For the second consecutive season, the conference men's golf coaches have voted Cal State San Marcos' Matthew Pennington as the CCAA Player of the Year, presented by College Ave Student Loans. Stanislaus State's Nate Jetton earned Newcomer of the Year and Cal State East Bay's Easton Hether was selected as the Freshman of the Year. Coach of the Year honors went to Cal State San Marcos' Greg Hutton.
Matthew Pennington put together another incredible season to earn back-to-back CCAA Player of the Year awards. From the fall to the spring, the sophomore was one of the most consistent golfers in the league. He placed in the top 10 in six of the ten tournaments and was one of just five golfers in the CCAA to shoot below par for the season. He averaged 71.59 strokes across 27 rounds and shot a season-best 66 (-6) to tie for first at the NCAA West Region Spring Preview. Pennington posted scores at or below par in 16 of his 27 rounds, and he finished at par or better in seven of 10 tournaments.
The Carlsbad native is just the fourth CCAA men's golf student-athlete to win Player of the Year honors in consecutive years, and the first since Chico State's Lee Gearhart won it in three straight seasons from 2014-16.
Nate Jetton made an impact on the Warriors' team during his first season in Turlock. The sophomore was the highest-ranked golfer in the conference (No. 9 according to Golfstat) and won two CCAA Golfer of the Week awards. Jetton averaged 71.41 strokes and shot even-par or better in 19 of 27 rounds. He won the highly-competitive Dennis Rose Invitational with a 5-under 140 and finished in the top 3 at the Battle in the Desert and the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational. The El Dorado native is the third Warrior to earn CCAA Newcomer of the Year honors, joining Anthony Manguary ('14) and Kobie Lockwood ('19).
Easton Hether became the second Pioneer to win CCAA Men's Golf Freshman of the Year honors in the past three seasons (Moses Greene '20). The Fairfield native averaged 73.22 strokes over 32 rounds and tied for 10th at the CCAA Championships with a 2-under 214. Hether's best finish came at the Battle in the Desert when he shot under par in all three rounds and tied for second place. He also tied for fifth at the NNU Nighthawk Invitational. Hether is the 21st-ranked golfer in the west region, and he posted 13 rounds at par or better.
Cal State San Marcos'
Greg Hutton was voted by his peers as the 2023 CCAA Coach of the Year. The 13th-year head coach led the men's golf team to a top 10 national ranking and its first conference championship. The Cougars won five events during the 2022-23 season, including four since January. He helped guide three student-athletes to all-conference honors and Pennington to his second consecutive CCAA Player of the Year. Hutton is the first CSUSM coach to earn this honor.
Pennington was one of the seven student-athletes on the All-CCAA team to earn all-conference honors for the second time in their career.
Simon Bjorken (CSUMB),
Dakota Ochoa (CHICO),
Griffin Pace (SSU), and
Mark Williams (CSUSB) each collected first-team honors in both 2022 and 2023.
Tyler Ashman (CHICO) and
Chris Ebster (STAN) earned an honorable mention selection last season before moving to the first team this year. Jetton,
Greg Mouser (CSUSM), and
Andy Yoon (CSUDH) collected first-team honors for the first time in their career.
Jack Deaner (CSUMB) and
Matthew Moss (CSUSM) were repeat picks on the honorable mention team.
No school placed more than two student-athletes on the All-CCAA first team. Cal State San Marcos led the way with three selections (two first-team, one honorable mention).
Seven CCAA teams are currently listed in the top 11 of the NCAA regional rankings. Ten teams will be selected to compete in the regional on May 11-13 at the Foxtail Golf Club in Rohnert Park, Calif.
| 2022-23 CCAA Men's Golf Awards |
| Player of the Year |
Matthew Pennington, Cal State San Marcos |
| Newcomer of the Year |
Nate Jetton, Stanislaus State |
| Freshman of the Year |
Easton Hether, Cal State East Bay |
| Coach of the Year |
Greg Hutton, Cal State San Marcos |
| All-CCAA Team |
| Tyler Ashman - # |
Jr. |
Chico State |
Clovis |
| Simon Bjorken - % |
So. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
Hudiksval, Sweden |
| Chris Ebster - # |
Jr. |
Stanislaus State |
Modesto |
| Nate Jetton |
So. |
Stanislaus State |
El Dorado |
| Greg Mouser |
So. |
Cal State San Marcos |
Fresno |
| Dakota Ochoa - % |
So. |
Chico State |
Bakersfield |
| Griffin Pace - % |
Sr. |
Sonoma State |
Irvine |
| Matthew Pennington - % |
So. |
Cal State San Marcos |
Carlsbad |
| Mark Williams - % |
Jr. |
Cal State San Bernardino |
La Quinta |
| Andy Yoon |
So. |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
Cypress |
| Honorable Mention |
Jack Deaner - # (CSUMB); Easton Hether (CSUEB); John Kim (CSUSB); Jules Lavigne (SSU);
Matthew Moss - # (CSUSM). |
% - 2021-22 All-CCAA First Team; # - 2021-22 Honorable Mention selection; $ - 2019-20 All-CCAA First Team;
^ - 2019-20 Honorable Mention selection. |