Preview: #16 Vols Seek Third Consecutive NCAA Championship Berth at Bryan Regional

Monday, May 18

Bryan, Texas

University of Tennessee

NCAA Regional - Round 1

Preview: #16 Vols Seek Third Consecutive NCAA Championship Berth at Bryan Regional

May 16, 2026 | Men's Golf

Live Scoring Watch

The No. 16 Tennessee men's golf team begins NCAA tournament play this week at the Bryan Regional in Bryan, Texas.

The tournament will feature three rounds of stroke play, beginning with the opening round on Monday, May 18, and spanning through Wednesday, May 20. One round will be completed on each day of competition. The top five teams after 54 holes will advance to the NCAA Championships, which are set to be contested at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa's Champions Course in Carlsbad, California, from May 29 through June 3.

Live scoring for the Bryan Regional will be available through Scoreboard. For the first time ever, a live stream of all three rounds of the tournament will be available for purchase from Babygrande Golf.

The Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas, will play host to the Bryan Regional, hosted by Texas A&M. The par-72, 7,227-yard course is considered one of the premier college courses in the country. Located just outside the campus of Texas A&M, the Traditions Club was designed by Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus II, featuring rolling hillsides on the banks of Turkey Creek.

The Vols earned the No. 3 seed in the Bryan Regional after an impressive regular season featuring two team victories, marking the 21^st season in program history with multiple wins and the first under head coach Brennan Webb. Tennessee opened the season with a dominant victory at the team's home event, the Visit Knoxville Collegiate, last September. The crowning achievement of the season thus far came in March when the Vols emerged victorious over a field featuring eight top 15 opponents at the Pauma Valley Invitational.

The Bryan Regional marks the eighth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance for the Tennessee men's golf program. It will be the seventh appearance under Webb, who has led the Vols to an NCAA Regional in every season at the helm (except for the 2020 season, when the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). After earning the No. 3 seed at the Bryan Regional, the Vols have also earned a top five seed in six consecutive NCAA Regionals. Tennessee has advanced to the NCAA Championships in each of the last two seasons, when they were a No. 5 seed in 2025 and a No. 1 seed in 2024.

Overall, Tennessee will be making its 30^th all-time NCAA Regional appearance at the Bryan Regional, dating back to the introduction of postseason regional qualifiers in 1989. The Vols have qualified for the NCAA Championships on 21 prior occasions.

Tennessee Lineup
Lance Simpson
A fifth-year senior for the Vols, Simpson earned his first career All-SEC selection following a prolific 2025-26 season, earning a spot on the second team. In addition to earning his first career individual victory at the Pauma Valley Invitational, Simpson has racked up a team-best 70.17 season scoring average and team-highs in rounds of par or better (19), rounds in the 60s (14), and top ten finishes (5) this season.

Jackson Herrington
Just a sophomore, Herrington is looking to build on what has been a spring to remember. At just 19 years old, he was one of just six amateurs to compete in the 2026 Masters tournament, tying for low amateur honors despite missing the cut. For Tennessee, Herrington has amassed a 70.83 scoring average this season to go with 15 rounds of par or better and two top ten finishes.

Chase Kyes
The lone freshman in Tennessee's lineup this week, Kyes is set to make his NCAA tournament debut. After showing flashes in the fall, Kyes has exceled this spring with top five finishes at the Coach Sykes Individual and the Mason Rudolph Championship. He has tallied an impressive 16 rounds of par or better in his opening season on Rocky Top.

Josh Hill
The other senior in Tennessee's lineup this week, Hill has been a steady presence for the Vols all season. The Dubai, United Arab Emirates, native was the only Tennessee golfer to finish in the top 25 at the SEC Championship, where he posted 4-under-par. 17 rounds of par or better have enabled Hill to earn seven top 25 finishes this season.

Bruce Murphy
Similar to Kyes, the spring has brought multiple stellar performances for Murphy. The redshirt junior earned his second career individual victory at the Coach Sykes Individual in February, firing a 10-under-par 36-hole score. Murphy closed the Mason Rudolph Championship in tenth place, before earning a podium finish at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial, where he placed third at 12-under-par behind three consecutive rounds in the 60s.

Christian Pardue (sub)
Pardue earns a spot in the Bryan Regional lineup as a substitute after marking multiple solid performances in individual appearances this season. In five events this season, Pardue has earned three top ten finishes behind nine rounds of par or better.

Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Texas
2. North Carolina
3. Tennessee
4. New Mexico
5. Texas A&M
6. TCU
7. UNC Wilmington
8. UNLV
9. Colorado
10. Cincinnati
11. Chattanooga
12. Miami (OH)
13. UTRGV
14. Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Individuals:
William Sides – SMU
Arth Sinha – UT Arlington
Ben Steinmann – SMU
Joel Talusen – Incarnate Word
Jonas Appel – Baylor