CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Graduate student Paul Chang and senior Ben James were among 15 golfers named to the Fred Haskins Award presented by Stifel Postseason Watch List. Virginia is the only team in the country with multiple players on the watch list for one college golf’s most prestigious awards.
The Haskins Award honors the year’s outstanding college golfer and the memory of Fred Haskins, a club professional that spent his life nurturing and mentoring amateur golfers. The Haskins Foundation, based in Columbus, Ga., oversees the voting conducted among college golfers, coaches and golf media.
2025-2026 Haskins Award Postseason Watch List (listed alphabetically):
Kihei Akina, Fr., BYU
Paul Chang, Sr., Virginia
Mahanth Chirravuri, Sr., Pepperdine
Ryder Cowan, Jr., Oklahoma
Tom Fischer, Sr., Ole Miss
Frankie Harris, Sr., South Carolina
Ben James, Sr., Virginia
William Jennings, Soph., Alabama
Jackson Koivun, Jr., Auburn
Christiaan Maas, Sr., Texas
Niall Sheils Donegan, Jr., North Carolina
William Sides, Sr., SMU
Preston Stout, Jr., Oklahoma State
Harry Takis, Soph., San Diego State
Tyler Weaver, Jr., Florida State
James is a two-time finalist for the Haskins award (2023 & 2025) and has been featured on both the preseason watch list as well as the spring watch list. He has been one of college golf’s most consistent players, finishing in the top five of all nine of his regular season tournaments and fifth in stroke play at the ACC Tournaments. He is ranked No. 1 on the PGA Tour University rankings, No. 2 on the World Amateur Golf Rankings and No. 2 on the Scoreboard Individual rankings.
Chang is fresh off ACC Golfer of the Month honors after collecting back-to-back wins at the Calusa Cup and the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial Tournament. He was the first golfer in program history to earn medalist honors in consecutive tournaments. At the ACC Championships he tied for ninth in stroke play and went 3-0 in match play. He clinched UVA’s second-straight ACC Championship by halving the 16th hole with a par, defeating Stanford's Dean Greyserman, 3&2. Chang has moved up to No. 14 in the PGA Tour University rankings, is No. 20 in WAGR and No. 12 in this year’s scoreboard individual rankings.
The 10 Finalists for the 2025-2026 season will be announced on Friday, May 22, 2026. In addition, Haskins Honors will once again be held at Grand Blanc Maison on Wednesday, May 27th for the 10 finalists and their coach. This special evening will be hosted by the Haskins Foundation, The Back of the Range, The College World Golf Championships Foundation, and the 1971-1973 Haskins Award winner, Ben Crenshaw.