Charleston’ van Wyk Makes History; Campbell’s Killingstad and Elon’s Hill Nab 2025 CAA Men’s Golf Postseason Awards
Dylan Smith
RICHMOND, Va. – Charleston’s
Kieron van Wyk headlines the 2025 CAA Men’s Golf Postseason Awards with his record-breaking third CAA Golfer of the Year honor. Campbell’s
Benjamin Killingstad secured Rookie of the Year honors and Elon Head Coach
Don Hill notched his first career Coach of the Year accolade.
The Cougars’ van Wyk etched his name in the CAA record book as the only student athlete to secure three Golfer of the Year awards. The senior from Ruimsig, South Africa is ranked No. 27 in the country, according to Clippd. With an adjusted round score of 69.0, van Wyk has earned four top-three finishes this season, including a pair of wins at the Hootie Intercollegiate (March 23-25) and White Sands Collegiate (Oct. 25-27, 2024).
The Camels’ Killingstad registered a trio of top-five performances in his first collegiate season to garner Rookie of the Year honors. The Blommenholm, Norway product closed his freshman campaign with a fourth-place finish at the 2025 CAA Men’s Golf Championship, one of two Campbell golfers to finish in the top five alongside countryman and individual champion
Henric Bjelke.
Coach Hill guided his program to a historic first CAA Championship at the Union League Golf Club in Swainton, N.J. The 12-year veteran for Elon saw his team jump from fourth place after round one to the top of the leaderboard after three rounds to force a sudden-death playoff. Replaying the 18
th hole for the playoff,
Jack Wieler started the extra hole by finding the green in just two shots before going uphill on his third stroke and finding the bottom of the cup for an eagle. Teammate
Garrett Risner sealed the victory with an eagle of his own, chipping in a shot from the rough behind the green and sending Elon to the Bremerton (Wash.) Regional with an automatic qualifying bid.
Bjelke, Risner and Wieler joined van Wyk on the league’s top team, as did fellow Cougar
Nevill Ruiter. CAA runner-up Drexel saw
Griffin Mitchell and
Drue Nicholas earn All-CAA Second Team honors, joining Campbell’s
Joachim Larsen Tegner, Delaware’s
Casper Nerpin and UNCW’s
Gray Mitchum.
2025 CAA MEN’S GOLF POSTSEASON AWARDS
CAA Golfer of the Year
Kieron van Wyk, Charleston
CAA Rookie of the Year
Benjamin Killingstad, Campbell
CAA Coach of the Year
Don Hill, Elon
2025 All-CAA First Team
| Player |
Team |
Class |
Hometown |
| Henric Bjelke |
Campbell |
Sr. |
Oslo, Norway |
| Nevill Ruiter |
Charleston |
Sr. |
Bergen, Netherlands |
| Kieron van Wyk |
Charleston |
Sr. |
Ruimsig, South Africa |
| Garrett Risner |
Elon |
Sr. |
Holly Springs, N.C. |
| Jack Wieler |
Elon |
So. |
Bluffton, S.C. |
2025 All-CAA Second Team
| Player |
Team |
Class |
Hometown |
| Joachim Larsen Tegner |
Campbell |
So. |
Lier, Norway |
| Casper Nerpin |
Delaware |
Jr. |
Stockholm, Sweden |
| Griffin Mitchell |
Drexel |
Grad. |
New Albany, Ohio |
| Drue Nicholas |
Drexel |
Grad. |
Egg Harbor Township, N.J. |
| Gray Mitchum |
UNCW |
Jr. |
Greenville, N.C. |