SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (August 12, 2026) – Three members of the 2025-26 Western New England men's golf team have been honored by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), being named Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars, as announced by the organization last week.
Kyle DeGroff,
Derek Johnson, and
Alex Noti garner honors for the Golden Bears.
To be eligible for Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar nomination, an individual must be a sophomore, junior, or senior academically and athletically in NCAA Division III. In addition, the student-athlete must participate in 50% of their team's competitive rounds, have a stroke average under 79.0 in NCAA Division III, and maintain a cumulative career grade point average of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale. A recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at their college or university.
In total, 261 student-athletes from NCAA Division III across 95 schools earned All-America Scholar status. For Western New England men's golf, it is the first time since 2018 that a student-athlete has been named an All-America Scholar. It is the first time since 2017 that three Golden Bears have been named.
DeGroff was one of Western New England's most consistent golfers in 2025-26, competing in six events overall on the season. DeGroff finished the spring season with a 74 score at the WNEU Invitational at Wilbraham Country Club for a career-low score at WNE. DeGroff averaged 78.7 strokes per round.
Johnson, WNE's top golfer, averaged 72.1 strokes on the season and never shot above a 77 on any 18-hole round, competing in every event, fall and spring, for Western New England. Johnson's season is remembered by his Conference of New England (CNE) Championship run, shooting back-to-back scores of 68 to win individual medalist honors, running away with the win at the event, while being named CNE Golfer of the Year. Additionally, Johnson became Western New England men's golf's first All-American in program history.
Noti put together another consistent season for the Golden Bears, shooting an average of 77.6 strokes per 18 holes for the season, playing in every round on the year. Noti's season-low came at the Rich Korzec Memorial Invitational (4/13), where he shot a 73 for the 18-hole event, finishing in second place overall. Noti
averaged 77.3 strokes for the fall season, shooting no higher than an 80 for any 18-hole event. Noti was named to the All-CNE Third Team following the conference championships.
The Western New England men's golf team has six events scheduled for the upcoming fall season, beginning on Wednesday, September 9 at the AIC Yellow Jacket Invitational at Ledges Golf Club in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
