McLean County Times

Illinois Wesleyan University's men's golf head coach, Jim Ott, has been named a finalist for the Golf Coaches Association of America's Division III Dave Williams Coach of the Year Award. This marks the fourth time in seven years that Ott has been recognized as a finalist for this award. The announcement was made by the GCAA on May 19, ahead of the NCAA Division III National Championship.

Ott, who previously won the award in 2019, 2020, and 2021, is among five finalists. The other contenders include Steve Conley from Methodist University, Pete Gyscek from Washington & Lee University, Dan Wesley from Rochester University, and Justin Wyeth from Aurora University. This is Ott's fifth nomination for this honor.

Under Ott's leadership, Illinois Wesleyan has had a successful season with three victories and their 13th consecutive College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championship win. The team secured the league title with a significant 35-shot margin and achieved four top-four finishes during Ott's 25th year as head coach.

The Illinois Wesleyan team is currently ranked fifth according to Scoreboard powered by Clippd. Key players include PING All-Region V golfers Juney Bai, Quinn Clifford, Aidan Healy; CCIW Individual Champion Michael Spitzer; and CCIW Student-Athlete of the Year Griffin Pohl. As a twelve-time CCIW Coach of the Year recipient, Ott aims to guide his team to their third national championship since 2019 at this week's NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship at Midvale Country Club in Penfield, New York.

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