UCLA
NCAA Championships
No. 14 UCLA Men’s Golf Prepares for NCAA Championships
May 21, 2025 | Men's Golf
LOS ANGELES – The No. 14-ranked UCLA men's golf team will return to action this week at the NCAA Championships, hosted in Carlsbad, Calif., at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa from May 23-28.
The Bruins advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2018 after finishing in third place last week at the 13-team NCAA Auburn Regional, hosted at Auburn University Club (Auburn, Ala.).
Looking at the schedule for this week, three consecutive days of 18-hole stroke play will run from Friday, May 23, through Sunday, May 25. Following those 54 holes, the top 15 teams along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team will advance for one additional day of stroke play to determine the top eight teams for match-play competition and the 72-hole stroke-play individual champion. That additional day of stroke play is set for Monday, May 26.
The top eight teams after 72 holes of play will be placed into a bracket thereafter (team match-play competition).
Team match-play will take place with the quarterfinal and semifinal round on Tuesday, May 27. Following those two rounds of match play on Tuesday, the top two remaining teams will compete in the finals with an additional day of match-play competition on Wednesday, May 28.
Stroke Play, Friday Through Sunday
UCLA will be competing as one of 30 programs, starting this Friday morning at the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad. The top 15 teams will move on to an additional day of stroke play (on Monday, May 26).
Match Play Scoring
In team match-play competition, five points will be available to a team, with one point being awarded for each individual match. Winning teams will advance to the semifinals and subsequently, to the finals. The first team to pick up three points in the team match will advance, or in the case of the final match on Wednesday, be declared the national champion.
UCLA's Head Coach, Armen Kirakossian
Now in his third year as UCLA's head coach, Armen Kirakossian was honored earlier this month as the Big Ten Coach of the Year. Kirakossian has led the Bruins to the NCAA Regional round in back-to-back seasons and to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2018.
Coach Kirakossian, on the team's mindset heading into the NCAA Championships
"Our team is coming in with an excited mindset. Nobody on the team has played in the national championship before, so there is a lot of excitement, especially since this is just down the road in Carlsbad. That makes it feel a little bit like a home event, if you will. I think everyone's eager to get out there and compete. We went down to Carlsbad last season to watch our women's golf team in the national championship when they were in the finals, and I remember seeing the guys' faces and how much they were into it. They were thinking, 'Man, this just looks awesome. We want to be here next year.' For the guys, it was cool to see that run our women's team had last year, and to see how our guys wanted a taste of that. So now they get it – they get to go and head to the championship and have their own run. The general feel right now for our guys is just excitement. We feel confident in our squad. We've had a really nice year with some real success as a team and for each guy individually, so I think that everyone is excited to get down there. But then leaving after Auburn last week, I think people feel like they all have a little bit to prove, individually. I think that's a nice spot to be in as a team. We feel confident, but we still feel like we've got a little bit to prove."
NCAA Championships
This week's competition will mark UCLA's 39th appearance in the NCAA Championship field, the Bruins' first appearance since 2018. Last week, the Bruins finished in third place (out of 13 teams) in the NCAA Auburn Regional, propelling UCLA into the NCAA Championship field.
The Bruins shot 4-over 292 in the final round at Auburn University Club (Wednesday, May 14), to finish in third place. As a team, UCLA finished 6-over 870 through the three-day tournament. Auburn finished in first place, followed by Texas A&M, UCLA, Purdue and Georgia Tech.
Senior Omar Morales finished as the Bruins' top individual performer (69-70-69) at Auburn University Club last week, shooting 8-under 208 over three days. Morales tied for second place on the individual leaderboard, marking his sixth top-10 finish this season.
This marked UCLA's second straight year competing in the postseason's regional round. In 2024, the Bruins finished in seventh place at the NCAA Stanford Regional.
UCLA has won two NCAA Championships with the last title coming in 2008. UCLA also won the NCAA title in 1988. The Bruins have won five NCAA Regional Championships – 2003, 2004, 2009, 2011 and 2013.
UCLA's Starting Five
The Bruins' starting five in Carlsbad this week will remain unchanged from NCAA Regionals. UCLA's lineup will include two seniors (Omar Morales and Pablo Ereño), one junior (Kyle An), one sophomore (Luke Powell) and one freshman (Baylor Larrabee). Bruins' freshman Trevor Garus will serve as the substitute.
UCLA's Lineup: Omar Morales, Pablo Ereño, Kyle An, Baylor Larrabee, Luke Powell
UCLA's Substitute: Trevor Garus
UCLA's Team Titles
UCLA won three team championships during the 2024-25 season. The Bruins finished in first place (out of 13 teams) in the fall at The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate in Carmel, Calif. That marked UCLA's first-ever team title under third-year head coach Armen Kirakossian. During the spring season, UCLA won the team title at The Goodwin (hosted at Stanford in late March) as the best team out of 30 programs. UCLA won the Big Ten Championships title in Baltimore in late April, finishing in first place out of 18 teams.
Collegiate Medals
Senior Pablo Ereño won his first collegiate medal in the Bruins' first competition of the fall season. He medaled at The Tindall, hosted just outside of Seattle from Sept. 23-24, 2024. Ereño shot 11-under 202 at the par 71 course (Aldarra Golf Club in Sammamish, Wash.).
Senior Omar Morales secured his third career collegiate medal at the Big Ten Championships in late April. Morales carded 7-under 203 at the par 70 course in Baltimore (Baltimore Country Club). He shot 4-under 66 in the opening round at the Big Ten Championships.
Bruins in the Big Ten Conference
UCLA won the Big Ten Championships in Baltimore during its first season in the league. The Bruins finished one stroke ahead of Illinois in the final team leaderboard on Sunday, April 27. UCLA shot 2-over 842 through the three-day tournament, while Illinois carded 3-over 843. UCLA had entered the third and final day of competition in fourth place, eight strokes behind first-place Illinois and two strokes shy of second-place Oregon.
Senior Omar Morales won his third collegiate medal at the Big Ten Championships. He shot even par (70) on the third and final day of the Big Ten Championships to finish the tournament at 7-under 203. Morales finished three strokes ahead of Oregon's Greyson Leach (4-under 206).
Morales and Ereño were both unanimous picks as first-team All-Big Ten Conference selections. Ereño became UCLA's first all-conference Men's Golfer of the Year since Kevin Chappell in 2010-11 (in the Pac-10 Conference). In addition, Ereño became the seventh Bruin to earn the individual honor, within the Pac-10 or Pac-12 or now, the Big Ten. He has led the Bruins with a 69.8 scoring average this season, totaling team bests with 10 top-20 finishes and 20 rounds under par. Ereño's scoring average led all competitors this year in the Big Ten, helping him to secure the league's Les Bolstad Award (presented annually within the Big Ten to the golfer with the lowest stroke average of the season).
In all, UCLA had four golfers who secured all-conference recognition. In addition to Morales and Ereño as first-team selections, both Kyle An and Baylor Larrabee were honored as second-team all-league honorees. Larrabee was also honored as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
The full news release of UCLA's All-Big Ten selections is available here.
Big Ten Men's Golfer of the Year: UCLA's Pablo Ereño
Big Ten Freshman of the Year: UCLA's Baylor Larrabee
Big Ten Coach of the Year: UCLA's Armen Kirakossian
Course Information
Omni La Costa Resort & Spa – Carlsbad, Calif.
Street Address – 2100 Costa Del Mar Road (zip code, 92009)
Yardage – 7,528 yards (par 72)
Omni La Costa Website – link here
Television Coverage – GOLF Channel
NCAA Men's Golf, Home Website – www.ncaa.com/sports/golf-men
Weather Forecast in Carlsbad
Temperatures expected in the high 60s, partly cloudy, with winds light and variable.
NCAA Championships, Live Scoring
Live scoring will be available from Scoreboard, powered by Clippd (live link here).
National Rankings
The Bruins have been ranked No. 14, nationally, in this week's rankings by Scoreboard, powered by Clippd. Below are the top 20 teams in this week's national rankings.
(1) Auburn
(2) Oklahoma State
(3) Ole Miss
(4) Texas
(5) Arizona State
(6) Oklahoma
(7) Florida
(8) LSU
(9) Florida State
(10) Virginia
(11) Texas A&M
(12) Illinois
(13) North Carolina
(14) UCLA
(15) San Diego State
(16) Vanderbilt
(17) Utah
(18) Alabama
(19) BYU
(20) South Carolina
UCLA's Roster
| Name | Year | Height | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle An | Jr. | 5-9 | Aliso Viejo, Calif. |
| Luciano Conlan | So. | 6-0 | Kaneohe, Hawai'i |
| Pablo Ereño | Sr. | 5-10 | Madrid, Spain |
| Trevor Garus | Fr. | 6-0 | Boise, Idaho |
| Baylor Larrabee | Fr. | 6-5 | Ferndale, Wash. |
| Omar Morales | Sr. | 6-2 | Puebla, Mexico |
| Alex Papayoanou | So. | 5-10 | The Woodlands, Texas |
| Luke Powell | So. | 5-11 | Laguna Niguel, Calif. |
| Matthew Yamin | R-So. | 5-11 | New York, N.Y. |
| Andy Yoon | Sr. | 5-11 | Cypress, Calif. |
Players Mentioned
