Five Illini Earn PING All-Midwest Region Honors From GCAA
May 30, 2026 | Men's Golf
NEWS
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Five Fighting Illini men's golfers were honored by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) on Saturday when Max Herendeen, Dane Huddleston, Trey Marrion, Freddie Turnell, and Ryan Voois were selected to the 2026 Division I PING All-Midwest Region team.
The honor is the third all-region selection for Voois and Herendeen. Huddleston earns his second selection, overall, and his first at Illinois after being named as an All-West Region performer in 2025 at Utah Valley before joining the Illini program. Marrion and Turnell each earn their first all-region nods.
This marks the 18th consecutive season that the Illini have had multiple honorees on the all-region list. Five selections ties a school record set in 2009 and matched in 2015 and 2023, marking the fourth time in the Mike Small era that the Orange and Blue placed five golfers on the list.
Voois, a senior, is also a finalist for the 2026 Byron Nelson Award, a unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection, and an All-B1G Championship Team performer. He led the Illini with a career-low season stroke average of 70.31 – the fourth-lowest single-season mark in program history. Voois picked up his second career victory in a stellar performance at the Hal Williams Collegiate in February. During his run to the title, he tied the second-lowest single-round score (63) and 54-hole tournament score (195) in program history. He recorded a team-leading eight top-20 finishes and tied for the top spot on the team with five top-10s. Voois also tied for the team lead with 15 rounds in the 60s and finished second on the squad with 22 of 36 rounds at par or better this season.
Herendeen also earned his third straight unanimous All-Big Ten first team selection and joined Voois on the All-B1G Championship team this season. He led the team at No. 58 nationally in the NCAA Division I men's golf rankings, second in the Big Ten this season. After appearing on watch lists for the Ben Hogan and Fred Haskins Awards, Herendeen posted a career-low scoring average of 70.67, the seventh-lowest mark in Illinois history. He enters his senior season next year ranking first in program history with a career average of 70.80. A four-time collegiate winner, Herendeen captured medalist honors at the 2026 Duck Invitational in March. Herendeen also tallied two runner-up finishes this season at the Windon Memorial Classic and the Fallen Oak Collegiate where he also closed with a season-low round of 66 (-6). He was the top finisher in the Orange and Blue lineup in a team-most five events and led the team with five top-five finishes and 24 rounds at par or better, and tied for the team lead with 15 of 36 rounds in the 60s.
Huddleston, in his first year with the Illini after two seasons at Utah Valley, earned first team All-Big Ten accolades and joined Voois as the only players to compete in the Illini lineup in all 12 events this season. On the season, he tied for the team lead with five top-10 finishes and closed as the Illini lineup's top finisher twice – at the Pauma Valley Invitational and the Hoosier Collegiate. Overall, he has carded 21 of 36 rounds at par or better on the season, and has notched 11 rounds in the 60s. Huddleston's best finish of the season was a T4 in the Illini's win at the Hal Williams Collegiate where he posted season-best scores for a single round (66) and 54-hole tournament (201).
Marrion had a breakout sophomore campaign that included his unanimous selections a first team All-Big Ten performer. On the season, he has competed in 11 events, all in the Illini lineup, and ranked third on the team – behind Voois and Herendeen – with a career-low stroke average of 70.84, more than two strokes better than his freshman campaign. Marrion battled through an illness that forced him out of the second round of the Big Ten Championship and returned to the lineup in Round 3 to record a career-low round of 65 (-5). Marrion ranked second on the team with a trio of top-five finishes and posted 22 rounds at par or better, tied for second-most on the squad.
Turnell, who joined the Illini for his sophomore season as a transfer from Little Rock, was tabbed as a second-team All-Big Ten selection. He played in all 12 tournaments, including 10 in the Illini lineup, and secured a win as an individual competitor in the regular-season finale at the Hoosier Collegiate in mid-April. Turnell ranked fifth on the team with a season stroke average of 71.08, posting par or better in 19 of his 36 rounds with eight rounds in the 60s. Turnell recorded a season-low round of 64 (-7) at the Pauma Valley Invitational, and his season-best tournament total (207) came last fall in the Illini's team victory at the Moraine Intercollegiate.
