University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Men's Golf Signs Soosman and Yoshihara
November 17, 2015 | Men's Golf
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UCLA head men's golf coach Derek Freeman has announced the signing of a pair of standouts to National Letters of Intent. Spencer Soosman (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) and Hidetoshi Yoshihara (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) will each join the Bruins starting in the fall of 2016.
“These two incoming freshmen are an outstanding class that ranks as one of the best in the country,” Freeman said. “They have a good understanding of the effort and commitment to excellence we have in our program. They both wanted to be challenged and look forward to the competition we have at UCLA. Having the highest standard in both academics and athletics is what Spencer and Hidetoshi each want in their experience. It is going to be a bright future with them at UCLA.”
Soosman is the three-time reigning Ventura County Player of the Year and a two-time Marmonte League individual champion in 2013 and 2015. He helped the Warriors to State Championships in each of the last two seasons, the only team to repeat as California champs. WHS was named the USA-All High School Boys Golf Team of the Year.
Soosman is a two-time Rolex Junior All-American, receiving First Team honors in 2015 and Honorable Mention accolades in '14. He won the 2015 L.A. City Junior Championship with a three-round score of 196 to break Tiger Woods' record. Soosman appeared in the 2014 and 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur, the '15 AJGA West Wyndham Cup and the '15 USGA TransPacific Golf Match (Junior Walker Cup). He is also a two-time member of the HP Scholastic Honor Roll. With the American Junior Golf Association, Soosman has won four times at the 2015 PING Invitational and the AJGA Junior at River Ridge, the L.A. Junior Open and the Polo Golf Junior Classic in 2014. He also finished third at this year's CB&I Boys Championship.
Soosman, whose mother is a UCLA alum and whose father and brother went to the other school across town, is a third generation Bruin. He grew up playing soccer, basketball and baseball, but at the age of 10, Soosman decided to focus on golf and played in a local league called the Ventura County Junior Golf Association, for which he was the POY in 2011. He holds a 3.8 grade point average at Westlake.
“Spencer has been one of the top players in the country for several years,” Freeman said. “He continues to win major tournaments on a national stage. We feel Spencer will have an immediate impact. It is exciting for us to have a local player that knows how to play the game at a very high level. He will be a great addition to our team.”
Yoshihara has finished in the Top 10 in AJGA events eight times, including a victory at the 2013 Junior All-Star at Mira Vista. He also had second-place showings at Cypress Ridge and Robinson Ranch in 2013, a fourth-place finish at the Junior PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass and a fifth-place finish at the 2015 Thunderbird International.
Yoshihara is a two-time Rolex All-American, earning Honorable Mention in 2015 and Second Team in 2014. He qualified for the U.S. Amateur this summer and was also a participant at the '15 Wyndham Cup. This year, he shot a 62 at Oak Creek Golf Club to set a course record.
Yoshihara, who was born in Japan and moved to the United States five years ago, started playing golf at the age of two and was a top five ranked golfer in Japan in the sixth grade.
“We are looking forward to having Hidetoshi join the Bruin family,” Freeman said. “He has been quietly getting better every year and has made himself into one of the top junior players in this class. He consistently plays well all over the country. The work ethic of Hidetoshi is exactly what we look for in players joining our program. It will be exciting to have him at UCLA.”
