Greensboro, N.C. – Georgia Tech’s Noah Norton, Andy Ogletree, Luke Schniederjans and Tyler Strafaci have been named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Golf Team, and head coach Bruce Heppler has been named ACC Coach of the Year as announced Wednesday by the conference office.
The Tech foursome are among sixteen student-athletes who were honored on the all-conference team. Schniederjans made the team for the third time in his three years on The Flats, while Norton and Strafaci are second-time honorees. Ogletree, the Yellow Jackets’ highest-ranked player nationally, is on the team for the first time. In leading the Yellow Jackets to the 2019 ACC title, the 18th in program history, Heppler was named ACC Coach of the Year for the 10th time in his 24-year tenure on The Flats. Clemson’s Bryson Nimmer was named the ACC Player of the Year, while Eugenio Chacarra of Wake Forest was named the ACC Freshman of the Year.
The All-ACC Team, Player, and Freshman of the Year were decided by a combination of the Golfstat and Golfweek/Sagarin rankings in conjunction with a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches, while Coach of the Year was selected by a vote of the coaches.
Ogletree (ranked No. 15 in Golfstat and No. 14 in the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, Schniederjans (No. 19 Golfstat, No. 16 Sagarin) and Strafaci (No. 50 Golfweek, No. 45 Sagarin) each made the team automatically. Norton, ranked No. 66 in Golfstat and No. 64 in Golfweek/Sagarin, earned his way onto the team via a vote of the ACC’s 12 coaches.
The trio of juniors has been the core of the Yellow Jackets’ success the last three years, including a nation-leading six tournament victories in 2018-19. Ogletree (junior, Little Rock, Miss.), with four top-10 finishes in spring tournaments, leads the Yellow Jackets in stroke average at 69.96, less than 2/1,000th of a stroke ahead of Schniederjans (junior, Powder Springs, Ga.), whose five top-10 finishes leads the team. Strafaci (junior, Davie, Fla.), averaging 70.67 strokes, has four top-10 finishes this year, and Norton (sophomore (Chico, Calif.), averaging 70.93, has three top-10s.
Georgia Tech won the Atlantic Coast Championship in April for the 18th time, matching Wake Forest for the most in conference history. The Yellow Jackets have won six tournaments altogether, more than any other Division I team in 2018-19, bringing to 59 the total number of titles earned by the Jackets under Heppler. His 10 conference coach of the year honors are the most for any coach in conference history. He has coached Tech to 13 of its 18 ACC titles.
This is the 25th time since 1985 that Tech has had multiple players make the All-ACC team, and the four honorees match the most in team history (2005, 2011, 2018, 2019). The selection of Ogletree brings to 37 the number of Yellow Jacket golfers who have made the All-ACC team at least once during their careers. Tech’s 74 all-time All-ACC selections trail only Clemson (84) and Wake Forest (81), who are charter members of the conference.
Tech, which is ranked eighth in the nation by Golfstat and No. 2 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index, begins post-season play Monday with the opening round of the NCAA Pullman Regional in Pullman, Wash.
ALL-ACC MEN’S GOLF TEAM
- Bryson Nimmer, Clemson
- Alex Smalley, Duke
- John Pak, Florida State
- Andy Ogletree, Georgia Tech
- Luke Schniederjans, Georgia Tech
- Cameron Young, Wake Forest
- Matthias Schmid, Louisville
- Eric Bae, Wake Forest
- Stephen Franken, NC State
- Chandler Eaton, Duke
- Austin Hitt, North Carolina
- Tyler Strafaci, Georgia Tech
- Benjamin Shipp, NC State
- Adrian Pendaries, Duke
- Noah Norton, Georgia Tech
- Thomas Walsh, Virginia
2019 ACC Player of the Year
- Bryson Nimmer, Clemson
2019 ACC Freshman of the Year
- Eugenio Chacarra, Wake Forest
2019 ACC Coach of the Year
- Bruce Heppler, Georgia Tech
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 24th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, having won 59 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 18 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 28 appearances in the NCAA Championship finals and been the national runner-up four times. Connect with Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on Twitter (@GTGolf). For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
