Crancer and Yates Honored as All-SEC

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — A pair of Aggie golfers were honored Wednesday as junior Greg Yates and sophomore Ben Crancer received second-team All-SEC accolades from the league office.

Yates, a native of Mansfield, Texas, has come on strong this spring to stand out as the Aggies' top finisher in their two most recent tournaments, notching a second-place showing at the Aggie Invitational in early April followed by a tie for fifth at last week's SEC Championship in St. Simons Island, Ga.

Additionally, Yates topped the leaderboard to share individual medalist honors at the Sea Best Invitational (Feb. 3-4), which was held on the picturesque Players Stadium Course of TPC at Sawgrass. The third-year Aggie leads the team with four top-five finishes this season and has stood out as the highest-finishing Texas A&M golfer in five tournaments while maintaining a 72.35 scoring average.

During his second year at Texas A&M, Crancer has taken a huge step forward on the links as the Kirkwood, Mo., product paces the Aggies with a 71.97 scoring average this season and has recorded a top-10 placing at a team-best five events.

Crancer turned heads this fall when he set a Texas A&M men's golf record for 54-hole score vs. par at 16-under while claiming individual medalist honors at the Dick's Challenge (Sept. 20-21). Adding to the already impressive accomplishment, the second-year Aggie became the first Texas A&M golfer to finish a 54-hole tournament in less than 200 strokes to garner National Player of the Week recognition from Golf Week on Sept. 23.

The Aggie men's golf team is back in action next week when it competes in its 12^th consecutive NCAA Men's Golf Championship. The Aggies will begin their drive for the program's second national championship as the No. 4 seed at the NCAA Raleigh Regional which will be held at North Carolina State's Lonnie Poole Golf Course May 15-17.

The top five teams at the regional will advance to the NCAA Championship, which will take place May 23-28 at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan.

 

2014 ALL-SEC MEN'S GOLF TEAMS

FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC

Bobby Wyatt, Alabama (SEC Championship Medalist)

Robby Shelton, Alabama

Joey Garber, Georgia

Stewart Jolly, LSU

Trey Mullinax, Alabama

Sebastian Cappelen, Arkansas

Michael Cromie, Georgia

*Cory Whitsett, Alabama

*Chad Ramey, Mississippi State

 

SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC

Niclas Carlsson, Auburn

Matt NeSmith, South Carolina

Lee McCoy, Georgia

Ben Crancer, Texas A&M

Emilio Cuartero, Missouri

Curtis Thompson, LSU

Greg Yates, Texas A&M

Matt Gilchrest, Auburn

 

COACH OF THE YEAR

Jay Seawell, Alabama

 

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Robby Shelton, Alabama

 

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

Robby Shelton, Alabama

 

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Cory Whitsett, Alabama

 

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM

Matthias Schwab, Vanderbilt

Robby Shelton, Alabama

Matt Gilchrest, Auburn

Greyson Sigg, Georgia

Euan Walker, Missouri

* - Indicates a tie