VESTAL, N.Y. – This weekend, for the third time in program history, the Binghamton men's golf team is competing at the NEC Men's Golf Championship from Friday through Sunday at Turf Valley Resort's Original Course in Ellicott City, Md.
The 54-hole tournament consists of one round being played each day. Joining the Bearcats in the field are Chicago State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Howard, Le Moyne, Long Island University, Maryland Eastern Shore, Mercyhurst, New Haven, North Carolina Central, Saint Francis and Wagner.
Both the winning team and low medalist individual who is not a member of the winning program earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The top 10 golfers will also be named to the all-tournament team.
Binghamton is looking to win its first conference championship since 2005 when the Bearcats were a member of the America East Conference. That was one of two championships the Bearcats won while in the league, with the other happening in 2003. Binghamton then joined the America Sky Conference in 2007, before moving to the Big Sky Conference in 2014 and then joining the NEC in 2023.
This is the third time Binghamton is competing in this event since becoming an associate member of the league. The Bearcats finished fifth in their first appearance in 2024, while Evan Sitts tied for fifth to qualify for the all-tournament team. Binghamton then finished sixth as a team at the 2025 tournament, with
Brandon Conner (tied for 15th),
Harrison Blech (tied for 18th) and
Jackson Vesper (tied for 18th) each finishing in the top 20.
Binghamton last competed at the Rutherford Intercollegiate from April 18-19, finishing in 13th place. Conner led the Bearcats by tying for 34th at 71-73-75 = 219/6-over par. Overall, the Bearcats have played in 11 tournaments throughout the 2025-26 season. Binghamton finished in the top three in four of those events, placing second at the Blue Hen Intercollegiate, the Matthews Auto Collegiate Golf Invitational, and the Sacred Heart Spring Break Invitational, while also finishing third in the Crusader Invitational.
This season, Binghamton golfers have posted a combined seven top 10 and seven top 20 finishes. Conner, who has the lowest stroke average at 74.0, leads the team in both categories with two top 10 and three top 20 finishes. Freshman
Jack Tebeau has two top 10 finishes. Both Blech and
Alex Patel have one top 10 and one top 20 finish each.
Sean Shen has recorded two top 20 finishes during his senior season, while Vesper has one top 10 finish.
Matthews Auto is the presenting sponsor of Bearcats Golf.
