Tweet #theGAC  RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – On Tuesday, the Great American Conference announced the results of its 2023-24 GAC men’s golf preseason coaches’ poll. Henderson State received six first-place votes from the league’s head coaches to enter the fall as the favorite.

In April, the Reddies repeated as GAC champion after notching a 14-stroke victory at Hot Springs Country Club. They return a pair of standouts in Nathan Cossement and Miller Harris. Cossement won the league’s Player of the Year honor while Harris took home the individual medalist honor at the GAC Championships with a three-shot win. Cossement became the program’s first GAC Player of the Year. He picked up individual titles at the Battle for the Belt and the Arkansas Intercollegiate. Harris also placed on the All-GAC First Team. Alex Hadden and Ethan Wilkins come back following Second-Team All-GAC campaigns. Harris and Wilkins claimed spots on the Ping Honorable Mention All-American Team.

Harding edged out Southern Arkansas by two points for second place. The Muleriders actually garnered two first-place votes, as compared to one for the Bisons. Both programs qualified for the NCAA National Championships for the first time in program history. The Bisons tied for eighth in the stroke-play portion, but lost out in a team playoff. They return Sam Tandy, a First-Team All-GAC honoree. He finished inside the top 10 at the GAC Championships, the Central/Midwest Regional and the NCAA National Championships to finish the year as a Ping Third-Team All-American.

At last season’s GAC Championships, the Muleriders registered the best team showing in program history - second - led by Caleb Miller’s runner-up showing. He added a tie for second at the Central/Midwest Regional before landing on the Ping Honorable Mention All-American Team. SAU returns two additional All-GAC Honorable Mention selections in Connor Harrington and Logan McDonald.

Southwestern Oklahoma State placed fourth in the poll. The Bulldogs qualified for NCAA play for the 10th-straight season. They feature a pair of 2023 All-GAC performers in Anders Strand and Lukas Hendricks.

Arkansas Tech finished fifth, followed by Southern Nazarene and Southeastern Oklahoma State. The Wonder Boys’ Jackson Cole, the Crimson Storm’s Sam Schmidt return after earning Honorable Mention All-GAC plaudits. Tech’s Shaun Jones took third at the GAC Championships to place on the All-Tournament Team. The Savage Storm’s Dalton McGinnis took seventh at last season’s GAC Championships.

Northwestern Oklahoma State and Arkansas-Monticello rounded out the poll.

Three schools - Harding, Southeastern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene - will compete in the GAC Preview - hosted by the Crimson Storm - on Monday, September 11. One week later, Southern Arkansas, SWOSU, Tech, UAM and Northwestern Oklahoma State head to the Northeastern State Men’s Classic. The Reddies take to the course for the first time at Missouri Southern’s Fall Invitational on Monday, September 25.