CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Senior men’s golfer Ben James has been named a semifinalist for the Ben Hogan Award, presented by Baird for the third-straight year. He is one of 12 college golfers ever to be a three-time semifinalist.
James is one of 10 semifinalists for the prestigious honor and one of two from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
2026 Ben Hogan Award Semifinalists
Mahanth Chirravuri, Pepperdine
Ryder Cowan, Oklahoma
Ethan Fang, Oklahoma State
Filip Jakubcik, Arizona
Ben James, Virginia
Jackson Koivun, Auburn
Christiaan Maas, Texas
Preston Stout, Oklahoma State
Harry Takis, San Diego State
Tyler Weaver, Florida State
The Ben Hogan Award annually awards the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer based on results from all collegiate, amateur and professional events played over the previous 12 months. An esteemed international selection committee, comprised of 40 leaders in collegiate, amateur and professional golf, votes during each stage of the process.
James has turned in a top five finish in all eight of his collegiate events this year which included a share of first place at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational this past September. He has helped No. 2 Virginia to five team wins this season, matching a school record set during the 2016-17 season. James is ranked No. 1 on the PGA Tour University Rankings, No. 2 on the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) and No. 2 on the Scoreboard individual rankings after concluding the regular season this past week at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial Tournament in Charlottesville.
The Ben Hogan Award has honored the outstanding amateur collegiate golfer at Colonial Country Club since 2002. This year marks the 25th anniversary in Fort Worth. The original Ben Hogan Trophy, which utilized a different set of criteria, was issued by the Friends of Golf (FOG) at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif., beginning in 1990.
Three finalists will be announced on Tuesday, May 12, and the winner will be named live at the black-tie dinner in Fort Worth on Monday, May 25.
Three-time Semifinalist for the Ben Hogan Award
Ludvig Aberg, Texas Tech (2021, 2022, 2023)
David Ford, North Carolina (2023, 2024, 2025)
Nick Gabrelcik, North Florida (2021, 2022, 2024)
Bill Haas, Wake Forest (2002, 2003, 2004)
Ben James, Virginia (2024, 2025, 2026)
Jackson Koivun, Auburn (2024, 2025, 2026)
Pablo Martin, Oklahoma State (2005, 2006, 2007)
Maverick McNealy, Stanford (2015, 2016, 2017)
Ryan Moore, UNLV (2003, 2004, 2005)
Collin Morikawa, California (2017, 2018, 2019)
Cheng-Tsung Pan, Washington (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
Patrick Rodgers, Stanford (2012, 2013, 2014)