The ICCAC announced the Division II Men's Golf postseason awards on Wednesday including the 2021 Division II Player and Coach of the Year.
Kirkwood's James Morgan was voted as the 2021 Player of the Year. Morgan, now the back-to-back reigning Region XI Tournament champion, won his second straight conference championship with a three-shot victory at Blue Top Ridge. Morgan posted a first round 70 (-2), before shooting a 76 (+4) in round 2, and finishing with a final round 72 (E). He became the first Eagle in a long line of regional champions to win back-to-back tournament titles.
Throughout the 2020-21 season, Morgan won six tournaments and did not finish outside the top 8 in any competition all year in 13 total events. Currently, he is the No. 7 ranked golfer in the country heading into the NJCAA National Tournament.
Iowa Central's head coach Kris Graewin was voted the 2021 Coach of the Year after leading Iowa Central to a runner up finish at the Region XI Championships. The Tritons ended just two shots behind Kirkwood, nearly dethroning the six-time defending regional champions.
The Tritons, the No. 8 ranked team on Golfstat, won five of the 10 tournaments they played in this season, with three runner-up finishes. Iowa Central qualified for their first NJCAA National Tournament for the first time since 2016-17.
Three of the Triton men's golfers achieved First Team All-Region status with their performances last weekend. Tomas Ribiero led the team with third place finish shooting 6-over par in three rounds. Austin Erickson, who finished in fourth place at 9-over, had the lowest round of any Triton, shooting a 70 in round one.
Rounding out Iowa Central's trio of First Team performers was Justin Schipper (+10) who catapulted into the top five shooting a final round 72 which tied for the lowest third round score of the day.
Kirkwood boasted the top two scores of the championship and thus the other two members on First Team All-Region. Morgan was joined by teammate and tournament runner up Kolby Shackelford. Shackelford finished three strokes behind with a +5 overall performance.
Third place and NJCAA qualifier DMACC had two members on the All-Region teams. Dylan Ellis placed sixth for a Second Team recognition and Joe Dean came in 11th and a Honorable Mention position.
|
First Team All-Region |
||
| Name | School | Year |
| Austin Erickson | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Justin Schipper | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Tomas Ribiero | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| James Morgan | Kirkwood | So. |
| Kolby Shackelford | Kirkwood | Fr. |
| Second Team All-Region | ||
| Name | School | Year |
| Dylan Ellis | DMACC | So. |
| Joe Forsting | Iowa Central | So. |
| Harry Oddy | Kirkwood | Fr. |
| JD Pollard | Kirkwood | Fr. |
| Ty Heimes | Northeast | So. |
| Honorable Mention All-Region | ||
| Name | School | Year |
| Joe Dean | DMACC | So. |
| Austin Reynolds | Hawkeye | So. |
| Ethan Streicher | Hawkeye | So. |
| Brandon McCarty | Kirkwood | Fr. |
| JJ Wickman | NIACC | Fr. |
Player of the Year: James Morgan, Kirkwood
Coach of the Year: Kris Graewin, Iowa Central