The Golden Stallions of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College recently received the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Academic National Champions plaque from the Golf Coaches of America.

To qualify as an Academic All-America selection, athletes must have at least a 3.25 grade point average (GPA) on a 4.00 scale. The Golden Stallions compiled a 3.68 GPA, elevating them to first place in the nation.

The Golden Stallions listed on the plaque are Hagen Marion from Zebulon, Ben Sanders from Thomasville, Brady Kotkiewicz from Dacula, Brock Barber from Saint Cloud, Fla., Kole Williams from Hazlehurst, Gabriel Lewis from Thomasville, Steven Wood from McDonough, and Ian Arnold from Blackshear.

Barber received special recognition as a Srixon/Cleveland All-America Scholar in addition to being an All-Academic selection. To qualify for the recognition, golfers must participate in at least 50% of their team’s rounds, have a stroke average under 77.0. and maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.2 or higher.

ABAC Coach Larry Byrnes took over coaching duties for the Golden Stallions in 2014.

“I decided I would recruit kids with character and work ethic, so then golf and school would take care of themselves -- and that has happened,” Byrnes said. “They have an unbelievable character that I couldn’t speak more highly of.”

The athletes demonstrated excellent work ethic both on and off the field. Byrnes said he was impressed by how the golfers could play for three or four hours and then complete additional hours of study toward their academic pursuits.

“It's a great reward to be able to be around kids like this for me,” Byrnes said. “I’m honored to be able to do it.”

In the 2022 spring golf season, the Golden Stallions won the region tournament and finished second in the district tournament. ABAC wound up in 16th place in the national tournament. Golfstat ranks the current ABAC team 10th in NJCAA DII.