Nov. 11, 2006
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Three prep student-athletes have signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Vanderbilt University and play golf for Head Coach Tom Shaw. Ryan Haselden (Houston, Texas), Adam Hofmann (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Ben Klaus (Edmond, Okla.) will make up the Class of 2011 when they enroll at Vanderbilt this fall.
“I could not have asked for a better group of young men to make up my first recruiting class,” Shaw said. “Ryan, Adam and Ben were drawn to our golf program because of Vanderbilt’s emphasis on academic and athletic excellence. Their commitment to Vanderbilt and enthusiasm for being part of the golf team will be contagious. This recruiting class goes a long way toward our goal of being the elite golf program in the nation’s strongest golf conference, the SEC.”
Coach Shaw, in his first year at Vanderbilt, wasted no time in bringing a premier recruiting class to Nashville. All three student-athletes finished in the Top 20 in July’s Western Junior Championship.
Haselden finished 11th at the event in Wheaton, Ill. He also notched a pair of Top 10 finishes at AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) events. A three-year captain at Stratford Senior High School in Houston, Haselden ranks among the nation’s Top 100 junior golfers.
Hofmann placed fifth at the 89th-annual Western Junior. Along with three Top 10 finishes in AJGA events, he holds five titles from the IJGT (International Junior Golf Tour) and FCWT (Future Collegians World Tour). A three-year captain at Fox Chapel, Hofmann won the WPIAL (Western Pennsylanvia Interscholastic Athletic League) individual championship last month.
Klaus, who came in 20th in Wheaton, is the No. 3 ranked golfer in the state of Oklahoma. In August, he finished fourth at the AJGA Ping Phoenix Junior Championship. He posted four consecutive Top 10 finishes from October to May, including one at the AJGA Ping Junior at the Woodlands.
Shaw’s 2006-07 Commodores are currently enjoying a winter hiatus, but will resume team play in the spring. The Commodores begin a five-tournament run toward the Southeastern Conference Championships in February at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship in Jacksonville, Fla.
