Men's Golf Opens 2026 Spring Slate at Lake Jovita

Monday, February 9

Dade City, Fla.

Ball State University

Lake Jovita Invitational

Carter Smith at 2025 Earl Yestingmeier Invite

February 06, 2026 | Men's Golf

Lake Jovita Invitational A Look Back at The Match Play 2025

DADE CITY, Fla. -- Buoyed by strong fall performances from a trio of freshman, a resurgent junior, a steady junior transfer and decorated senior anchor, the youthful Ball State men's golf team enters its spring season brimming with optimism. The Cardinals open their spring schedule this week, Feb. 9-10, by hosting the Lake Jovita Invitational in Dade City, Florida.

Previous renditions of the Cardinals' opening tournament of spring followed a match play format on the South Course, on the grounds of the Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club. Fourteen teams join Ball State this week in a more traditional stroke play format, with competition opening in a shotgun start Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. Second and third rounds take place Tuesday with continuous play. Among the schools participating this week is Richmond, who battled the Cardinals to a 3-3 tiebreaker finish in the championship match of last year's match play event. Other participants this week are Bowling Green, Butler, Central Michigan, Charleston Southern, Connecticut, Dayton, Georgia State, Loyola-Chicago, South Florida, Valparaiso, Winthrop, Wright State and Xavier.

Ball State opened its fall season last September heavy with freshmen, transfers and uncertainty as head coach Mike Fleck transitioned from a veteran-laden roster with six seniors. But Luke Johnston fired a 69.80 average, Samuel Harris shot 72.13 and Brody Sorrell kept pace at 72.14 as the three freshman played their first semester as veterans. Avery Mahoney's 71.77 stroke average was the only veteran to score among Ball State's top four averages during the fall season. A highlight was Ball State's Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational that featured program records by co-medalists Johnston and Harris, and Johnston outlasting Harris in a four-hole playoff for the individual title.

The anchor, though, is senior Carter Smith, who has played at No. 1 in the lineup for most of the past two seasons, and who has been a part of three Ball State teams to finish in the top two of the Mid-American Conference. Smith and the Cardinals won the 2024 MAC title while advancing to the NCAA Regional. Smith, Mahoney and sophomores Happy Gilmore and Gavin Hare are the only players who return from last year's team that finished second in the MAC.

This week's lineup in Dade City features Johnston and Harris playing No. 1 and No. 2, followed by Smith, junior transfer Cameron Young, and Mahoney. Sorrell competes this week as an individual. Young, a Division II regional participant who joined the Cardinals from the University of Indianapolis, is termed by Fleck as Mr. Consistent. "He always finishes consistently, and that's exactly what you want out of a player who competes in the third, fourth, fifth spot in the roster."

Ball State Lineup for Lake Jovita Invitational
No. 1 - Luke Johnston, Fr., Evansville, Ind. - 69.80 avg (15 rounds)
No. 2 - Samuel Harris, Fr., Charlestown, Ind. - 72.13 avg (15 rounds)
No. 3 - Carter Smith, Sr., Sellersburg, Ind. - 72.60 avg (15 rounds)
No. 4 - Cameron Young, Jr., Salisbury, England - 72.47 avg (15 rounds)
No. 5 - Avery Mahoney, Jr., Burlington, Ontario - 71.77 avg (13 rounds)
Individual - Brody Sorrell, Fr., Evansville, Ind. - 72.14 avg (14 rounds)