Going Low: Men’s Golfers Seeking Even Better Marks this Fall

Going Low: Men’s Golfers Seeking Even Better Marks this Fall

September 11, 2019 | Men's Golf

Six players return from BSU’s record scoring average team last year

It's always hard to compare statistics in golf through the ages … or even within the same year for that matter. Courses are unique with their different challenges and even varying pars. Plus changes in equipment, technology and training have certainly aided today's players.

So no one is saying the Ball State men's golf team from last year is qualitatively one of the best Cardinals squads of all-time. But quantitatively, it is accurate to say no BSU team ever had a better season scoring average than last year's 292.62 mark.

And perhaps the best news is most of the golfers who contributed to that number are back for another go-around … actually two go-arounds. The Cardinals must replace graduated all-conference performer Timothy Wiseman, one of the most consistent players in the program's recent history. But everyone else returns, and not one of them is a senior, meaning this group will be together for two full years.

Ball State begins its fall season next week, a six-week stretch with trips to a virtual "Who's Who" of championship courses sure to make golf enthusiasts jealous. Among the venues are 2017 U.S. Open host Erin Hills, 2-year-old AT&T Byron Nelson Invitational site Trinity Forest and FedEx Cup Playoffs rotation stop Crooked Stick.

The Cardinals get it started with their second straight appearance in the Golfweek Conference Challenge at Cedar Rapids Country Club. Below is an in-depth look at the roster of golfers 22nd-year head coach Mike Fleck will have at his disposal in 2019-20 …

Anything say golf season like upcoming visits to @ErinHillsGolf, @TrinityForestGC and #CrookedStick?

Preseason qualifying was ?????? down the stretch. Ready to tee it up for real in less than a week.

??@mikefleck breaks it ?? #BAllIn pic.twitter.com/haC8h0H2Sl
— Ball State Golf (@BallStateMGolf) September 10, 2019

Keegan Bronnenberg, R-Jr. (Muncie, Ind.)
After sitting out one and a half seasons of college golf thanks to a mid-year transfer as freshman, Bronnenberg finally teed it up for his hometown Cardinals last year. And he made his impact felt in a big way. Bronnenberg's 73.08 scoring average ranked just outside the top 5 marks in program history. Though Timothy Wiseman edged him for the best average on the team, Bronnenberg led the squad with 12 rounds of even-par or better and three top-10 finishes. He enters the fall on the strength of low-amateur performances over the summer at the Indiana Open and the Northern Open on the Indiana Golf circuit.

Tyler Green, R-Jr. (Columbia City, Ind.)
Another player who transferred into the program, Green was limited by injuries early in his Ball State career. He finally got on the course last year, seeing 13 rounds of action and cracking the Cardinals' lineup for two events in the spring, including Ohio State's venerable Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. Green will compete for a lineup spot again this year.

Jack Cunningham, Jr. (Vincennes, Ind.)
On this young Ball State team, Cunningham has played more rounds in a Ball State uniform than anyone. He made the lineup every event as a freshman on the Cardinals' MAC runner-up squad in 2017-18. And while he earned fewer starts last season, he lowered his scoring average nearly a full stroke to 74.76. Cunningham appears primed to carry a heavy workload again this year after finishing third in BSU's preseason qualifying series.

CJ Jones, Jr. (Frankfort, Ky.)
There were stretches last season when no Ball State golfer played better than Jones. Like his 3-0 performance at the Earl Yestingsmeier Match Play. Like his third-place finish at the Musketeer Classic on the strength of an opening 65 that was the best round of the year by any BSU golfer. And like another third-place showing at the season-ending MAC Championships. He will look to carry that momentum into this season as the team's third-leading returner in terms of scoring average (73.95).

Yianni Kostouros, So. (Crown Point, Ind.)
Kostouros teamed with fellow freshman Joey Ranieri a year ago to form a promising rookie pair. He played in nine events as part of the Ball State lineup and finished with a 74.95 scoring average. Kostouros appears ready to make a big jump as a sophomore. He won the Cardinals' fall qualifying series and will enter next week's Golfweek Conference Challenge at the No.1 spot in the lineup.

Joey Ranieri, So. (Zionsville, Ind.)
Ranieri set the Ball State rookie scoring average record last year at 73.70 on the way to MAC Freshman of the Year honors. He broke into the lineup in the third event of the season and never left, eventually playing his best golf down the stretch with four rounds in the 60's during the spring. Ranieri enters this year looking to build on four top-25 showings last season, highlighted by under-par finishes at Vanderbilt's Mason Rudolph Championship and Purdue's Boilermaker Invitational.

Evan Bone, Fr. (Louisville, Ky.)
Bone played his senior season in the spring at Westfield High School outside of Indianapolis after moving from Louisville where he was an all-metro performer at Trinity High School. He was the second-rated player in Kentucky's class of 2019.

Joey Wiseman, Fr. (Corydon, Ind.)
Ball State lost one Wiseman and added another. Timothy's brother joins the Cardinals this fall after an all-state senior season at Corydon Central. Joey played in the Indiana state finals three times and won two sectional championships and a regional title during his high school days. He was the third-rated player in the state of Indiana's class of 2019.