VESTAL, N.Y. – The Binghamton golf team is set to return to competition on the course this weekend as the Bearcats compete in their first tournament of the spring season, the Carpetbagger Classic, from Saturday through Sunday at Worthington Manor Golf Club in Urbana, Md.

Binghamton once again will co-host the 36-hole tournament alongside Colgate. Joining the two programs in the field are Bryant, Canisius, Gettysburg, Howard, La Salle, Le Moyne, Mount St. Mary's, Mercyhurst, Merrimack, Niagara, Rider, Saint Peter's and Wagner.

Binghamton heads into the spring season with high expectations after being voted third in the Northeast Conference's preseason poll by the league's men's golf coaches in February. That is an improvement of two spots from 2023-24, when the Bearcats were picked to finish fifth in their first season in the conference. Binghamton ultimately finished fifth at the NEC Men's Golf Championship that season.

The last time the Bearcats competed on the course, Brandon Conner left with a trophy after he took medalist honors at the Lehigh Invitational back in October. The junior shot 67-74 = 141/3-under par, the only golfer in the 45-man field to finish the tournament under par.

Conner was the first Bearcat to earn medalist honors since Ryan Rodriguez took the top spot at the 2019 Navy Invitational. His 67/5-under par is tied for the second-lowest round relative to par in program history. His final score of 3-under par is also tied for the sixth-lowest score relative to par through 36 holes in program history. He previously set the record at the 2023 Matthews Auto Collegiate Golf Invitational, where he shot 67-70 = 137/7-under par to finish tied for second. 

After taking medalist honors, Conner was named both Golfer of the Month and a Prime Performer by the NEC for the month of October. Conner is the first Bearcat to be named Golfer of the Month by the conference.

Conner's performance ended a fall season where Binghamton also picked up two top 10 and three top 20 finishes throughout its five tournaments. The Bearcats also finished in second place at the Matthews Auto Collegiate Golf Invitational for the second year in a row. It was at Binghamton's home tournament that Harrison Blech led the Bearcats with his first top 10 finish of his collegiate career. The junior tied for seventh place at 70-72 = 142/2-under par, the lowest score of his career through 36 holes.

Also finishing in the top 10 at the Matthews invitational was Sean Shen, who tied for 10th with a score of 72-72 = 144/even-par. It was the second time in three seasons that Shen finished in the top 10 at that event after he previously tied for eighth in 2022.

Additionally, Shen nearly broke the program record for lowest round when he shot 65/5-under in the final round of the Howard/USF Intercollegiate. His career-low score tied the second-lowest round relative to par in program history, only one shot back of the record of 6-under par held by Jake Katz at the 2010 Lafayette Invitational and Gray Potter at the 2015 Missouri Invitational.

Tynan Jones and Ryan Millevoi picked up Binghamton's two top 20 finishes throughout the fall. Jones began the season by tying for 19th place at the Alex Lagowitz Memorial with a score of 75-71 = 146/2-over par. His 71 in the final round is the lowest round of his career at Binghamton.

At the Lehigh Invitational, Millevoi finished tied for 16th at 78-76 = 154/10-over par for his fourth top 20 finish of his career.

Lucas Brittain, Shawn Colella and Jackson Vesper also look to leave their mark on the course for the Bearcats this spring. Vesper competed in two tournaments during the fall, once as a part of the starting six at the Alex Lagowitz Memorial and another as an individual at the Matthews invitational.  Both Brittain and Colella's lone appearance came as individuals at the Matthews invite.

The Carpetbagger Classic begins with a shotgun start on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

Matthews Auto is the presenting sponsor of Bearcats golf.