Southeast
Community College men’s golf Coach Bill Campbell has announced the signing of
two players who will join the Storm this fall.
McCook
senior Noah Hofman, who won the Class B State Tournament last year, and Braden
Wheeler, the four-time reigning junior club champion at Deep River Golf Club in
Ontario, Canada, and have signed to play for the Storm.
“We
are very excited about these two young men,” Campbell said.
Hofman
has competed in the Class B State Tournament each of his first three years of
high school, and all at Grand Island golf courses. He shot 2-under-par 142 as a
junior at last year’s Class B State Tournament at Riverside Golf Club, finished
fifth as a sophomore at Indianhead Golf Club, and he tied for 25th as
a freshman at Jackrabbit Run Golf Course.
“I
think he’s the best golfer in the state,” Campbell said. “He’s a steady, very
consistent golfer. He’s long enough, but also has a good short game.”
Campbell
said Hofman was recruited by Pepperdine University in California, Gonzaga
University in Washington and the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Hofman also
visited Iowa Western Community College.
“He’s
low-key, quiet and even-tempered,” Campbell said of Hofman. “You can’t tell if
he just made eagle or bogey. He’s a mature athlete on the golf course.”
Last
fall Hofman finished third in the Nebraska Golf Association’s Junior Series
Point Standings, earning him a spot on the 2015 NGA Fall Junior Series All-Star
Team. He also was a member of that team in 2014. He also was a member of the
Nebraska team that competed in the Kansas-Nebraska Junior Cup Matches in 2014
and 2015.
In
2014 Hofman finished second in the 25th Nebraska Junior Match Play
Championship on his home golf course, Heritage Hills Golf Course in McCook. He
also qualified in 2015.
Campbell
said Wheeler is another great addition to the team.
“He
has the big three that we look for in a golfer: physical talent, work ethic and
personal accountability,” Campbell said. “He had a great visit to our campus
and fit in well with our current players, so it was an easy decision to offer
him one of my two remaining scholarships.”
Wheeler’s success in the Ottawa Valley and his
play at the 2015 Ontario Teams Championship generated college interest.
According to Flagstick.com, Wheeler entertained offers from a number of schools
but went with Southeast after he felt comfortable during his visit to Beatrice.