Stetson University men's golf coach Larry Watson has announced the signing of four players who will join the Hatters golf program for the 2019-20 season.
 
"At the moment, we have four boys coming in as freshmen for next year," Watson said. "I am really pleased with this group and I know the boys on the current roster are excited because they have met all of them."
 
The four newest Hatters include Mason Quagliata of Scottsdale, Arizona; Jon Lumley from St. Augustine via Pottstown, Pa.; Colin Sirbaugh from Jacksonville and Bradley Goldstein from Highland Park, Ill.
 
"These four players don't represent a rebuilding but, in combination with the new practice facility that will be coming online, I think we are rebranding this golf program," Watson said. "There is no reason, with the new facility for both golf teams to use, that both of our programs don't get better."
 
With three seniors, one junior and five freshmen on the current roster, the 2019-20 Hatters will be a very young team, but that doesn't mean Watson doesn't have high hopes for the future.
 
"These four players can play, and they can make an immediate impact to help this team," Watson said. "They are all good students, and can all shoot scores in the 60s. We needed some impact players, players who can come in here to compliment the players we have returning.
 
"Next year, we will have five sophomores and four or five freshmen, with Chris Williard being the lone senior. We will be a very young squad, but we will be a talented squad. Chris will be surrounded by young people, but young people who can play."
 
Watson said the key going forward is building a group that thinks about the team over individual goals.
 
"We needed an influx of players so that we can start having scores in the four and five spots at 74 instead of 80 or 82," Watson said. "I want these four to come in and be tight as a group and to understand they have to play well for the team.
 
"It is not an individual sport in college like it is when you go play an event in the summer and you don't care what anyone else does. You have to care about what everyone on the team is doing in order to be successful in college, and I think these four kids get that concept. The current freshmen we have now get that."
 

Goldstein will come to DeLand from the suburbs of Chicago with a number of junior accomplishments under his belt. From an athletic family that includes a grandfather who was a two-time Big Ten tennis champion and a cousin who played college baseball, Goldstein in a three-time first team All-Conference performer and state tournament qualifier who also qualified for the Junior PGA Championship in 2017.
 
"Coupling the outstanding academics and golf with the Florida climate, I could think of no better place to spend the next phase of my life than Stetson," Goldstein said of choosing Stetson over Ohio State, Illinois, Indiana and Miami of Ohio.

 

John Lumley moved to St, Augustine area with his parents from the Pittsburgh area for his final two years of high school. An honor roll student with a 3.75 cumulative GPA, Lumley was a two-time All-District selection at Bartram Trail, finishing his senior year with a 74.4 scoring average.
 
"After meeting Coach Watson, the team, and visiting the school, I knew Stetson was the perfect home for me," Lumley said after choosing Stetson over LaSalle, Oglethorpe and Methodist.
 
Mason Quagliata might be slight in size, at just 5-foot, 5-inches tall and 140 pounds, but his accomplishments on the golf course have been quite

sizable. The headliner on his resume was a championship at the Junior Drive, Chip and Putt competition at Augusta National Golf Club. He also captured the 2017 Arizona State Junior Championship with rounds of 69 and 68. Other highlights have included a round of 69 in a 2017 US Open qualifier as well as top 10 finishes at the 2018 FCWT Tour Championship, the AJGA Junior at Superstition, the IMG Junior World qualifier and the Arizona Amateur.
 
"I chose to go to Stetson because of the combination of Coach Watson, the team, the campus and the weather," Quagliata said. "Coach Watson is one of the most supportive coaches I've ever met and I felt that I would be in really good hands at Stetson. I love the campus and the town."
 
Quagliata chose Stetson over Belmont, Gardner Webb, Abilene Christian and Grand Canyon.

 

Like Goldstein, Colin Sirbaugh has athletics in his blood. His mother played college golf at Duke University and his sister was a member of the tennis team at the University of the South. His grandfather was a member of the swim team during his time at Yale.
 
"Colin is a tall, rangy, kid who can really play. He can shoot in the 60s but, like a lot of kids at his age, he still has some learning to do," Watson said.
 
Sirbaugh's junior accomplishments include a second team All-First Coast selection in 2018 as well as earning team MVP honors and the Episcopal School of Jacksonville. He won the Hurricane Junior Low Country Classic in September with back-to-back rounds of 68. He was co-medalist at the 2018 Florida Class 1A Regional.
 
"I have four great kids coming in with eight great parents, and that means a lot," Watson said. "Most of these kids come from parents who were athletes. They are all competitors, and they all played other sports besides golf. I have found that if you don't play other sports it is tough. I have spent a lot of time with these kids and they already know coming in what I want to do. It is an exciting time, I know that."
 
In addition to the four new players who will join the Stetson roster in the fall, the Hatters added a new player to the roster this spring. Ryan Peters, who is a freshman at Stetson from Port of Spain, Trinidad, joined the program as a walk-on. Peters comes with impressive qualifications, including playing as a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Junior National team as well as now being a member of the National Team. He attended high school his last two years at Saddlebrook Prep in Wesley Chapel, Fla.
 
The Stetson men's golf team is scheduled to open its 2019 spring season on February 11 and 12 at the Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational, hosted by Southern Utah University in St. George, Utah.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.