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Florida Southern College men’s golf is back on top of NCAA Division II. On May 22, 2026, the Moccasins capped a dominant week in the desert with a 3–2 victory over Wingate University in the team match-play final at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nevada, securing the program’s record 14th NCAA men’s golf national championship and its first since 2017.
The win not only extended Florida Southern’s standing as the most decorated program in Division II men’s golf, it also marked what the Lakeland school recognizes as its 31st NCAA national championship across all sports. For a program already steeped in history, the 2026 title felt like both a return and a reassertion of its national standard.
The 2026 NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships ran from May 18–22 at Boulder Creek Golf Club, a par-72 layout stretching to 7,595 yards just outside Las Vegas. As usual at this level, the format challenged teams in two distinct ways: three rounds of stroke play to determine both the individual champion and the eight teams advancing to medal match play, followed by a single-elimination bracket to decide the team title.
Florida Southern arrived in Nevada with momentum. Earlier in May, the Moccasins finished fifth at the NCAA South/Southeast Regional at Valdosta Country Club in Georgia, shooting 11-under 853 across three rounds to secure one of seven coveted qualifying spots for nationals. Graduate student Tyler Mistretta and senior Max Barile tied for seventh at 6-under 210, while junior Colton Swartz closed with a 70 to finish 2-under for the regional. That performance sent Florida Southern to its 42nd national championship appearance and marked the program’s second straight year advancing out of the South/Southeast Regional.
Once they reached Boulder Creek, the Moccasins immediately looked like the team to beat. Across three rounds of stroke play, Florida Southern posted scores of 280, 278, and 271 for a 35-under-par total of 829, earning the No. 1 seed by an eight-shot margin over Missouri–St. Louis. That cushion was significant in a 115-player field and underscored both depth and consistency.
Mistretta, a graduate student, produced the individual highlight of stroke play for the Moccasins with a career-low 8-under 64 in the final round, finishing 11-under 205 and taking third overall. Freshman Anthony Monteleone was one shot back at 10-under 206 after rounds of 69, 68, and 69 to tie for fourth. Barile closed at 7-under 209, and both graduate student Donte Groppuso and Swartz finished 4-under 212. All five Florida Southern players finished under par, a reflection of how well-rounded the lineup had become by championship week.
The top stroke-play finish set up a quarterfinal matchup against eighth-seeded Colorado Christian, and from that point on every round was sudden death for the team’s title ambitions.
In the opening medal match, Florida Southern edged Colorado Christian 3–2. Once again, the core of the Moccasins’ lineup delivered under pressure. Mistretta, Monteleone, and Swartz earned the three crucial points that kept the No. 1 seed alive.
Mistretta, continuing his torrid form, fired a 68 and never trailed, collecting six birdies in a 4-up victory. Swartz delivered a 66 with six birdies and no bogeys, building as much as a seven-stroke lead in his match. Monteleone ended up in the tightest battle, providing the clinching point on the 18th hole when his opponent bogeyed the last, giving the freshman a one-stroke victory. Even in defeat, Groppuso and Barile posted under-par rounds, illustrating the depth that would later define the championship run.
Later the same day, Florida Southern stepped on the gas against fourth-seeded Lee University, rolling to a 4–1 semifinal win. Swartz stole the spotlight with a bogey-free, career-low 64, while Groppuso and others mounted comeback efforts to flip matches in the Moccasins’ favor.
By the end of the semifinal session, Florida Southern had clearly separated itself as the most complete team in the field. The Moccasins had proven they could not only outscore opponents in stroke play but also handle the emotional momentum swings that define match play at the NCAA level.
The championship match against Wingate University brought a different type of tension. Match play can swing on just a few holes, and with a national title at stake, every birdie and mistake is magnified.
Florida Southern leaned heavily on experience at the top of the lineup, and that approach paid off.
Playing in the first match out, Mistretta again delivered exactly what a national-title contender needs from a veteran. He jumped out to a substantial lead over Wingate’s Brandon Skidmore, building a four-stroke cushion on the back nine before withstanding a late rally. Mistretta’s 70–71 decision gave Florida Southern the opening point with a 1-up win and helped settle early nerves.
The Moccasins’ second point might have been the most emphatic of the day. Groppuso defeated Mattia D’Errico by five strokes, 66–71, in a round featuring five birdies and a long eagle putt on the par-5 15th. In a format where even small edges matter, posting 66 in a title match sent a clear message.
Not every point went Florida Southern’s way. Monteleone, the freshman who had been solid all week, dropped a tight match by two strokes to Alfie Storer, tightening the overall score and briefly shifting pressure back onto the remaining groups.
That is where Barile stepped in. The senior led wire-to-wire in his match with Cole Rouse, turning in a 68–72 win that included six birdies. His ability to maintain control from the opening tee shot to the final green allowed Florida Southern to clinch the national title before the last match finished.
In the final pairing, Swartz fell to Wingate’s Lewis Beeden, trimming the final margin to 3–2. By that point, though, the championship had already been sealed. The Moccasins had regained their place at the summit of Division II men’s golf.
The 2026 title fits snugly into one of the richest histories in NCAA Division II golf. Florida Southern’s men’s program has now captured national championships in 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2010, 2017, and 2026. No other Division II program can match that total of 14 NCAA men’s golf titles, according to historical records of Division II men’s golf on the NCAA’s official site at https://www.ncaa.org.
Along the way, the Moccasins have turned their success into a pipeline of high-level players. The program has produced multiple individual national champions and sent alumni into the professional ranks, including major champion Lee Janzen and long-time PGA Tour player Rocco Mediate, as noted in historical overviews of Florida Southern athletics and its alumni on sources such as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Southern_Moccasins.
The 2026 championship also added to the broader trophy case on campus. Florida Southern College now claims more than 30 NCAA national titles across its athletics department, reinforcing its identity as a small, academically focused institution that consistently competes on the biggest stages in Division II sport.
The men’s golf title did not stand alone. Florida Southern highlighted the same weekend as a rare double celebration, with both men’s golf and women’s lacrosse winning NCAA Division II championships.
For a college that emphasizes pairing athletic success with academic opportunities and an intimate lakeside campus in Lakeland, Florida, this kind of dual national-title moment matters. It signals to recruits that Florida Southern College is not only a national player in golf but also part of a broader championship culture. For families looking at Division II options, that combination of competitive success and campus environment can be a powerful draw.
While Florida Southern controlled the team storyline, the individual championship at Boulder Creek belonged to University of South Carolina Beaufort freshman Octavio Laurent. Competing as an individual qualifier, Laurent put together one of the best performances of the Division II season, finishing at 17-under 199 over 54 holes.
Laurent’s bogey-free closing 63, which featured five birdies on the back nine, earned him a four-shot victory over the rest of the field, according to reporting from Kansas State’s athletics site at https://www.kstatesports.com. His performance underscored how deep and competitive Division II men’s golf has become.
For the Moccasins, Laurent’s individual dominance provided interesting context. Florida Southern claimed the team title in a championship that also produced one of the standout individual showings of the year, highlighting the strength of the field and the significance of winning both stroke play and match play in such an environment.
For high school golfers and families evaluating college options, the 2026 NCAA Division II championship is more than just another line in the record book. It offers a window into what life and competition can look like at a top Division II program like Florida Southern College.
Florida Southern’s run in Nevada highlighted several qualities that matter to recruits:
These are the kinds of details college coaches emphasize when they talk about fit. Athletes should pay attention not only to where a team finishes but also to how it gets there: who is playing, how deep the lineup goes, and how often younger players crack the top five.
The 2026 championship week is another reminder that Division II golf can offer high-end competition and real development opportunities, often with smaller class sizes and more personal interaction with faculty and coaches. The NCAA’s own overview of Division II men’s golf at https://www.ncaa.org highlights that the division is built around a balance of academics, athletics, and campus life.
For some athletes, the chance to compete in events like the NCAA DII championships while still having a more intimate campus environment makes Division II schools especially appealing compared with certain Division I options.
Golfers drawn to central Florida’s climate and year-round playing opportunities might see this NCAA title and start looking more closely at the region. In Lakeland alone, another nearby option is Southeastern University, which offers its own blend of academics, athletics, and faith-based campus culture.
While each school has a distinct athletic affiliation, campus atmosphere, and academic profile, exploring multiple programs in the same region can help recruits better understand where they fit best in terms of competition level, coaching style, and student life.
Championship weeks like this one often spark new interest from recruits who want to understand whether a school like Florida Southern might be right for them. Tools from Pathley can help athletes and families go deeper than just results and rankings.
Combined, these tools can help golfers look beyond the headline of “national champion” and start answering more personal questions: How do my scores compare? What majors are available? What does the roster look like by class and scoring average?
By the end of the week in Nevada, Florida Southern College had combined veteran leadership, emerging talent, and unwavering scoring depth to reclaim its status as the benchmark program in Division II men’s golf. For recruits, the 2026 championship offers several key lessons:
For families just starting the recruiting journey, it can be difficult to sort through programs, divisions, and regions. That is where using an AI-powered assistant such as Pathley Chat can help you quickly identify realistic targets, build a first college list, and shape a plan that fits your timeline and goals.
Florida Southern’s latest national championship will resonate through Division II golf for years, but for the next wave of golfers, it is also an invitation. If you are serious about competing at the college level, now is the time to study programs like the Moccasins, explore comparable schools, and use tools like Pathley to turn inspiration into a concrete recruiting strategy.
