SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (June 11, 2026) – Western New England men's golf sophomore Derek Johnson has been named the first NCAA Division III PING All-American in program history by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), earning honorable mention honors, as announced today.

Johnson had a breakout season in 2025-26 for the Golden Bears, capturing seven individual tournament victories. Johnson's two-under-par finish at the Bowdoin Invitational was his first victory of the season after claiming three individual victories in 2024-25. Of the five fall events in which Western New England competed, Johnson claimed medalist honors in four. The Conference of New England Championships was a runaway victory for the Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, native, who shot eight strokes under par, finishing eight strokes under par after carding rounds of 68 (-4) and 68 (-4), defeating the second-place finisher by ten strokes. Johnson also claimed victory this season at the prestigious New England Intercollegiate Golf Association (NEIGA) Championships, shooting an even par in both rounds to pick up individual medalist honors.

The 2026 spring season brought more success to Johnson, who claimed three more victories over five events for the Golden Bears, winning the Alling Golf Club Spring Invitational, the WestConn Wolves Invitational, and the 2026 Rich Korzec Memorial Invitational. Johnson closed out the season at the Western New England Invitational, totaling 16 rounds for the 2025-26 season, averaging a 72.9 score per round.

Johnson ranks 78^th nationally in NCAA Division III, while ranking second overall in the region at the conclusion of his sophomore campaign. Johnson becomes the first All-American in program history and is the only All-American from a Conference of New England institution. The GCAA honored a total of 53 student-athletes across all Division III institutions this season: nine first teamers, eight second teamers, eight third teamers, and 28 honorable mentions. Johnson was one of just three from the New England region to nab honors this season, with Babson College's Shane Quinn and Aman Vantipalli also named as honorable mentions.

The Western New England men's golf team will return to the links this coming 2026 fall season, with a full schedule release set to be announced in the coming months.