BROKEN ARROW, Oklahoma – Following the first round of the 2026 Great American Conference Men’s Golf Championships, the league announced its year-end award winners. Harding’s Dennis Staykov won Player of the Year. Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Ben Jackson earned Freshman of the Year. The Bisons’ Sam Tandy claimed Coach of the Year. Arkansas Tech’s Jacob Peetoom, East Central’s Pablo Illescas and Henderson State’s Marcos Park - owners of perfect 4.00 GPAs - received the Elite Scholar Athlete Award - Presented by Conway Regional Health System.
Staykov became the third-straight Bison lauded as Player of the Year. He won the award by unanimous consent. He joined teammate Jose Peralta and Tandy, his teammate prior to taking over as coach last year, recognized as the league’s top player. Staykov, the 2024 GAC Championships medalist, finished the regular season as the No. 1-ranked player in the Central Region and the No. 13 player nationally. He won the Arkansas Collegiate and notched second-place showings at the Battle for the Belt and the Missouri Western Classic. Tandy guided the Bisons to a top-20 national ranking and two tournament victories. His team entered the GAC Championships ranked third in the Central Region.
2026 Men's Golf All-GAC Awards
Jackson gave the Bulldogs two GAC Freshman of the Year winners in program history. Stefan Idstam claimed the award for the 2013-14 year. Jackson registered a runner-up showing at the Hillcat Classic in March and four top-20 finishes.
Staykov, plus teammates Peralta and Jose Arzu placed on the All-GAC First Team. All three made the team as unanimous selections. Peralta finished inside the top 15 of all four of the Bisons’ spring events. He collected a total of six top-15 finishes. Arzu claimed the medalist honors at the Tulsa Cup and the Shadow Valley Invitational
Arkansas Tech’s Jacob Peetoom also claimed a unanimous spot on the First Team. Southern Arkansas’ Luke Cote rounded out the First Team. Peetoom opened his season with a runner-up performance at The Mule. He added six additional top-20 finishes. Cote recorded three-straight top-10 finishes during the year. His best result, third place, came at the DBU Classic.
Jackson headlined the All-GAC Second Team. His teammate, Conrado Diaz Ermacora, made the team as did Southern Nazarene’s Dawson Dunlap, East Central’s Pablo Illescas and Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Mathieu Zerwin.
The All-GAC Honorable Mention Team featured Henderson State’s Brode Horton, Jacob Knowlton and Colin Purifoy; Arkansas Tech’s Roby Cooper and Cameron Twynholm and SWOSU’s Ryan Carlisle.
A total of 24 student-athletes placed on the GAC Academic Honor Roll team - Presented by Conway Regional Health System in Southern Arkansas’ Carter Bell, Will Blake, Cote, Stewart Druin and Jett Stephenson; Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Alex Chenard, Max Courange, Magnus Fabian and Nilas Hacker; Southern Nazarene’s Dunlap, Kaseton Farris, Theodor Naus and Gage Tucker; SWOSU’s Ryan Carlisle, Caspar Graf, Otto Heden and Sutton McMillan, Arkansas-Monticello’s Connor Denson and Landry Rogers; Harding’s Austin Bibb and Conner Geist, Arkansas Tech’s Landon Lawson, Henderson State’s Cooper Williams and Southeastern Oklahoma State’ Dilyn Hart.