DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis returning freshman
Jacob Westberg was named the Big West Conference Co-Freshman of the Year, headlining a list of four Aggies named to the all-conference honor roll as the league released its postseason awards on Wednesday afternoon.
Along with Westberg's top honor, returning junior
Thomas Hutchison and Big West champion
Lucas Carper were named to the first team, Westberg gained second team laurels, and true freshman
Alejandro Nava was named to the honorable mention squad.
The four All-Big West honorees mark the fourth time in the history of the program that UC Davis has had four all-conference honorees, and the first time since the 2016 squad featured Ben Corfee on the first team, Ryan Knop on the second team, and honorable mention selections Patrick Soli and Luke Vivolo.
Hutchison and Carper's first-team honors in 2021 gave the Aggies a pair of selections on the league's top team for the first time since 2015 with Mike Brockington and Vivolo.
Westberg became the fourth UC Davis student-athlete to be named the Big West's top newcomer, sharing the 2021 award with Long Beach State's Clay Seeber and Cal State Fullerton's Garrett Boe. He joins former Aggie standouts
Matt Hansen (2011), Knop (2016), and Hutchison (2018) as winners of the award.
The Sacramento, Calif., native finished second on the team with a 72.67 scoring average in 2021, tying for the team lead with three rounds in the 60s and posting seven rounds at par or better this season. He shot a career-low 67 in his first round of the season at The Prestige and added rounds of 69 and 68 in the first and third rounds, respectively, to help the Aggies to the team victory at their own El Macero Classic, finishing in a season-best tie for sixth.
Hutchison earned his third career All-Big West honor, and his second straight first-team nod, in 2021, leading the team with a 72.50 scoring average and a combined 18-over par for the year. He finished with three rounds in the 60s and a team-best 12 rounds at par or better — including his final nine rounds of the year.
The San Jose, Calif., native fired a season-low 68 in the final round of the El Macero Classic en route to a tie fourth, and added a tie for fifth at the Big West Championships thanks to three-straight even-par rounds of 72. He joined Austin Graham, Nate Pistacchio, and
Tyler Raber, as Aggies to earn at least two first-team awards during their UC Davis careers.
Fresh off his first career collegiate victory at the Big West Championships, Carper picked up his first career all-conference award Monday, after finishing the year with a 74.22 scoring average with three rounds in the 60s and nine rounds at par or better. He set a career low with a final-round 67 at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic and matched that in the second round at the conference tournament, tying the school single-round record at the league tournament en route to becoming the fourth different Aggie to claim individual medalist honors at the Big West Championships.
Thanks to win, Carper's season continues next week at the
NCAA Regionals at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla., joining nine other individuals at the postseason event.
In his first season at the college level, Nava picked up his first career all-conference honor after finishing third on the team with a 74.00 scoring average and five rounds at par or better in 2021. Competing in all six events for the Aggies, Nava finished with a collegiate-low 69 in the first round of the El Macero Classic en route to a tie for 10th, ending the event with a 4-under 212.
2020-21 ALL-BIG WEST CONFERENCE MEN'S GOLF TEAM
Player of the Year: Hunter Epson, Long Beach State
Coach of the Year: Michael Wilson, Long Beach State
Tri-Freshmen of the Year: Jacob Westberg, UC Davis; Clay Seeber, Long Beach State; Garrett Boe, Cal State Fullerton
First Team
Clay Seeber, Long Beach State
Hunter Epson, Long Beach State
Thomas Hutchison, UC Davis
Garrett Boe, Cal State Fullerton
Blake Brothers, CSUN
Lucas Carper, UC Davis
Second Team
Isaac Rodea, Long Beach State
Jacob Westberg, UC Davis
Austin Liu, Cal Poly
Andrew Ricci, UC Santa Barbara
Luke Adam, Cal Poly
Honorable Mention
Hunter Reed, Long Beach State
Tyler Schafer, Long Beach State
Justin Ngan, Hawai'i
Alejandro Nava, UC Davis
Jonathan Kang, UC Irvine
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Centrally located between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, over 700 student-athletes across 25 teams enjoy an unrivaled undergraduate experience at the fifth-ranked public school in the country.
Ranked annually in the nation's top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis and its innovative Aggie EVO System helps student-athletes develop passions, connect with a comprehensive network of alums and industry leaders, gain real-world experience and thrive as a young professional following a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school.
