 Colorado Mesa, No. 23 UT Permian Basin and No. 24 Colorado Christian.

ROUND ONE PAIRINGS
No. 23-ranked UTPB, will be paired with No. 8-ranked St. Mary's University (seeded No. 4 in the South Central Region) and No. 28-ranked the University of Hawaii at Hilo (seeded No. 4 in the West Region) during Thursday's opening round.

Time – Hole – Players
01:50 PM – 1 – Philip Hallstrom (StMU) – Katsuhiro Yamashita (UH Hilo) – Laurent Beech (UTPB)
02:00 PM – 1 – Elijah Galvan (StMU) – Ben Crinella (UH Hilo) – Thonsaeng Nunya (UTPB)
02:10 PM – 1 – Guillaume Paquette (StMU) Dysen Park (UH Hilo) – Nizar Bourehim (UTPB)
02:20 PM – 1 – Baptiste Touchard (StMU) – Jacob Torres (UH Hilo) – Ioan Rowe (UTPB)
02:30 PM – 1 – Kongpop Kaikaew (StMU) – Dylan Bercan (UH Hilo) – Will Tate (UTPB)

WHATS ON THE LINE
A total 80 teams and 32 student-athletes competing as individuals earned selection to the 2026 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships field and begin the tournament at one of four regional sites. At a minimum, the top three teams and top two student-athletes not with a team from each regional will advance to the tournament finals scheduled May 18-22 at the Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nevada. The remaining eight team berths are allocated based on the regions represented in the prior year's head-to-head medal play portion of the championships, with the maximum number of teams from a given region capped at seven.