VESTAL, N.Y. – Just over four months since last competing at the Northeast Conference Men's Golf Championship in April, the Binghamton golf team is set to return to action as the Bearcats begin their 2025-26 season Saturday at the Alex Lagowitz Memorial at Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, N.Y.
 
This marks the fourth season in a row that Binghamton has started its season at this event, which is hosted by Colgate. Joining the Bearcats and Raiders in the field are Bucknell, Canisius, Cornell, Iona, Lehigh, Le Moyne, Niagara, Penn, St. Bonaventure, Saint Joseph's, Seton Hall and Villanova.
 
"We feel we have some great tournaments scheduled for the fall with some new venues," said Binghamton Head Golf Coach Bernie Herceg. "Our guys are really looking forward to the start of the season. The players have been working hard to be prepared for our first event at Colgate." 
 
Entering his 18th season in charge of the Binghamton golf program, Herceg has assembled an eight-man roster that includes five returners and three newcomers. Among the returners, Harrison Blech, Brandon Conner and Sean Shen enter their senior season with the Bearcats.
 
Conner is coming off his strongest season at Binghamton in 2024-25. That year, the Cincinnati, Ohio native led Binghamton with a career-low average score of 73.9. In October, he won the Lehigh Invitational, becoming the first Bearcat to win a tournament since 2019. His score of 67-74 = 141/3-under par made him the only golfer in the 45-man field to finish the event under par. Additionally, his final score of 3-under par is tied for the sixth-lowest score through 36 holes relative to par in program history, and his first round tally of 67/5-under par is tied for the second-lowest round in Binghamton history. Additionally, Conner posted another two top 10 finishes during the spring season, tying for eighth at the inaugural Testudo Cup and finishing tied for 10th at the Roar-EE Invitational. Conner went on to receive Second Team All-Conference honors from the NEC, becoming the second Bearcat in as many years to earn that recognition after Evan Sitts previously was given that distinction in 2024.
 
In 2024-25, Shen tied for second on the team in scoring average at 76, also a career low. At Binghamton's home event, the Matthews Auto Collegiate Golf Invitational, Shen tied for 10th at 73-71 = 144/even-par. It was the second time in Shen's career that he finished in the top 10 at that event (tied for 8th in 2022) and his third top 10 finish overall.
 
Shen was not the only Bearcat golfer to finish in the top 10 at the Matthews invite. Blech tied for seventh at the tournament for his first collegiate top 10 finish. It contributed to Blech finishing the season with the lowest scoring average of his career at 76.2.
 
"I'm looking forward to watching our seniors finish out their careers here and make a push for the championship in the spring," said Herceg. 
 
Rounding out the returners are junior Jackson Vesper and Lucas Brittain, both of whom look to earn their spot in the starting lineup. Vesper appeared in seven tournaments in 2024-25. His most notable moment came in the second round of the Testudo Cup, where he shot a 71/1-under par for the lowest round of his career.
 
Brittain, meanwhile, played in two tournaments that season for the Bearcats. Each appearance was as an individual. He closed out his 2024-25 season on a strong note by shooting 75/3-over par in the final round of the Carpetbagger Classic for his lowest round of the year.
 
Joining those five are freshmen Beckham Chiew, Alex Patel and Jack Tebeau. Each newcomer brings with them an accomplished resume.
 
Tebeau makes the trip to Vestal from Hamburg in Western New York. While playing at St. Francis, Tebeau put together a decorated career. He is a three-time Monsignor Martin High School Athletic Association champion (2021, 23, 24), the first back-to-back Meadville Invitational champion (2023, 24), won the New York State High School Federation championship and New York State Federation Golf Championship in 2024 and finished second at the International Junior Masters earlier in 2025. Tebeau also qualified for the PGA Junior Championship in 2024.
 
Chiew arrives in the Southern Tier from Canada, where he won the Alberta Junior Tour's Nanton Junior Open in 2023. He also finished in the top 10 at multiple Maple Leaf Junior Tour events, including seventh at the 2022 Playing Under Par Series and 10th at the 2024 Western Championship.
 
Patel enters his first season at Binghamton just after winning the 2025 New Jersey state championship. That same season, Patel was also named a First Team All-State selection by NJ.com. The native of Madison, N.J., also won both the NJPGA Junior Section Championship and NJPGA Mountain Classic in 2022.
 
"We're excited for our incoming freshmen to compete this fall, gain experience and make our team deeper and stronger," said Herceg.
 
The first two rounds of the 54-hole tournament will be played on Saturday, with the first tee time scheduled for 8 a.m. The final round takes place on Sunday, which also tees off at 8 a.m.
 
Matthews Auto is the presenting sponsor of Bearcats Golf.