NASHVILLE, Tenn. — John Augenstein became the third consecutive Vanderbilt men’s golf student-athlete to be named SEC Player of the Year on Wednesday, joining Theo Humphrey (2018) and Will Gordon (2019) as recent Commodore honorees.
Sophomore Reid Davenport was named to the All-SEC second team, freshman William Moll to the All-Freshman team and sophomore Michael Shears to the Community Service team.
“This is a great day for our program and student-athletes,” Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “In my opinion, we play in the best conference in college athletics and to see our guys excel certainly makes us proud. John had an outstanding year and continues to show why he’s one of the best ever in our program. It’s great to see him be SEC Freshman of the Year and now to be SEC Player of the Year as a senior.”
Augenstein, who earlier this spring was named first-team All-America by the Golf Coaches Association of America and a finalist for the Ben Hogan and Haskins Awards, was also the 2017 SEC Freshman of the Year and now adds to his list of accomplishments in his abbreviated senior season. He led the SEC in stroke average (69.95) in 2019-20, played 19 rounds in seven events and posted an individual tournament victory at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate in Scottsdale, Arizona.
He also had top-five finishes at the Nike Golf Collegiate (second) and Crooked Stick Collegiate (third).
Augenstein was an All-SEC first-team selection and is the 18th All-SEC first-team selection in the history of the program – and the 10th since 2015. The Commodores have had a first-team All-SEC team member in every season since 2015.
Augenstein joins fellow Commodores Patrick Martin, Matthias Schwab and Luke List as four-time All-SEC selections.
In all, the Commodores have had an All-SEC honoree on 32 occasions, with 19 of those selections coming with Limbaugh at the helm.
Augenstein’s SEC Player of the Year award moves the Vanderbilt men’s golf program into unprecedented territory within the Vanderbilt Athletics department. No other SEC-sponsored sport at Vanderbilt has ever won three consecutive player of the year honors and it has happened in men’s golf only two other times since 1982 when the award was created.
Limbaugh was a part of the last time a team won three consecutive awards when Justin Thomas (2012), Cory Whitsett (2013) and Robby Shelton (2014) accomplished the feat at Alabama. LSU has also won three consecutive men’s golf player of the year awards from 1987-89 when Rob McNamara (1987) and David Toms (1988-89) were honored.
Davenport earned his first All-SEC nod after posting a solid sophomore season. The native of Austin, Texas, boasted a 71.36 average in 22 rounds as a sophomore and posted career-best finishes at the Crooked Stick Collegiate (seventh) and the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational (tied for fifth).
He finished in the top 20 in all but one event and carded a season-low 68 three times.
Moll becomes Vanderbilt’s first SEC All-Freshman honoree since Augenstein was named to the team in 2017 after averaging 72.64 strokes per round in 22 rounds in 2019-20, with his best finish of the season coming at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate when he finished in a tie for 11th. He posted five rounds in the 60’s on the season.
Shears was honored on the All-SEC Community Service team after claiming the Tom Cousins Award at the 2019 East Lake Cup, an award that recognizes a collegiate golfer best representing the values of the award – excelling in academics and engagement in the community. Since arriving at Vanderbilt, Shears has served as a leader of the university’s student athletic advisory committee, spearheading the team’s engagement with patients at the university’s children’s hospital.
“Reid had a really good year and has shown steady improvement,” Limbaugh said. “We can’t wait to see what the future holds for him. It is also great to see William get recognized on the All-Freshman team. We think he has the right kind of mentality and tools to become a great player for us going forward.
“Michael is an outstanding young man and we love to see him be recognized for his efforts off of the course. He does an outstanding job and is a very hard worker.”
SEC Programs With Three Consecutive Player of the Year Honorees
Men’s Basketball
LSU
Pete Maravich – 1968-70
Chris Jackson, 1989-90, Shaquille O’Neal, 1991-92
Women’s Basketball
South Carolina
Tiffany Mitchell, 2014-15
A’ja Wilson, 2016-18
Football
Mississippi State
Jackie Parker, 1952-53
Art Davis, 1954
Georgia
Herschel Walker, 1980-82
Alabama (Offensive Player of the Year)
Amari Cooper, 2014
Derrick Henry, 2015
Jalen Hurts, 2016
Men’s Golf (1982 was first year for award)
LSU
Rob McNamara, 1987
David Toms, 1988-89
Alabama
Justin Thomas, 2012
Cory Whitsett, 2013
Robby Shelton, 2014
Vanderbilt
Theo Humphrey, 2018
Will Gordon, 2019
John Augenstein, 2020
Women’s Soccer
Florida
Danielle Fotopoulos, 1996
Erin Baxter, 1997
Danielle Fotopoulos, 1998
Sarah Yohe, 1999
Abby Wambach, 2000
Abby Wambach, 2001
South Carolina (Defensive Player of the Year)
Kaleigh Kurtz, 2016
Grace Fisk, 2017
Grace Fisk, 2018
Women’s Swimming
Florida
Nicole Haislett, 1993
Nicole Haislett, 1994
Allison Wagner, 1995
Allison Wagner, 1996
Georgia
Kristy Kowal, 1998-2000
Auburn
Maggie Bowen, 2001-03
Kristy Coventry, 2004-05
Men’s Tennis
Mississippi State
Nuno Borges, 2017-2019
Women’s Tennis
Georgia
Michelle Anderson, 1997
Marissa Catlin, 1998
Vanessa Castellano, 1999
Aarthi Venkatesan, 2000
Florida
Lauren Embree, 2010, 2012-13
Allie Will, 2011
Women’s Track and Field (Outdoor)
LSU (Athlete of the Year)
Debbie Ann Parris, 1994
D’Andre Hill, 1995-96
Georgia (Field Athlete of the Year)
Keturah Orji (2016-18)
Women’s Track and Field (Indoor)
Tennessee (Runner of the Year)
Sarah Bowman, 2009
Phoebe Wright, 2010
Jackie Areson, 2011
Arkansas (Field Athlete of the Year)
Tina Sutej, 2011-12
Make Alcide, 2013
